This Anthro Life
100 Years of Beauty and the Beast of YouTube with Chris Chan
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Episode notes
in this episode, Adam and guest host Leslie Walker talk with visual anthropologist and film producer Chris Chan, producer of the 100 Years of Beauty series on YouTube. If you haven't seen this series (or some of the spinoffs from companies like Vogue and Allure, definitely take a few minutes to enjoy). As an ethnographer, he also makes a wonderful behind-the-scenes series that documents the research he and his team does for each country called Chanthropology.
We cover
- the development of the 100 YOB series,
- vernacular media - the kind of content that people become inspired by, and then in turn, make their own versions of.
- we dig into Chanthropology, Chris' behind the scenes ethnographic videos on why the producers and makeup artists make the aesthetic choices that they do.
- how to think about beauty and aesthetics as political, not merely as passive consumerism.
- and yes, at some point in the episode, Chris mentions the Human Centipede. But for the reasons you'd think. It's amazing. (his comment, not the film)
This Anthro Life is produced and (lightly) edited by Adam Gamwell. I'm a small team of 1, so if you get something out of this show please consider supporting TAL on Patreon and helping make it happen. Even $5 a month makes a huge difference and me and our thousands of listeners are so grateful :).
If you've read this far I'll be looking for production help soon! Transcription correction, content editing, social media and marketing - so if you've got some experience or want to learn the trade and want to help out, drop me a line at [email protected].
Chris is Director of Content at Cut.com
100 Years of Beauty and the Beast of YouTube with Chris Chan
Episode 129