Friday, June 26, 2020

Reaction Videos, a quick note [Media Notes 40]

I’ve been watching various reaction videos this last week, see examples in this post: Contemporary reactions to blue-eyed soul from 1965, Righteous Brothers [time travel in music]. I’ve been aware of and watching analysis videos (there’s on in that post) for somewhat longer; here someone will offer fairly extensive analysis of a performance in another video. There may be a few analytical remarks in a reaction video, but very few. Remarks in these reaction videos are generally more evaluative often little more than expressions of pleasure. Wikipedia dates them to the mid-2000s to 2011.

As the term suggestions, such a video shows people reacting – for the first time! – to another video. These reactors apparently devote their channel to the genre. These reactions, of course, are themselves performances. By this I do not mean to imply that the reaction displayed is fundamentally fake or forced, but only that the reactor is certainly aware of having an audience and is intent on pleasing that audience. Would their visible movements and audible sounds be the same if they were simply listening in private? In at least some cases I suspect the video performance is an exaggerated version of their private reaction.

Why is the genre popular? Obviously people like to see other people reacting. But why? To model or validate their own reactions?

I have certainly taken pleasure in watching all these reactions to “Unchained Melody” by Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers. It is a powerful performance, but I wouldn’t have watched just the performance so many times. I wonder about regular consumers of the genre? Do they watch many different reactions to the same performance, or is that just something I’m doing because the genre itself interests me? I don’t know.

For that matter, why has this performance received so much attention? Yes, it IS powerful, and is from way back in the ancient days of 1965. Most of the videos I’ve watched are of Black reactors. It is quite clear they are interested in the fact that Hatfield is white but singing in a style that is identifiably Black. That disparity is certainly of interest to them, but to me as well.

But what is the general case of reaction videos? Are the reactors usually responding to music that is beyond their normal range? I’d guess that it is. I’d guess that that is the appeal, to them, and to their audience. But I don’t know.

There’s some interesting research to be done. But not by me. Takers, anyone?

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