The fundamental essence of true crime is what sustains the attention and curiosity of millions of people. True crime stories have been explored for decades on end, and have captivated the attention of millions of people, where authors investigate and examine true crime stories, and attempt to illustrate such cases through films, books, and even podcasts. In recent years, YouTube has grown in popularity, with YouTubers addressing similar true crime cases through various forms of art. Bailey Sarian, a YouTuber that is particularly known for her murder mystery series on Youtube, in which she discusses true crime stories while applying makeup, and is well known to be the founder of the true-crime makeup genre on YouTube, which has gained recognition amongst other Youtubers who have imitated her style. This one-of-a-kind blend of art and crime extraction has gained the attraction of millions of viewers where she studies, researches, and discusses true crime cases, while applying the artistic form of makeup to maintain her audience’s engagement throughout the entirety of the video.
I have watched multiple of Bailey Sarian’s videos as I am a big fan of true crime videos as well as podcasts. I find that they are a great way to pass the time or is even great for multitasking as you can have it on in the background. Some people argue that these types of videos and this type of content is disrespectful to the victims and their loved ones because it is an odd way to spread awareness and knowledge about the case. These youtubers are doing their makeup or even eating in front of the camera while discussing a case which makes it all seem unserious. I can understand where these people are coming from. Although, I do appreciate the effort certain youtubers go through in order to leave out graphic details and to try to get all the facts of a case before making a video in order to be as respectful as possible.
One of the first true crime YouTubers that I began watching is Bailey Sarian. However, I would always listen to her videos instead of watching them. I would do this because I noticed that while she would be applying her makeup and breaking down the case, she would make facial expressions that clearly showed how she felt about the victims and the perpetrator. I didn’t like that I would be influenced by these facial expressions into believing what she thought was good or bad. In a way this can be insensitive to the victim and their family since sometimes not everything that is published online is accurate and can end up painting a false story of someone or something. However, I did enjoy how Bailey would link her references and kept everything she said credible. I just think shedding light on the victims is best done through auditory presentation because we can quickly be distracted by something we are looking at and portray our thoughts on what we hear based on what we see.
One of the first true crime YouTubers that I began watching is Bailey Sarian. However, I would always listen instead to her videos instead of watching them. I would do this because I noticed that while she would be applying her makeup and breaking down the case, she would make facial expressions that clearly showed how she felt about the victims and the perpetrator. I didn’t like that I would be influenced by these facial expressions into believing what she thought was good or bad. In a way this be insensitive to the victim and their family since sometimes not everything that is published online is accurate and can end up painting a false story of someone or something. However, I did enjoy how Bailey would link her references and kept everything she said credible. I just think shedding light on the victims is best done through auditory presentation because we can quickly be distracted by something we are looking at and portray our thoughts on what we hear based on what we see.
I have seen such a large boom in true crime makeup videos in the past couple of years and I’ve never really known how to think about it. On one hand, if people are interested in true crime, there’s nothing stopping them from going on the internet and learning about it, so what difference is learning about it from an article, or learning about it through a youtube video? On the other hand, the more recent the crime was, the more insensitive it seems. I’m sure someone is mourning in most of these crime stories, so making it seem so casual, as in talking about a gruesome murder as you give a makeup tutorial, is kind of insane to me.