Is Vine Cinema? | Brows Held High 

15:07 “No one plots like Cocteau, frames his shots like Cocteau Makes his passions your everyday thoughts like Cocteau” ...Kyle. KYLE.

Your "Wtf is up Kyle" impression cleared my skin, watered my crops, cracked the shell around my cold dead heart. Thank you King ❤️

​damn i didn't expect this video about wether vine is cinema or not to fill me with existential dread but here we are

Dear Kyle: I mean this in the best way when I say that before I started watching _Movies with Mikey,_ _Every Frame a Painting,_ _Just Write,_ _Patrick (H) Willems,_ and _Film Crit Hulk,_ I watched you first. You are still one of the best, most passionate, most profound film analyst I know. I'm just so glad you're still doing what you love.

Your use of classic Vines to punctuate your points is just... *chef’s kiss*

Kyle I don't know if you labelled the train footage "Captain America Civil War" on purpose but it's perfect and it killed me.

I choose to see this video as a Criterion edition of the "back at it again at krispy kreme" vine and you cannot stop me

YESSS. Amazing as always. And thanks for treating our tongue in cheek lambasting of "new media" handwringing with thoughtfulness and respect.

As always, I enjoy hearing your thoughts: connecting Vines to extremely early experimental movies seems like such a obvious thing to do in hindsight. However, I just want to point out that Ferguson protesters used Vine to upload footage of the police brutality they were suffering.

3:29 It only took several years but we finally got Kyle’s response!

It's hard to believe what an imprint vine has left on me and other people I knew who were teenagers/young adults when it was active. Even after 3 years of inactivity me and my friends can quote countless vines from memory. While I do get some kicks out of TikTok in many ways it feels like an imitation of Vine more than its own thing. What a lovely vid, I'm glad you're back, esp with how powerful that ending was. You might not be the fastest RU-vidr but I have found few who are as insightful and as impactful as your stuff.

50% of this video listening to Kyles points during the essay, 50% of it QUOTING THE VINES DURING THE VIDEO

I got so many chills during the ending sequence.

I love how good you are at breaking down a topic in a entertaining and educational way, and then ending it all off with "And this is why it is so goddamn important."

"For a damn decade" Jeeze, remind me of the cruel passing of time, why don't you

i had a nightmare last night that i saw kyle kallgren at a convention and i went up to him like ":O kyle kallgren?!?" but he looked at me confused and i realized it was just someone who looked like kyle kallgren

"What you capture now will define this time" gave me chills on chills. Thank you Kyle, and please stay safe too.

11:27 Damn, I don't remember that scene in Civil War

I actually wrote a term paper about Marshall mcluhans "medium is the message" and how vine is postmodern absurdist soviet montage Glad It's actually a thing and I wasn't just high on monster energy drink 😂

"because all hierarchies are made-up and arbitrary" Anarchist comrade Kyle?

I'm a US citizen living abroad right now, so I'm not in the US during this time. I feel the short clips from Instagram and Tik Tok provide better insight into what's happening than the traditional media of news reports. Contents and facts in news articles are quickly outdated, but the emotion and sentiment of those short videos have a much bigger impact. I feel connected to other American's in this time of struggle through the lens of their smartphone cameras. Contrastly, media that's lengthy with editing and political overtones makes me feel alienated from my own country.

Kyle, your content is always worth the wait. If you need to take all the time in the world because you are a powerhouse army of one then pleass do, those of us who enjoy will always, gladly, wait. Thank you for the work that you do. ♥️

This is hands down one of my favourite video essays, not only of 2020 or that you've published but ever. It was both funny and poignant in a way that had me squealing in laughter and watching solemnly in silence. You did a wonderful job Kyle. I'm proud to be a fan/viewer of yours.

"dad look it's the good kush" "it's the dollar store how good can it be"

I've had a lot of thoughts about how Vine compilations are weirdly hypnotic.

I've missed your video essay style content so I'm really looking forward to this!

However long it takes, you're always worth the wait.

Awesome as always, Kyle. Thank you! For anyone curious, the song playing in the "sometimes I dance with the cat" video is "Resonance" by HOME. I got very excited when I heard it.

Damn, this is the most polished "Vine Compilation" video on this site

Mike Rugneta: in this essay i will Kyle: yes

Tough to describe my feelings on this one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a RU-vid video that left me genuinely rattled/moved. Excellent work!

I did not expect to watch two videos that reference "You're The Man Now Dog" in the same week, but I guess that's what I get for watching Lindsay Ellis' old Top Pre-RU-vid viral videos list when I knew this was coming out soon.

I'm literally crying. how did you make me cry by saying do it for the vine?! You're so talented 😍

having never been on vine or tiktok, suddenly all the memes for the past 10 years suddenly make sense now that have actually seen them. who is she is a meme that keeps coming back on tumblr

"Oh look, he sneezed. CINEMA!" Perfect video.

Kyle's voice delivering sweet insightful cinematic thought, punctuated with vines I know by heart? This is perfect!!!

*finally* someone else that despises the "Hurricane Tortilla" kid

♫ Nooooooooo onee plots like Cocteau Frame his shots like Cocteau Makes his passions your everyday thoughts like Cocteauuuu ♫ :') I missed your videos so, so much. You rock, Kyle!

Well, I'm convinced. My favourite part was how I recognized literally every Vine in this video and my other favourite part was how many of them I was laughing at before they played because I recognized them from a few words of description.

Holy shit that was good. Powerful ending juxtaposed with lots of laughs from how funny so many of those vines are. The bit about video essays having different reasons for starting than finishing is all too real for me at the moment. -.-

I'm living in Portland right now and it's truly terrifying. Inaction is unacceptable yet with the current military action being taken, you're not sure of what will happen when you or friends go to the protests. I don't think I'm alone when I say people are really reaching out into the darkness now, whether that's for justice, friendship, or a return to ignorance, we all want something resembling peace. This video really connected with me because it was a reach into the past where I feel safe. But we are not safe now, we weren't then either.

Hearing the phrase "do it for the vine" sent me right back to high school

I never got into vine while it was on the app, but those RU-vid vine compilations soothed so much during the worst of my depression and my struggle to graduate college Seeing them here gave me a kind of nostalgia I don't think I've felt before

I love how deeply ingrained some vines are in web-culture and also that almost any big show/fandom have an associated vines compilation because they are that universal.

This is probably my favorite video you made so far. I have to admit I never really got into vine (or TikTok) but I think you really present the format's possible place in our culture today. We live in weird times and of course our media should reflect that. Thank you!

10:52 Using that clip of Tony when describing the debate is perfect. Way to silently convey your opinion :P You always make solid, compelling arguments; I definitely appreciate Vine more now. As an aside, thank you for citing the vines and including the titles. Now I finally get the vine at 13:58! You've made a video that's funny, engaging, sobering, and at the end, hopeful. Thank you for your wonderful work. Stay safe. Do it for the vine.

15:02 I love the little reference to the Beauty and the Beast crossover.

RIP Adam “Hi, Welcome to Chili’s” Perkins.

My general take with what is/isn't cinema is that we should have an attitude towards it that is just as expansive and inclusive as all other art forms. Music, for example, covers a vast swath of content, the only unifying factor of which is curated sound. Not all songs have rhythm, or melody, or tonality, or even sound, and yet pieces with any combination of the aforementioned factors are considered music. I do think Vines are cinema because I think cinema is, at its barest, any curated images and sound not performed in a live setting. If it's just images, it is painting or photography. If it's just sound, it's music. If it's performed live, it's theater. I think this definition gives a maximum space for the expansion and diversification of the artform.

Everything about this video is magnificent, but the serious build up about toxic masculinity followed by "two bros" made me scream so loud I woke up the cat

Here’s a fun game! List off your favorite Vines! I’ll start: SO I AM CONFUSION! WHY IS THIS ONE KANSAS BUT THIS IS NOT AR-KANSAS! AMERICA EXPLAIN -

Well, maybe we can look back it this in five years. Stay safe.

Good to see you haven't lost your edge at all - lure us in with an academic, intriguing but amusing premise, and then the ending kicks us right in our emotional dicks. Well done.

Excellent video. It also makes me think about Vine and it’s videos in the context of media universality and intertextuality. See all the Vine compilations where entirely different stories and concepts are done through vine (X Musical or T.V. Show told through Vines, or my absolute fav, Mythology as told through Vines, shoutout to Overly Sarcastic Productions excellent animatics of this). These disparate stories and concepts are united through tropes and concepts distilled into these little video moments. And they transcend their individual meanings to make something great. What do you guys think? Overall amazing video Kyle! Always excited to see what you’re up to!

I've noticed that vine compilations on youtube rarely, if ever, include the title/caption. I feel like half the time (okay, maybe 40%), a vine is a punchline to a joke that was set up by the caption. With TikTok's, the captions are part of the video (which has been pretty important with adding context to videos capturing state violence, and also context to whatever joke/comedy). I'm not sure what point I've got with this, but I think about it a lot.

It's so good to see you upload one more time just before I have to leave this country, Kyle! Getting to discover the community of RU-vidrs driven by compassion and love like you has been one of the highlights of this era of my life. I was hoping to find a job that guarantees my place here and becoming a patron of yours, but I guess that would have to wait. I hate to leave when all of you are doing everything you can to make this country a better place, but knowing her future will be defined by brave Americans like you sets my mind at ease. I love you all and hope you all the best.

Kyle you're probably one of my favorite creators. I always enjoy your work and look forward to each video.

Ah, Captain America Civil War is my favorite 1895 black-and-white short film

I keep expecting to see the first American version of Tiananmen Square or Amritsar on the news. It feels like only a matter of time.

This is why I subscribe to this channel. To learn why something I am too pretentious for is actually art. I am going to become a patron. Your videos are worth it.

Ah, but it’s not called “cinema” in all languages. In Hebrew, “movie” is “seret” (ribbon), whereas “cinema” is “kolnoa” (motion-sound). Wait, does that mean silent films aren’t cinema if you’re speaking Hebrew!?

I don't see many people talk about this aspect of Vine, but your point about the platform being so connected to the roots of film in the Lumiere brothers got me thinking about the "magic" side of Vine which was heavily reminiscent of Melies shorts. The app allowed you to film for a certain amount of time within the 6 second window, but when you moved to your next shot there would be a transparent image of the last frame of that segment, so you could line it up perfectly for the next shot. So a lot of people (myself included) would use that to make hard cuts to make objects disappear or move objects over a single cut. I'm not talking about the zach king variant of "magic Vine" which was edited on a computer before, but there were everyday people using the app to make little magic tricks through static cuts. I also remember a side of Vine that took advantage of its looping function, creating perfect loops that tried to match their cuts to the beginning of the Vine.

Always have to appreciate a reference to the lost savior of Mike Rugnetta As soon as I saw the title of this video, I instantly thought of the idea channel video and how I wished he actually made it into a real analysis. I appreciate that you managed to do that.

Kyle’s back! This shit year just improved!

You make the best video essays on youtube, and there's some tough competition but I stand by that statement.

Loved the little nod to the Jean Cocteau song from the Beauty and the Beast video. Also, this was a brilliantly put together video, absolutely love the work you do. Side note this took me back to a time in my life a few years back when I was so emotionally empty and overworked that the only content I could consume, were youtube compilations of vines on repeat. It got to the point I could instantly recognise most by just a single frame.

I understand this is the smallest of small details, but listening to Kyle speak greek gives me life. Watching this spring/summer unfold in the US as an outsider, terrifies me. Stay safe everyone.

So sad that the only good youtuber has left this platform, but fortunately you, the other good youtuber, are still here. Thank you!

It's rare that someone is so good that I am never disappointed with the output despite a long wait. But I'm always ecstatic to see another BHH. We all understand, man. Take your time. You do good work.

As soon as you said 'kid buried up to his neck in sand' I instantly knew you were talking about the sand guardian and I reached nirvana for about a few seconds.

I usually leap on these videos right when they come out but I was saving this one for when I was in a headspace where I could actually focus on it. Saving it for a shitty rainy day. Just turned this whole morning around. You could take months between uploads and I’d still just be excited as hell when a new one does pop up by surprise because they’re always worth it, and the work you put into them shines through every time. EDIT: also for a variety of reasons, perpetual eye strain headaches among them, I almost never watch RU-vid videos, instead listening on headphones and glancing over if it’s obvious I missed some important visual aspect. So glad I actually watched this one in addition to listening because your Kyle vine response was amazing and if I were only listening I would have missed the disc horse visual joke and that would have been a tragedy. I gotta start setting aside low headache days to watch your stuff from now on cause there are so many little editing moments I’d be sad to miss EDIT Two: I shouldn’t comment before finishing videos. Last night I said your video about ghosts of lost films was possibly my favorite of yours. This just usurped it. (Although they really compliment each other, back to back)

Tis True: Mike Rugnetta is The Only Good RU-vidr. (Has long since moved on to other things and hasn't regularly uploaded since 2016) And well... I guess I could think of one guy who comes close

God damn it’s good to have you back - keep doing your amazing thing!

For someone who is terrified by few things more than cringe, this was... oddly compelling and touching. Thank you, Kyle. ^_^

i always come to hear you say something quippy and end up leaving crying (in a good way). stay safe, keep up the good work

Kyle this is a fucking masterpiece and one of the best vide essays I've ever seen. The best thing you've ever made too in my view. Brilliant, brilliant work.

Ugg, Kyle, you have to stop making constantly fall back in love with you at every ending of your videos.

That opener is a personal favorite.

Thank you Kyle for making a wonderful tribute to one of the only pieces of social media that allowed people to express creativity rather than just boost their ego. It definitely captured society in a hopeful, more comedic light.

I missed your videos talking about Avant-garde films and videos about. Art in general keep up the good work

To my generation and those proceeding it, cinema was the building you watched a film in. Not sure if it's still the case for younger Britain's, given the net has shrunk the world, but hey ho. Great to see a longform essay again Kyle. Stay safe mate.

In a sense, maybe, feature length film, and all the reverence institutionalized around those, and all the dismissal of people's social media output, is like rich people building big monuments, compared to ye average folk building homes or scrawling graffiti. The way you describe feature length films as a long string of six second cinema pieces, mr. Kyle, also reminds me of those huge maximalist videogame spectacles, especially when compared to tiny free indie games; in an Assassin's Creed game or somesuch, that one cool bit where you jump off a tower, or that cool bit where you distract, then sneak around someone, those acts get lost in the vast overload of cool bits, but they become memorable when they reappear enough in meaningfully differing contexts. Like with a Vine, when you send it along to others or see it remixed or somesuch. I think there's something to this notion that, for most art forms maybe, six seconds is enough to get something across artfully, despite how long the professional entertainment products are that we're sold.

So worth the wait. I love your video essays.

6:10 I'm glad you included the only content creator on RU-vid... don't look it up.

You know what Kyle...I AM gonna do it!

God I've missed you Kyle ❤️

Kyle, you're back!! This video was well worth the wait :)

I never used Vine, it totally passed me by, and now I feel too old for tiktok, but I am so looking forward to this video anyway.

It seems to be a trend in film and tv to make things longer, make a sequel, make a spinoff, etc. A vine is a perfect moment; it needs no follow-up.

I suppose it’ll be telling that I recognise every single Vine you showed. All of them.

Sabrina. This is spectacular. The graphics. The script. The educational and editing quality. Fucking off the charts.

I was not expecting the response to the Kyle vine and I think you may have just cured my depression, watered my crops, and advanced the development of a cure for covid-19 all in one action. Bless you, you genius.

With the inclusion of some classic hilarious Vines, this is one of your funniest videos to date! I can't wait to see how you end this comedy train!

Damnit Kyle, I always end up tearing up at the end of many of your videos and this one was such a gut punch. Thank you for sharing your analysis with us. No matter if we have to wait, it's incredibly worth it.

This gave me so much nostalgia for the Vine days, it felt like a never-ending summer of innocence

16:18 That plays very differently in 2020 lol

Shitpostmodernism I don’t know If i made up this term or If I heard it somewhere a long time ago and It just stuck with me. But the Term i like to use for the Kinda Surreal and offbeat humor of a lot of Memes That Vine had a hand popularizing is Shitpostmodernism. Meaning when a meme or Shitpost is So Abstract that it could be Considered Art or at least insanely funny in a way that’s hard to understand. Things ranging from Odd Vines like “Kink shaming is my kink” or “I can’t find my berries” or memes like “Me and the boys at 3AM Looking for BEANS”. It’s pure Shitpostmodernism. Thought you might get a kick out of that

This is a video only Kyle could make. And I'm so glad he did!

I cannot contain my love for Kyle and the effort put into this. Thank you for giving me something to quell the creeping nihilism that is slowing taking over my life and my brain.

As someone who enjoys reading about ethnomusicology and music psychology, one of the things I find interesting is the attribution of music and dance to separate categories in the west. In many places of the world, where music is still a more communal activity, the concepts aren't mutually exclusive. In as much as dance is visual performance art, it is usually tied to music. I suppose cinema can be said to be very similar. Music has always been part of it, and even its absence is usually intentional. Apologies for the ramble, thought-provoking work as always, Kyle.