Essential videos of 2008
9 of the 130 videos uploaded in 2008 were judged high on "words matter": the ideas are the point of the video, so reading or watching for the argument pays off — a reading guide, not a best-of list. Each entry gives the thesis (with a link to where the argument starts) and one line on why it was judged idea-dense. Back to the overview.
Main speaker: John: 7 · Hank: 2
- 2008-01-30 · John · I Am Not A Pornographer · Books & writing, letter vlog
- John argues that his novel Looking for Alaska is not pornographic, that teenagers can read critically, and that a few objectors should not decide what other parents' children read at Depew High School; he asks nerdfighters to attend the school board meeting and write letters. (00:01:17)
- Why it is here: A reasoned defence of a book against a censorship attempt, with an argument about what the sex scene is for and about teenage readers.
- 2008-04-08 · John · Nerdfighting in Bangladesh · Global development, letter vlog
- John argues that guilt-based charity ads make the poor a 'them', while poverty is an us problem ('there is no them, only facets of us'), and asks Nerdfighters to help fund Nerdfighter Sean's work in Bangladesh as an experiment in community. (00:00:48)
- Why it is here: Coins the lasting motto 'there is no them, only facets of us' and sets out John's critique of guilt-based charity advertising.
- 2008-07-22 · John · OMFG CATCHER IN THE RYE!!! · Books & writing, recommendation
- Introducing The Catcher in the Rye for the Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club, John argues against Salinger's 'reader who reads and runs': metaphor opens the hardest questions, and books grow richer when read closely. (00:00:46)
- Why it is here: A sustained argument for close reading (metaphor as a way into hard questions, reading for yourself not the author) plus reading guidance for Catcher.
- 2008-08-02 · John · Catcher in the Rye, Part 1 · Books & writing, explainer
- John reads the first fifteen chapters of The Catcher in the Rye as a study of loneliness: Holden keeps trying and failing to talk to someone, shields himself with his red hunting cap and says 'you' when he means 'I'; John also suggests the book is a bit misogynistic. (00:01:12)
- Why it is here: A close reading of Catcher with a clear argument (loneliness, the cap as security blanket, you-for-I distancing) and a critique of its treatment of women.
- 2008-08-12 · John · PEANUT BUTTER FACE (while discussing the Georgia-Russia War) · World affairs, explainer
- Taking Hank's challenge, John explains the 2008 Russia-Georgia war with peanut butter on his face: Georgia's history, the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Russia's invasion, which he reads as Russia reminding Georgia that the West will not help it; he calls most wars as stupid as they are evil. (00:00:51)
- Why it is here: A compact historical and political explanation with dated claims, a prediction and an argued reading of Russian motives.
- 2008-08-26 · John · The Catcher in the Rye, Part 2 · Books & writing, letter vlog
- John sets aside the usual symbols of The Catcher in the Rye to argue that symbolism and metaphor exist to overcome limited empathy: the narrating Holden, unlike the Holden the story happens to, finally gets us to listen. (00:00:49)
- Why it is here: A compact argued reading about empathy, self-consciousness and the purpose of literary symbolism, with a clear thesis against the claim that English class ruins books.
- Replies to: 2008-08-02 Catcher in the Rye, Part 1
- 2008-10-07 · Hank · Hank on the Debate · US politics & society, letter vlog
- Hank says the debate question that rang truest to him asked why America asks sacrifice only of young people who go to war; he finds McCain's answer (spending cuts) no sacrifice and praises Obama's call for energy saving and service such as the Peace Corps. (00:00:29)
- Why it is here: A short argued reaction to a specific debate exchange, taking a position on the candidates and on youth service.
- 2008-11-05 · John · On Loving One Another or Dying · US politics & society, letter vlog
- After a Louisville stop where Hank sang his Paper Towns song, John argues that, as Paper Towns' characters see only funhouse-mirror reflections of Margo, political discourse, even among Nerdfighters, fails because people do not imagine others complexly: opponents are not evil but complicated people. (00:00:58)
- Why it is here: A compact argument linking the Paper Towns theme of misimagining others to post-election political discourse.
- 2008-12-11 · Hank · The 2008 Project for Awesome!!! · Global development, announcement
- Hank announces the 2008 Project for Awesome on December 17, a day when the YouTube community promotes charities, explains how to take part by making videos or joining the supporters' mailing list, and says he and John will each give $1,000 to a P4A charity. (00:00:00)
- Why it is here: Launch of the 2008 P4A with Hank's definition of the project, its participation rules, a mailing-list promise and the brothers' $1,000 pledge.