Life in a Day (2010)

This documentary is a sweet little time capsule of the day July 24, 2010. The creators asked YouTube users to submit a video of what their life was like on that specific day. They were also to answer a few questions, like what do you love, what are you afraid of, etc. In response, they received 4,500 hours of video from 192 countries. This movie really is a product of the times, and it's actually pretty good.

The director organized the videos chronologically, beginning with videos taken in the early morning and ending with videos taken late at night. Participants either vlogged various activities or parts on their day in response to the various questions asked. Other than the ideological progression of the questions, there is no real plot to this film. There are no main characters, no objective, no statement to prove. It's simply a day in the life of the people who participated across the world. Some of the participants are focused on more than others. A handful of people from several different countries are given more than the couple of minutes of time it would take to answer a question, and through this we get some insight into these people's lives. The majority though is a series of short clips edited together.

For those who aren't familiar with  vlogging, it's basically the act of creating an online journal via film. Some people actually do this for a living and make daily vlogs of their everyday lives, unfortunately, not very many people are good at this. When I first heard of this film I thought it would be rather slow, maybe even boring, simply because of the fact that there are really only a handful of people who are good at this, enough so to make a full-time job out of it. A majority of the people who try to do this aren't very interesting to watch or listen to. For the first five minutes of this film I thought I was right.

However, the editing and organization of the clips that went into this film were really well done. One of the things that makes this form of film so effective is that it's real. Documentaries by nature deal in non-fiction, but this is something different. As I said in the beginning of this little blurb, it's more of a time capsule than it is a film. There's a real sense of connection with the people featured here and they're just trying to preserve the state their lives were in on July 24, 2010. They aren't actors, they're not trying to prove or discredit anything, there's no story here, no story other than the story of their day- to- day, run of the mill lives. They want so much to share these events with you that you can almost feel a connection with these people. Their laughter is real, as is their pain, as are their tears, and because of that you can empathize with them more easily than you could watching a story you know is false. You can actually watch this on YouTube for free. If you choose to do so, read some of the comments other viewers have made. Many of them were really touched by the stories these people wanted to share, and for me that's one of the best indicators of the reception this movie. Yes critics and film buffs can give their perspectives on it, but this movie was made by the people of YouTube, for the people of YouTube, and if the viewers there liked it, you can be sure it was a success.

That being said, it does transcend a YouTube audience. The wonderful everyday is celebrated in this film. You can truly appreciate how wonderful life is, and how heart-wrenching it can be. The humanity is glaringly apparent, and who doesn't like a little humanity every now and again?