#esvideoessays

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Why You Should Read CHECK PLEASE | ESVE

Let's talk about some gay hockey players, shall we? I hope y'all enjoy this love letter to one of my favorite comics <3

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Why SUPERMAN Is For The Gays | ESVE

Before the month is over, we're gonna have a little chat about "My Adventures with Superman" and why it has me (and many others) seated every week. Script is done. Recording will go down later in the week.

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>>LINK TO THE VIDEO<<

Let's talk about himbo superman, shall we? Enjoy!

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Some Extra Thoughts About Check Please

Sooooo I didn't mention it in my video essay about Check Please, but I have some further thoughts about the different depictions of coming out shown in the comic.

First off, if you haven't already, check out my video essay on the comic. it was the last full-length essay I made before I retired from video essays & I highly recommend it. You can watch it HERE.

Now onto my extra thoughts!

I failed to mention it in the video but I absolutely loved the mini arc between Bitty & Whiskey. It was honestly such a nice subtle way to depict the idea that folks aren't ready or even want to come out publicly and how that's totally fine. At that point in the story, Bitty & Jack are already public knowledge, putting them both in the spotlight at every turn. Naturally Whiskey notices this and realizes that he's not quite ready to be open about his sexuality. He says as much near the end of the story.

I bring all of this up cuz it reminds me of how people are trying to force celebs aka REAL LIFE PEOPLE to come out or give them grief for "queerbaiting" even tho that can't be the case. I always go back to the biggest example via Kit Connor (of Heartstopper fame) being forced to out himself cuz a couple of biphobes couldn't handle a man holding a woman's hand. Oh no, the horrors.

In the moments that Bitty saw Whiskey fooling around with a fella at that party, he could've said something. But instead, he kept it to himself and made it clear that it's Whiskey's business if they choose to be open about it or not. And just that small moment alone warms my heart & gives me hope.

It's unclear if Whiskey ever truly came out or not. IDK if we'll ever know. and the gag is we don't have to. But the fact that he has that choice is even better. Cuz irl nowadays, there are many folks out there who have to remain closeted for their safety or simply have no interest in ever being public about it. And they deserve that privacy just as much as someone who's out & proud deserves to be treated with respect for how they choose to identify.

I can admit that I was one of those "if they're not queer, they shouldn't play a queer character" folks all those years ago. But as I came out in 2016, further explored my own sexuality & actually took a deep dive into more queer media...my whole view on that completely changed. It's a very nuanced convo and honestly, how one feels about it will vary & that's ok.

I just find it fascinating that a quirky sports comic about a couple of gay hockey players managed to depict 3 different ways queer folks deal with their identities while living their lives. I adore Check Please for managing to do that, among other things.

Anyway, these are some extra thoughts I had about the comic that, for some reason, I didn't mention in my video essay back in May. But hey, it's out now so here ya go lol

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VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE VIA THE STATE OF ESVE

Ok I guess I shouldn't avoid this anymore. It's obvious that I need to unpack this now before more time goes by. EMERALD STAR VIDEO ESSAYS isn't coming back. I'm officially retiring the series and no longer doing any essays/analysis vids going forward. Well to be fair, I stopped production on ESVE content roughly 2 weeks after the Superman vid dropped but I digress. It's nobody's fault but mine when I speak on why I'm doing this.

A thread I posted on Twitter/X that explains my reasons:

So confession time: Over the past 2 weeks, I almost considered returning to video essays. Why? Cuz as per usual, I'm easily influenced and I had quite the epiphany thx to some amazing essayists putting out top tier vids as of late. I say all of this to say: No, I'm never coming back to video essays. As fun as they were, I was very scatterbrained on what I wanted to create and constantly changed the topics to the point of steering away my audience from the different eras of said channel. Not only that, I also made the essays for the wrong reasons. I got *TWO* different co-signs from bigger creators and thought they'd help out. In reality, they didn't and I felt awful for ever trying to come at content creation for the purpose of some clout. Obvs I did make my essays out of passion but the gaps between them was due to countless reworks on what I wanted to talk about and what I believed, at the end of the day, would get attention. And yeah, I'm ashamed of that.

These past two weeks reminded me as to why I left in the first place. Making video essays, while fun, simply weren't my passion & when I try to create them, it's always with the specific purpose of trying to get more eyes on what I do. The reality is that I've always been showrunner first & foremost. THAT is my passion. That's what I started with wayyyyy back in 2007 when I first discovered YouTube. Making shows that folks enjoy has always and will continue to be my first love. This is why I made the full pivot to Roomies and abandoned the ESVE channel shortly after the Superman video. Roomies brings me so much joy and isn't being made for clout. It's being made cuz I'm incredibly passionate about it and I don't need time to think about that. I'm not gonna get rid of the ESVE channel. Clearly folks saw my vids and they could STILL catch someone's attention. But from here on out, I'm not coming back. I'm leaving ESVE and ALL essay/analysis vids in my rearview. Thanks to y'all who watched my essays.

From here on out, it's back to making scripted shows in the realm of queer romance. Roomies is only the beginning of that journey. So I hope y'all will stick around for that over on the ESP channel going forward^^

-Emerald Star

Find me over on >> Emerald Star Productions <<

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Tomorrow @ 12pm/Noon ;)

Why SUPERMAN Is For The Gays | ESVE

Before the month is over, we're gonna have a little chat about "My Adventures with Superman" and why it has me (and many others) seated every week. Script is done. Recording will go down later in the week.