What: A parody of every uplifting video from NowThis News.
Who: Comedy writer and video wizard Jesse McLaren.
Why we care: A lot of news stories intended to be inspirational end up merely inspiring viewers to roll their eyes. There’s only so many times one’s faith in humanity can be restored before all that uplifting content slides off your heart like water off the back of a duck saved by a hero whiz kid who constructed a biodegradable brace to fix its broken wing. Although the video-based platform NowThis News covers a broad range of stories from politics to pop culture, it also features its fair share of inspirational content as well.
These stories tend to follow a formula, and comedy video master Jesse McLaren has cracked the code.
In a video McLaren released on Tuesday, ostensibly from a platform called ThenThat, the stirring music, everyday hero story beats, and sensationalizing sentimentality are all present and accounted for. Rather than a mean-spirited takedown, it’s exactly the kind of gentle, if dead-on, parody that NowThis itself might aspire to if the company entered the comedy space. And as you’ll see, the commentary is spot on for this polarized time of the pandemic.
Have a look below.
Wow, this is actually inspiring. pic.twitter.com/nWpwTlbY0Q
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 1, 2020
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