Jan 7, 2008 04:16 PM
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New York, 12:34 AM
Wed Feb 10
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Thanks to the web, you can now condescend to the elderly from the comfort of your own home. The novelty factor of seeing this demographic in a video online has apparently not faded, as they continue to earn instant viewers just by looking their age. Ironically, the videos are mostly superior to teenage-made crap because of their PBS feel and extensive vocab. Here's a quick gallery of the best elderly video-makers; they got attention just for showing up, but they outperformed expectations.
Geriatric1927, the British pensioner Peter Oakley, became YouTube's first elderly star when he introduced himself in mid-2006; he quickly became the most-subscribed-to vlogger, replacing popular creators like "Brookers" and inspiring other elderly vloggers. He fought off international press before finally revealing his identity. Since then, the media attention has died down, but Oakley remains one of the site's top creators.
Oakley has settled in, no longer wearing his cute but undignified headphones while recording. In most of his videos, he tells stories from his life at a painfully slow pace in one uncut shot. His fans are attracted more by his personality than any flashy content. His experience demonstrates the rule of YouTube fame: Get attention for your obvious quirk ("OMG! Adorable old guy!") and trust that hardcore fans will stay.
Mike Rubbo interviews Olive Riley, a woman born in 1899, in this underrated series. Again, it's heavy on "tell us about olden times" and light on content, but given the sheer range of Riley's life, the stories make decent viewing. Below she talks about peg dolls and kewpie dolls.
Reel Geezers are a pair of film industry veterans, Marcia (a film producer) and Lorenzo (a screenwriter), who review current films. While some commenting viewers seem merely amused to be watching octogenarians talk, and others are lost by words like "diaphanous," most are aware they're watching two real critics. Here they discuss Juno; you can either appreciate Lorenzo's suspicion at the film's cleverness, or get a cheap thrill when he says "pussy ranch."
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