An exclusive interview with a YouTube commenter.
I decided to interview the YouTube user that left the top-rated memento mori comment on the Lana Del Rey video that I pointed out on Friday.
The commenter is a Dutch teenager. I wrote her an introductory email, asking if she’d mind being interviewed, and she happily agreed. “But don’t expect too much from it,” she warned. ”I don’t know that much. The only thing I have is my opinion.”
That’s great, I told her. That’s perfect.
Her answers are edited slightly for grammar and clarity.
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Do you recall what the top comment was before yours?
No. But sometimes someone writes a top comment which I like, or which is really different than others. That stays with me. Even if it is on top, it is just there for, like, one day or something. Maybe two.
Regarding your comment: what do you think made you think of death?
I think when my aunt died. That was two weeks ago.
Do you think of yourself as a morbid person?
No, I’m not a morbid person. However, I can feel sometimes really numb because I’m just a human. I mean — like, I don’t know, in two million years, all humans are extinct. And where are you then? Or are you really like away when you die? Haven’t you got a soul or something?
A few other commenters took you to task for thinking about these things. Do you think people today are uncomfortable thinking about death as a part of life?
Yes. It’s a really strange and crazy idea that you’re, at once, away. You’re gone. And I think that we humans can’t imagine that. I think that people have a religion for that reason. They want an explanation for everything.
How do you think Lana Del Rey will be remembered in fifty years?
I don’t think she’ll be remembered by that many people.
Postscript: A day after this exchange, her original comment was no longer the top comment. It had been replaced by one from another user, dismissively telling her to “stop being so arrogant and just enjoy your life with your friends and family while it lasts.” Her reply: “You don’t understand what I mean, I think. I meant to say that life is so short, and just like with top comments, for a very short time you’re liked by so many people, and then, at once, you’re not there anymore … and no one knows you anymore…”
