Berleezy: EXPOSED

Whether you are an adamant subscriber or an occasional user, by now we have all had some experience with YouTube. Some people use it for tutorials and DIY research. Others like to keep up with latest music videos or their favorite vlogger. I like to think of myself as a universal watcher. I will tap into anything that I have interest in at the time. Recently I had gotten into watching videos that provide underlying theories over cartoon shows. There are channels that would focus on finding imperfections, some over-analyze the shows for hidden messages, and others just plain criticize.

One channel that I always find myself going back to is called berleezy. I first found out about Berleezy through a friend while having a discussion about Caillou. Now I know what you are thinking. "Why would a bunch of well-educated, mature, young adults be discussing a children's show?" And to that I would say "mind ya business!" But in a formal manner, I would explain that 90's kids basically live for nostalgia, and I would also add that shows like Caillou become questionable as we get older so a discussion of our opinions was in order for the occasion. Anyway, in the discussion over the show, one of my friends exclaimed that she hated Caillou and proceeded to inform me of her reasoning. To back up here reasoning, my friend asked if I had heard of this YouTuber named Berleezy? Before I could say no, she had already pulled up a video of his called "CAILLOU: EXPOSED". I would be lying if I said I didn't hate him too after watching it. 

Berlin Edmond, more commonly known as Berleezy, is a 26-year old YouTube commentator from California. His main channel, berleezy, holds almost 1.5 million subscribers to whom he displays various types of content like Vlogs, Skits, and Talks. He has a second channel called iBerleezy where he plays, demonstrates, and reviews video games. This channel has nearly 500,000 subscribers. Berleezy's popularity rose because of his "EXPOSED" videos where he takes the title sequence of cartoon shows, new and old, and criticizes the content in a humorous manner. In older videos he would begin his videos with an iconic introduction himself as the "the host with the roast" and then his name "Berleeeezyyyy!" Other trademarks of Berleezy would be his hashtag #eezygang used for apparel and social media content identification, saying "let's… get it!" to signify the beginning of the "roasts", and other material that will be mentioned later.

During the videos, Berleezy is rather careless with his opinions. He curses a lot and he doesn't mind saying exactly what is on his mind. He does an amazing job at catching details that you would otherwise ignore and emphasizing them by yelling dramatically, laughing, or using some kind of sound affect. His responses are quick and witty and the visuals often aid in the humor even though I am certain he doesn't need help. Berleezy strategically uses older cartoons as well as new ones to attract all ages with a sense of youth and relevance. His method of speaking informally and loudly throughout the video keeps the attention of the audience and establishes himself to be on an attainable level. In other words, even though Berleezy's entertainment is unique, it is also mimic-able and you may feel as though you could do it too. Sometime during the critique, you may hear a melodic or jazzy snippet music play as the video is slowed down or paused. This is one of my favorite Berleezy trademarks that signifies his attraction to a female character with hopes that the "sexy" music will help persuade you to agree.

There are several things that I do not like about Berleezy's videos. The first thing would have to be how in his newer videos, he began to add a skit (usually featuring himself in a roach costume) in the beginning that would eventually introduce the show that he would later talk about. I do not like this because it seems very unnecessary to the video, and it is always way too long in my opinion. Another thing I do not like is the quality of his sound. Most of the time there will be a volume issue or some kind of unwelcoming feedback that makes it hard to listen to with headphones or without messing with the volume a bit. Although I do enjoy him as a comedian, I do not actually appreciate his objectification of women and his stereotypical judgement.

With that being said, I think that Berleezy is very funny and his thorough analyses makes him an awesome critic. On the other hand, he could be seen rude and unorthodox. Aside from a few good points, I would not say that he is a good judge of character (pun intended).