Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has seen creators and trends rise and fall. The platform has come a long way from the days of cat videos and kids saying funny things, and now focuses on flashy thumbnails and challenges that give people the chance to earn thousands of dollars. However, one duo has remained strong throughout almost the entire history of the platform. Rhett and Link.
The story goes that Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal met on the first day of their freshman year in 1984 and have been best friends ever since. While in college, they started creating comedy videos and songs, laying the foundation for their future. Back in the late 2000s, videos like “Facebook Song” and “Fast Food Folk Song” earned the channel internet fame.
After moving from North Carolina to California for the show โCommercial Kings,โ the two started their current main show, โGood Mythical Morning,โ in 2012. Since then, GMM and its subchannel Good Mythical More have garnered more than 11 billion views and more than 23 million subscribers. .
Since then, the two have formed a parent company, Mythical Entertainment, which has allowed them to expand beyond GMM and produce six podcasts, a spin-off channel dedicated to cooking, and a website that reviews food from grocery stores. .
They’re known for their taste tests and “Will it?”, but in GMM’s series, they’re more than just two friends sitting at a desk. Since the beginning, McLaughlin and Neal have used the platform as a means of creative expression through songs, videos, and other digital forms, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. All this is done independently of the influence of large corporations.
After a wave of creators retired from YouTube earlier this year, they published a video on their original channel titled “We’re Done,” a play on the titles many creators used for their retirement videos. It was something. , they talked about moving away from appealing to Hollywood executives.
Although it’s not obvious on the surface, Mythical Entertainment had proposed multiple projects in more traditional media formats, but they were rejected. In that video, they announced Wonderhole, their most ambitious project to date. This is a completely independently funded six episode series.
This series pushed the boundaries of scripted programming. First released in August, each episode was independent from the others and explored different creative visions, from a sci-fi story about two people 200 years in the future to an experiment in drinking clouds.
Not every creative talent has a staff of 100+, millions of subscribers, and 20+ years of experience creating content, but there’s something we can learn from Mythical Entertainment. They show that moving away from Hollywood bureaucracy is the best way to express creative freedom, especially in the film and video industry.
In addition to all the properties produced by Mythical Entertainment, McLaughlin also has another country music career under the name James and the Shame. His first album explores the process of dismantling his faith, which both he and Neil elaborate on on the Ear Biscuit podcast.
It also shows that you don’t have to be limited to a single medium of expression, whether it’s video or music. Having multiple creative outlets influences each other and allows for expressions that cannot be achieved using any one particular method.
Ethan Harkes is a second-year photojournalism student at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of columnists do not necessarily reflect those of the Post. Want to share your thoughts? Email or tweet eh481422@ohio.edu to let Ethan know. @ethanherx.