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Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle's Let It Snow

2019-01-22 · letter vlog · John · 3:38 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Books & writing) · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, self promotion

John welcomes Netflix's starry cast for Let It Snow but objects that headlines call it a John Green novel when he co-wrote it with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle; he argues this reflects a media world where clickability matters more than accuracy, producing truths that are distorted.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Netflix's starry cast for the Let It Snow adaptation, as reported in headlines

  • ★★★ John reports that Netflix has cast a starry ensemble for its Let It Snow adaptation: Kiernan Shipka, Shameik Moore, Mitchell Hope, Odeya Rush, Anna Akana and Joan Cusack. — 00:00:00 · Let It Snow
  • ★★ John agrees with Vulture that it is a very charming cast and shares the headline's anticipation for the film. — 00:00:12

00:00:29 — Let It Snow is not a John Green novel: written with Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson

  • ★★★ John says the headlines' 'John Green novel' is not a John Green novel: in 2007 and 2008 he, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson wrote Let It Snow together. — 00:00:29 · Let It Snow, Maureen Johnson
  • ★★ John explains that each author wrote one romance set at nearly the same time in the same North Carolina town during a blizzard, then they interconnected the stories so each is a window into the others. — 00:00:38 · Let It Snow

00:00:58 — John's excitement about the film, the director and the script

  • ★★★ John insists Let It Snow is exactly as much Lauren's and Maureen's book as his. — 00:00:58 · Let It Snow, Maureen Johnson

    “It is exactly as much Lauren and Maureen's book as it is mine.”

  • ★★ John says that while writing the book he secretly hoped it would become a movie, a hope so unrealistic he was embarrassed by it. — 00:01:02 · Let It Snow

  • ★★ John calls director Luke Snellin a wonderful guy and the script incredible: it made him cry with laughter and at its sweetness. — 00:01:10

00:01:27 — Why headlines name only John: self-fulfilling fame, clickability over accuracy, distorted truths and how to read media

  • ★★ John understands the press: Lauren and Maureen are successful, acclaimed authors but his name probably gets more clicks, and three authors' names are hard to fit in a headline. (hedged) — 00:01:27 · Maureen Johnson
  • ★★★ John argues this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: his name is in headlines because he is better known, and he is better known partly because his name is in headlines. — 00:01:40
  • ★ John proposes a better headline, 'Netflix's YA movie Let It Snow has a chillingly good cast led by Kiernan Shipka', which might get fewer clicks without search-optimized names. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:56 · Let It Snow
  • ★★★ John calls it a small deal but a personal experience of a broader phenomenon that concerns him: clickability is more important than accuracy. — 00:02:10 · attention economy
  • ★★★ John says people making things online want algorithms to pick their work, so they are incentivized to tell whatever truth will capture attention. — 00:02:20 · recommender system, attention economy
  • ★★★ John says this is not quite untrustworthiness or misinformation: the headlines are true but distorted, a truth that grabs attention, which is never quite the truth. — 00:02:30
  • ★★ John notes this is not new: when he was a kid the 11 o'clock news opened with teasers like 'Is this factory poisoning children? More after the break.' — 00:02:55 · sensationalism
  • ★★ John says the websites and local news he follows are not inherently evil, but understanding what media wants from you helps you understand what it provides. — 00:03:05
  • ★★ John says readers and viewers often feel powerless over information flows, but paying careful attention to what we take in changes how information works, at least for ourselves. — 00:03:15
  • ★ John closes that he can't wait for Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson and John Green's Let It Snow to be a movie. — 00:03:27 · Maureen Johnson, Let It Snow

In the description and comments

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: attention economy · Lauren Myracle · Let It Snow · Let It Snow (film) · Maureen Johnson · paltering · self-fulfilling prophecy

Also: People: Anna Akana · Joan Cusack · Kiernan Shipka · Luke Snellin · Mitchell Hope · Odeya Rush · Shameik Moore

Works: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina · Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Organizations: Netflix · Vulture (organization)

Concepts: media literacy · recommender system · sensationalism

Places: North Carolina

Only in the description or credits: The Vanishing Stair

Also centred on Let It Snow (film): Letting It Snow with Kiernan Shipka, Shameik Moore, Anna Akana, and Blogbrother John Green

Also centred on paltering: How to Lie While Telling the Truth

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