Lindsay Ellis (born 1984/1985) is an American author,
film critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...
,
video essayist, and former
YouTuber
A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006.
Influence
Influe ...
. Her
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
, ''
Axiom's End'', published in July 2020, became a
''New York Times'' Best Seller.
Education and career
Ellis received her BA in Film Studies from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
in 2007 and MFA from
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
in 2011.
[ Along with her friends Elisa Hansen and Antonella "Nella" Inserra, she wrote ''Awoken'', a paranormal romance parody of '']Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...
'' about a woman falling in love with Cthulhu, under the alias Serra Elinsen. In 2010, she wrote and directed the documentary short film ''The A-Word'' about women's experience with abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
.
Nostalgia Chick (2008–2014)
From 2008 to 2014, while also studying for her MFA, Ellis was selected to host ''The Nostalgia Chick'' as part of the Channel Awesome
Channel Awesome, Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Channel Awesome operated the ''That Guy with the Glasses'' ...
production company, a web series based on the '' Nostalgia Critic. S''he went on to create over 100 videos as part of the series before leaving in 2014 to focus more on long-form video essays.
Video essays (2014–2021)
On her YouTube channel, Ellis frequently made videos about Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...
films. Other works include "The Whole Plate," a long-running series examining the ''Transformers'' film series and the work of Michael Bay which has received more than 4 million views, and a three-part series about the production of ''The Hobbit'' trilogy and its effect on the New Zealand film industry. Her ''Loose Canon'' series explores derivations of literary and film characters over time. Since 2017, her focus on her channel has been on video essays about films. Ellis says she most enjoys thinking about "things that are deeply flawed but have this really interesting potential." Her videos are created with a small team of part-time staff. In addition to covering film topics, she has also created videos on being a YouTube content creator.
Ellis also co-hosts the ''It's Lit!'' web series, alongside fellow YouTuber Princess Weekes, for PBS Digital Studios, which explores trends in American literature as a companion piece to ''The Great American Read'' on PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
itself.
The three-part documentary ''The Hobbit Duology'' (2018), which Ellis wrote and edited with Angelina Meehan, was a finalist for the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Related Work.
She was one of the founders of the Standard creator community along with Dave Wiskus, CGP Grey
CGP Grey is an American-Irish educational YouTuber, podcaster, and live streamer who creates short explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, sociology, history, and culture. In addition to video production, Gre ...
, Philipp Dettmer and many other creators. Through Standard, she has released most of her content on Standard's Nebula streaming video service, including an extended cut on Tom Hooper
Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker.
Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...
's ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
''. She releases content early on Patreon
Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
where she has over 9,000 patrons, making her one of the top 50 creators on the platform.
Throughout her career online, Ellis has been subject to multiple campaigns of online harassment
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially ...
. One such campaign occurred after she compared the film ''Raya and the Last Dragon
''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studio, it wa ...
'' to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
'' on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, which some perceived as a racist generalization of media featuring Asian people
Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...
. In a 2021 Patreon blog post titled "Walking away from Omelas" (an allusion to the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 work of short philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omelas, ...
" by Ursula K. Le Guin), she announced her retirement from YouTube and content creation, citing cancel culture and online harassment. In June 2022, Ellis resurfaced publicly at Vidcon where she discussed her life following her online retirement and the impact it had on her own mental health.
In October 2022, Ellis announced through her Patreon that, while she still intends to never return to YouTube, she will be releasing new content exclusively through Nebula, with her patrons getting free access as a Patreon perk.
''Noumena'' (2020–present)
In early 2020, Ellis co-founded '' MusicalSplaining'', a podcast in which she, accompanied by director and illustrator Kaveh Taherian, discussed a different musical every two weeks. It was included in ''O, The Oprah Magazine
''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications.
Overview
It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...
''s top 20 new podcasts of 2020.
In 2019, Ellis announced her debut novel, '' Axiom's End'', an alternate history set in 2007, planned as the first book in the '' Noumena'' series. It was published by St. Martin's Press on July 21, 2020, and entered ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list at number 7 on August 9, as well as appearing on the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' and ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' bestseller lists. Ellis was subsequently shortlisted for the "Astounding Award for Best New Writer
The ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous ...
", which is given out during the Hugo Award ceremonies. In July 2022, Ellis made a guest appearance on '' MusicalSplaining''. In October 2022, Ellis posted her first video essay in nearly one year on streaming platform Nebula, discussing the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. Ellis has since posted a subsequent video on that platform discussing the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''.
Personal life
Ellis grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Joh ...
. She is bisexual. , she and her husband live in Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
. In June 2022, it was revealed that she has a daughter.
Works
* ''Noumena'' series:
** '' Axiom's End'' (2020)
** ''Truth of the Divine'' (2021)
** Untitled third ''Axiom's End'' novel
Awards and nominations
See also
* List of LGBT YouTubers
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Lindsay
1980s births
Living people
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American women writers
American YouTubers
American feminists
American film critics
American LGBT novelists
American science fiction writers
American women podcasters
American podcasters
Bisexual feminists
Bisexual women
Channel Awesome
Commentary YouTubers
LGBT YouTubers
LGBT people from Tennessee
Patreon creators
PBS people
People from Johnson City, Tennessee
Pseudonymous women writers
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Victims of cyberbullying
Video essayists
American women film critics
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Writers from Tennessee
YouTube channels launched in 2013
YouTube critics and reviewers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people