Top 10 TikTok Focal Points
I love TikTok.
When I tell people this there is usually a look of disapproval and surprise. Isn’t it just a bunch of dancing young people and goofy memes on there? Isn’t it just some kind of spyware? Isn’t it bad for you?
I don’t know. Maybe. I’m sure I spend too much time on it. But like anything internet related it’s best in moderation. During the pandemic lockdown it was the perfect place to disappear into when I needed somewhere to go.
I also learned that if you mark the stupid dance videos and other bullshit as “NOT INTERESTED” and like/comment/share the weirder shit you see on there (you needn’t actually share, you can just copy the link and TikTok counts this as a vote for more of that kind of material), you start to see a far more interesting cast of characters and the mainstream begins to vacate your FYP.
One of the things I love about TikTok most is that it provides an accessible platform for people who don’t necessarily want to be influencers and would never bother with the production of a whole YouTube video but who have worthwhile things to say/show/do. Obsessions, habits, preoccupations, expert knowledge, weird tricks, all of these things have a place on TikTok.
I don’t post much on there. I’m not any good at it. I haven’t really tried, but I think I’m just not suited for the “content-creation” lifestyle. I have a hard enough time figuring out what to say on normal social media.
I’m not trying to promote TikTok or make some kind of case for it. I’m sure I waste more time on it than I should and it’s certainly full of garbage. But unlike Instagram and Twitter, TikTok makes me feel generally better about people and the world I live in because of some of the accounts mentioned below. So until they ruin it, that’s gotta count for something.
I was going to make a top 10 of my favorite accounts or individual videos but there’s just too many so I made a list of the top 10 things I’ve discovered there this year.
- PEOPLE
Libby Sterling lives in Alaska. She goes on walks with her dog turtle and does crossword puzzles on Live. She talks about life and work in a quiet, funny, and sincere way. Sometimes she plays the violin. She posts somewhat prolifically but it never feels like anything less than a very real moment spent with a close friend. Her videos make me want to slow down and appreciate life more; which is a funny thing for a TikTok video.
@libbysterling
Mike Barcode first went viral for turning the song “Oh What A Night” into a lip sync sketch about an interrogation. He works in TV production and sometimes talks about that. He also sometimes answers questions about his gastric bypass surgery and his asexuality. But it’s easy to listen to him talk about anything. He’s sort of like that work friend you’re always glad to bump into.
Parker Edmondson aka Dr. Parkinstine is obsessed with the 1920s, and science. He built a Tesla Coil and a magnifying transmitter in his backyard. He dances the charleston, plays piano and releases music on 78rpm records. When I first discovered Parker’s videos I knew TikTok might have something for me after all.
Kelita Rosita posts such a wide range of things. She’s made series about discontinued food products. “News” videos about current events or gossip, which function less as news and more as breakdowns of complex stories into conversational and easier to digest information. But then she will talk very poignantly about grief, her family, or day to day life. I like her videos about her “scrounging” eating habits.
- PERFORMERS
My other favorite kind of people you find on Tiktok are the ones doing skits, or performing in other ways beyond the normal trends. There’s obviously lots of that but these are my favorite.
Devon Palmer creates absurd, sometimes paranoid sketches involving multiple versions of himself. That’s nothing new, but the way Devon ramps up the anxiety and tension is unique. Lots of his stories build that feeling of one person getting something wrong and the everyone else ganging up on them. He plays it from both sides though and makes characters that are painfully innocent.
Jane Wickline is a similar performer to Devon but her videos are longer and more involved, often going a long way just to build an alternate reality where something we know to be true isn’t so. Or just a group of friends, all played by her, taking each other to task for imagined slights or misdeeds. I wish Devon and Jane could make a movie together.
2gunnnz aka yojairyjaimee does synchronous recitations of other videos, usually a rap or sports personality’s interview. She matches the cadence and delivery perfectly and it’s somehow hypnotic.
Re.Cept is someone I first saw dancing to Charles Manson. She is a professional dancer who posts a lot of dance memes where she dances along in real time, but she also has some incredible original content.
- PLACES
Ashlyn aka Pineacre creates short montages of lonesome and nondescript places in the Arkansas Ozarks set to music.
Mallchitecture showcases the landscapes of American shopping malls old and new; one of my favorite subjects. If you like them as much as I do I recommend watching the movies True Stories and Jasper Mall.
Talking Cities talks about the challenges of urban planning, specifically the plight of the pedestrian in the modern world. He shows a lot of great examples of cities that work and ones that don’t, now and throughout history.
The Pythia Effect concerns both time and place, creating short mood pieces meant to evoke very specific memories. Sometimes extremely distinct ones.
Rundown buildings has a simple format. It just shows you a building that’s rundown and an update to it’s progress. Some of them are funny and some of them make me very sad.
Jakeexploring follows the same format as Rundown Buildings.
Liminal spaces center is just what it says it is.
- FILM
One of the traps I fall into on TikTok is watching a movie or show in multiple parts, that I could just as well watch properly if I weren’t being so lazy. As a film person and former projectionist, I cannot defend this behavior. Usually it’s just someone filming it off a screen too, or it has a secondary screen of someone preparing food or playing a videogame underneath. One minute you’re watching an old clip of Conan O’Brien, the next minute you have to unfollow gordon_ramsayy_clipss and confront how many hours you’ve pissed away re-watching old TV by watching someone else watch it.
I do try to stay away from film opinions on the internet mostly. I don’t have a Letterboxed account for this reason and I keep my negative opinions about movies to myself for the most part. That being said, I love the opinions and recommendations of:
Lindsay movie opinions nyc
And…
Matthew Ables watches nothing but bad animated movies and gives a brief rundown. I’m still waiting for him to review Joshua And The Promised Land.
The Oz Vlog is dedicated to The Wizard of Oz and its history. She spends a lot of time debunking the common myths that someone hung themself on the set (they didn’t) and the munchkins were all drunks and inappropriate (they weren’t), but also goes into great detail about Oz merchandise, Judy Garland’s life, L. Frank Baum, and lots more.
Joe Garrifo is a claymation artist and VHS enthusiast who shares clips from his massive collection of tapes and tells great stories.
- FOOD
I hate the videos of people making food that speed up the process with those quick cuts juxtaposing all the little chop-cut-sizzle-etc food-prep noises. I methodically block those people because I can’t stand them. I also hate cooking in general but I respect food. It’s the people being really fussy over it that annoy me. These are the TikTokers whose passion for food interests me most:
Barry Enderwick aka Sandwiches of History makes sandwiches from turn of the century cookbooks, usually The Up-to-Date Sandwich Book of 1909.
Keith Lee gives honest and direct food reviews with no bullshit. He’s just an extremely serious person and it’s hard not to appreciate his dedication.
Waffler69 eats gross and weird stuff. It’s honestly impressive what he will eat. Expired Adams Family Cereal. A bottle of Orbitz from 1997. Dollar Tree snacks. Chicken juice. He is on an adventure. These videos sometimes feel like watching a man scale a mountain.
- HISTORY / INSTRUCTIONAL
Dan McClellan is an author and biblical historian. His motto is “data over dogma” and he uses TikTok to refute inaccurate representations of religious texts. That may sound boring, but I find it fascinating. I end up learning about religious history and I find his method of argument to be a masterclass in debate. He takes apart the inaccuracies of those who are ignorant and cruel in the same manner as those who mean well but are spreading incorrect information. Just watch a few of his stitches where he dissects people’s interpretation of Leviticus and you’ll see why I find him so compelling.
S. Dilla Thomas creates short retellings of Chicago history, new and old.
Computer chronicles unearths, now ancient, demonstrations of old computer hardware.
Hyperplexed shows examples of commonly used websites user inferfaces and how he would improve them.
The Claw Craziness guy just wins at skill cranes.
Lawyer Kevin Kennedy aka “Kev’s got you covered”. Kennedy gives terrific advice on what to do if you are arrested and has a lot of great legal loophole knowledge.
The Lock picking lawyer guy just picks locks.
- MUSIC
Being a musician on TikTok kind of sucks. It’s just not a platform for listeners and if you don’t have a personality worth watching, no one is really going to give a shit. Trying to promote your music there is a losing game too. Sometimes people go viral with their sob stories about how no one cares but that almost always backfires in some way. And even some of the best performers on there will end up responding more to things people are asking about their appearance or something in the background of their video than anything they wrote or performed.
All that being said, there are people on tiktok posting about the realities of being a professional musician and the toil and trials of creating.
Calvero is someone I first became aware of when I saw him perform his power ballad “Believe” on comedian Ian Abramson’s live show during the pandemic. The guy has so much energy and his music is so true and sincere. On TikTok he spends a lot of time talking about the doubts and fears that come with being a performer and recording artist. He also went viral for declaring Pink Floyd as not prog and for people mistaking one of his lyrics for being about Hank Green. You should follow him if you make music, perform, or create anything at all.
Ytiet is a Vietnamese cow herder who sings beautiful short a’capella songs.
Mossyrockk is an English songwriter with an amazing voice who has written some achingly beautiful songs using texts based on service industry work situations. That’s sort of selling her short because she does a lot of other things but there isn’t much about her online so it’s not totally clear to me if she just plays on tiktok or has other ambitions. I would definitely buy an album if she put one out though.
And this one:
- ANIMALS
Funny and fucked up animals are one of the best things about the internet. It’s the one thing we can all agree on and encourage. There’s so many on tiktok but here’s my favorite 3:
- STAR TREK
I am a relatively recent Trekkie having watched all 800+ episodes of all series during the lockdown. Here is an exhaustive list of my favorites:
Lt Com Rae is one of my favorite people. Her tiktok is essentially one of the greatest Star Trek resources there is, spanning all series and films, and having terrific analysis, discussion, humor and debate. There is something for everyone whether you are a new fan or have seen it all. She suffers no fools in her comment section but is also a reasonable debater and gives people the benefit of the doubt.
Jessica McKay aka Moviefans28 creates extremely low budget but strikingly accurate re-creations of scenes from Star Trek Original Series episodes and films. They are hilarious and impressive all at once.
TrekToks is the most popular Trek page. I love them to death but wish they would stop posting about The Orville.
Jesse Mercury inserts himself into TNG episodes with hilarious results.
Some other great Star Trek opinions on TikTok:
- MY SINGLE FAVORITE TIKTOK OF ALL TIME
Finally, here is my favorite Tiktok of all time. It always makes me laugh and brightens my day. As far as I can tell Mr. James E. Abston is trying to make a tiktok with his granddaughter but isn’t sure how to make it work and accidentally uploaded a bunch of videos of him trying to figure it out. They’re all funny and endearing. This one is the best:
Hold on by Mr. James E. Abston
HONORABLE MENTION
There are two accounts I couldn’t find because they’ve probably been taken down. One was a rapper who made diss raps in the voices of Mickey Mouse and Goofy where they were beefing with each other and he would do this on separate accounts making them go back and forth.
The other one was a car crash simulator that portrayed supposedly accurate representations of car crashes in different ridiculous circumstances like there being an improbable sudden wall in the road, a steep incline, a ramp, etc. I’ve seen other people stitching these but I can’t find the original anymore.
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