2017 will certainly leave its mark on the world…
At the start of last year we looked back on what we considered a really tough 2016, one in which many of our favourites passed away and things seemed bleak. How much worse could it get? Surely the next year would bring hope and relief? Oh how little we knew. Poor, naive us. Adorable.
Putting everything from the big wide world to one side, though, 2017 was a pretty big year on YouTube. As usual, we spent an awful lot of time watching videos and mulling over our favourites. It really was a year of drastic change, brutal honesty and everyone getting woke.
So, as we do every year, sit back and reflect on the 2017 Yearly Round-Up.
MY SISTER – being learning disabled and getting on with it | Bertie Gilbert
Back in April, Bertie Gilbert introduced us to a new face. Bertie is someone who’s always looking for ways to change up his filmmaking and grow as a creator, and we think this one is truly one of the best videos he’s ever uploaded.
The video is the story of Bertie’s sister Gene, who isn’t letting a learning disability and mental health issues prevent her from gaining the independence she’s always wanted. There are many words we could use to describe it – beautiful, lovely, touching, inspiring – but we don’t feel they’re strong enough. Watch it and you’ll see what we mean.
Gene, we’re so incredibly happy for you. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you and we know you’ll go far! And Bertie, thank you so much for introducing us to your sister. It’s touching to see the love your family has for each other.
Comfort Food | Short Film | SuperSamStuff
No stranger to a short film, Sam Saffold-Geri released Comfort Food in April, which features the talents of Ant Lightfoot and Antoinette Belle. It’s truly a piece of art, using cinematography and sound design to create a stunningly emotional narrative. When it came out it was all we could taco ’bout (yep, that’s right — FOOD puns are our angle for this one).
An adorable pear meet in a coffee shop, but doughnut be fooled: this isn’t just a cheesy meat-cute with a happy ending. It’s a story told peach by peach through small moments the couple share. Even dough the characters never speak a single word, they still leave us feeling like we’re a pizza the story and wanting s’more, even past the end scene.
Okay, we promise to stop before you beet us up.
Coming out GAY to my 5 year old brother | OliverVlogss
If you somehow missed this video by Oliver Potter, where were you in July? It’s had over five million views, and captures little brother Alfie’s candid reaction to Oliver coming out. Honestly, it’s the cutest thing we’ve ever seen.
Since we first covered this video, the video spread like wildfire, being shared by international news outlets and all over social media.
“If you marry a man, it’s going to be so cool,” young Alfie says. “Love means love! You can be what you wanna be!”
CHOICE | unplanned pregnancy and abortion in Ireland – short film | Melanie Murphy
In 2018, Ireland will be holding a referendum on repealing its ban on abortion in almost all circumstances. To bring the subject into light, Melanie Murphy directed and produced a beautiful short film about the emotions one may go through when finding out they’re unexpectedly pregnant.
Released in October, CHOICE led Melanie to win the award for Excellence in Cultural Experience at Buffer Festival 2017. The video really moved us and if there’s one video you’re going to watch from our Yearly Round-Up, we highly recommend it be this one.
Why AI will probably kill us all. | Boyinaband
There are two opposing conversations surrounding artificial intelligence: the ones that have you marvel at the prowess of humankind in the realm of technology, and the ones that have you throwing a side-eye at your laptop after it makes an unprompted sound sitting on your bed five feet away. This video from March is a little of both, and it led us to fall down a deep rabbit hole of research this year.
In the video, Dave Brown tackles the AI discussion with impressive grace, from covering the basic types of artificial intelligence to touching on the consequences of such powerful programs. But until all of this technology reaches fruition we’ll enjoy living in a world where our toasters don’t have the capability to hold us hostage. We love this style of video from Dave and can’t wait to see more of them from him in 2018.
Still want to reminisce about 2017? Need more highlights?
This year it was just too difficult to pick only five videos, so in true Round-Up style we’re making room for some honourable mentions.
If you’re looking for some serious feels, Alex Bertie’s video from April is one you don’t want to miss — just make sure you have some tissues at hand. Alex’s videos for the past year have been nothing short of inspirational. His transition has been a physical and mental one that we’ve been privileged to share in, and 1 YEAR ON T: FTM TRANSGENDER showed how far Alex had come over his first year on testosterone. The best part is that trans people of all ages, in every stage of their own transitions, have Alex to look up to. We here at TenEighty can’t imagine a better role model.
Meanwhile, in August Charlie McDonnell returned to YouTube and shared Hiatus with us. In the video, Charlie gave us a little insight into where he’d been for a lot of 2017 and why he hadn’t been uploading to his channel. While we missed him, we understood that everyone needs a break every now and then, and we’re glad Charlie had the courage to fill us in and explain his absence. Glad to have you back, Charlie.
Finally, let’s think back to early last year when a La La Land-themed video was on every recommended list and corner of our subscription feed. To be honest, we’re still absolute suckers for them, especially when they include so many of our favourites guest-starring alongside Dodie Clark. Never had we been so happy to see so many primary colours in the same place than in Someone In The Crowd – with friends! But the question remains: what is in the water that this spectacularly talented group of friends have been sipping, and why are they not sharing?
We think this is a pretty great note on which to end our Yearly Round-Up. Do you agree with our picks, or do you think other videos should have been featured? Well, we’ve also been showcasing our favourite videos every seven days in our Weekly Round-Up column for years and years – so check them out!
While you’re here, you might as well check out our other send-offs to 2017:
- 11 YouTubers Who Smashed It In 2017
- TenEighty’s Favourite YouTube Memes of 2017
- Five of the Best: Send-Offs to 2017
- The UK’s Ten Most Viewed Videos of 2017
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