If you’re anything like me, you love to take things and overanalyze them until every last bit of it makes sense to you. You like to speculate, pouring both idle and deep thoughts into something before reaching a conclusion—if you ever get to one, that is. You like to hunt for evidence, or even just for details you may have missed, so you can create a clearer picture.
We aren’t alone in this. Analysis and genuine thought, specifically in terms of the media we consume, has become par for the course recently. Thanks to social media and the magic of the internet, we can share theories and debate with other people, allowing everyone to expand their perceptions and open up new avenues of consideration.
And it isn’t just social media that’s allowing this growth. Many other mediums have begun encompassing analysis and turning it into genuine entertainment.
One of my favorite entertaining theorists is MatPat. If you haven’t heard of him, he’s most famous (currently, though that’s subject to change based on how popularity comes and goes these days) for his theories on the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” series, and he hosts a few shows, including “Game Theory,” “GTLive,” and “Film Theory.”
MatPat’s work is addictive. He takes serious time and effort to construct each episode of his shows, providing not only interesting visuals and wonderful cadences, but also strong arguments backed up by hard evidence found in the source material, as well as peer-reviewed sources. I’m always marveling at how well thought-out his arguments are, as well as how much fun he seems to be having. MatPat is using his superpower for the greater good.
“But,” you may say, “I’m not really into that many films or videogames. Why should I go check him out?” Well, MatPat has probably covered one or two things that are right up your alley. MatPat isn’t what one would think of when I describe, just as an example, “a video game buff.” Most of the time when I hear that description I think of those guys who think they know everything about videogames, and regardless of whether or not they do, they become insufferable for it.
MatPat isn’t like that at all: he’s far more friendly, is open to public debate (I’m serious: he encourages people to prove him wrong with new evidence), and provides a well-constructed argument to back up his claims. And the source material he covers is from a wide range, which means that even if you don’t like most videogames (like me), MatPat might have one or two things he’s covered that might pique your interest. Whether you’re into Nintendo franchises, more “adult” games, or indie games, MatPat has an episode or two for you to watch.
“Film Theory” even covers the same things from a film perspective: he’s done theories about “Frozen” and “Finding Nemo,” but he’s also done theories about “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared,” “Batman,” “Rick and Morty,” “Sharknado,” “Deadpool,” and loads more.
And these aren’t just wild speculation either: his theories, as I said before, are backed by peer-reviewed sources, and often with science. MatPat takes a look into social phenomena, biology, physics, and psychology in order to unearth some crazy theories about some of our favorite franchises.
From a personal standpoint, I’m in love with these series. MatPat’s delivery is always kinetic and lively. He really seems like he’s having the time of his life doing what he loves. His work is always well done and fascinating, and I’ve caught myself watching theories about things I haven’t even played or seen just because I want to learn more. In terms of turning analysis into entertainment, MatPat has the right formula, and the right content, for almost anyone.
If you want to go check out “Film Theory” or “Game Theory,” go ahead and follow those links. And if you have YouTube Red, take a look at “Game Lab,” the show where MatPat takes things from a theoretical standpoint to a more physical one. There are episodes about diffusing bombs, surviving “Five Nights at Freddy’s” in real life, riding Ostriches, and more. Much hilarity ensues.
