The state birds are garbage, but this video about them is genius

One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel with this amazing video that is unlike anything else they’ve done. Bill Wurtz’s “history of Japan‘ is a classic example, the 80 million-viewed juggernaut of a channel that typically posts bite-sized neon surreal animations. But I would like to draw your attention to another absurdist video from a maker who doesn’t do that usual do things like this, that Also has a unique colorful visual style. It’s about birds.

“The state birds are trash‘ is a fantastically fast-paced 22-minute video that explains the strange history, geography and politics of the state birds of these United States. The video looks great, like a Jon Bois video if it were viewed through a pastel prism. Sometimes charmingly crude polygonal animations are used to emphasize certain parts of the story, but most often a crystalline map of the United States is used to guide viewers through the many, many problems with the official state birds. And boy, there are a lot of problems.

Now you may wonder how the subject of state birds could possibly merit a 22-minute video, which is part of what makes it so delightful. About every 30 seconds you learn something that is both unimportant And enraged: that countless states share the same boring bird that a landlocked state has chosen seagullthat Canada is definitely teaching the US in bird identification. It’s also funny and light-hearted, with a gentle, humorous narration by the video’s creator, James Dalzell Hodge. All together it is a downright elegant soundtrack of minimalist piano covers that I won’t reveal, but that fit perfectly with the topics discussed.

YouTube as a medium has its faults, but where it undoubtedly excels is providing a platform for videos like ‘The State Birds are Garbage’. There aren’t many places you can post a twenty-minute video about your unique obsession without any expectations beyond that. And I think that is worthy of recognition.