One set of data that I have become particularly intrigued by lies in the comments for the video ‘Last week’s recipe for you!’, a video posted on the YouTube channel about cat videos with the most subscribers, ‘That Little Puff’. In the comments that I analyzed, all of which were posted over the last 3 years, many of them focused on the topic of treating the cat in the video as if the cat was another human being. These comments included viewers complimenting the cat’s “really good cooking skills” and asking the cat, “Which recipe was your favorite?”(@nhvnaturalpet, 2022 and @Shrilly_Billy, 2022).
This recurring theme of personifying the cat as being capable of cooking leads me to question if this theme is one that is present in the reactions to other popular cat videos. If that is true, that would make sense to me as this theme is one that was explored in past articles about how people view cats and why cats have dominated much of the media on the Internet. Building upon the ideas of one such article written in 2005, Sarah Boxer’s ‘Internet’s Best Friend (Let Me Count the Ways)‘, in which Boxer describes cats as being seen as relatable to bloggers and thus, “the soul of the blogosphere”, I argue that a major factor in the appeal of cat videos (based on the research I have conducted so far) is how content creators base videos around topics you ordinarily would not associate with cats (such as cooking) (Boxer, 2005, https://www.proquest.com/docview/433107439/9699D91637274E8BPQ/4?sourcetype=Newspapers). This in turn attracts audiences, who are able to recognize the “human” qualities of the cats’ personalities, thus forming a stronger emotional connection with the cats featured in the videos.
Works Cited
Boxer, S. (2005, July 30). ‘Internet’s Best Friend (Let Me Count the Ways)’. The New York Times. https://www.proquest.com/docview/433107439/9699D91637274E8BPQ/4?sourcetype=Newspapers
@nhvnaturalpet. (2022). ‘The extra bit of puff added to Thursday’s recipe was just perfect. Which recipe was your favorite Little Puff?‘ [Comment on the video “Last week’s recipe for you!”]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojf_PXiI7xI.
@Shrilly_Billy. (2022). ‘I love watching little puff He/she it’s funny and have a really good cooking skills‘ [Comment on the video “Last week’s recipe for you!”]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojf_PXiI7xI.
That Little Puff. (2021, March 16). Last week’s recipe for you! [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojf_PXiI7xI.
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