Defunctland: The New Standard for YouTube Documentaries

Defunctland is a YouTube-based web series that documents the rise and fall of theme parks, attractions, and more. The channel was started by Kevin Perjurer in 2017 and is organized into seasons and minisodes. He originally started the series because of his love for defunct theme park rides and combined it with his passion for creating documentaries. Each episode of Defunctland is like its own mini-documentary, but they all connect in theme to their season. Season 1 ran from February to December 2017 and was mainly focused on building a VR park, with episodes on the history of pretzel dark rides and Action Park. Season 2 ran from February 2018 to March 2019 and was heavily geared toward detailing Michael Eisner's history with the Walt Disney Company. Season 3 began in October 2019 and is still ongoing, focusing on futurism. The minisodes do not generally fit into the themes of the seasons, which is why they are released separately. These minisodes often relate to products and ideas, rather than parks and attractions, like the Handwich. Perjurer also created a few spinoffs, Debunkedland and DefunctTV, for more content that does not fit the scope of Defunctland but still interests him. The channel currently has four feature-length documentaries, one released each year between 2020 and 2023, with more on the way.

The casual channel viewer may not realize that some episodes take months—even years!—to create. For example, the Fast Pass episode, one of the feature-length documentaries, was only meant to be 20 minutes long. Still, Perjurer took about four months to complete it before finally releasing the 102-minute episode. Perjurer thoroughly researches every topic he presents, sometimes crowd-sourcing from his fanbase to find primary sources. Though he is the only full-time producer on the show, he often collaborates with others for writing and research. Many fans also notice the cinematic effects present in some episodes and are in awe of the production value. Most people do not know that Perjurer creates the effects himself and frequently documents the progress on the Defunctland X (formerly Twitter) page.

  

The time and care Perjurer puts into each episode is clear to see upon watching. Perjurer calls himself a perfectionist and thinks of everything possible to improve his documentaries. He also notes that he hates every part of the filmmaking process, but the only thing that he hates more than making a film is not making a film. Though this may seem confusing, it is actually pretty common in creatives. The actual act of creating can be challenging, but the satisfaction of the creation is far more valuable than not creating it at all. Another creative that has this sentiment is musician Nick Cave. He calls the creative process 'demeaning,' but once he is actually recording something in the studio, he finds pleasure in it.

Again, one of the most notable things that sets Defunctland apart from other web series is the sheer level of production value. The channel's setup almost mimics a true TV series, with seasons, episodes, and spinoffs. The feature-length documentaries act as individual films connected to the series. Perjurer himself calls Defunctland 'television.' However, the series is unique in that someone can watch an episode alone and enjoy it, while someone else will develop an appreciation for the interconnectedness as they watch the series in order. Perjurer also does not have a template for creating his episodes, so Defunctland does not follow any consistent format. Still, Defunctland’s episodes have a level of production that rivals other high-production documentaries despite being independently produced and not hidden behind a paywall. This sort of thing has not really been seen in documentary-style YouTube channels before Defunctland; however, the success of Defunctland has expanded the documentary scene on YouTube, with others striving to create the level of content that Perjurer has introduced.

If anyone is interested in watching an episode—or two!—of Defunctland (and DefunctTV), here are some of my favorites:

Disney's FastPass: A Complicated History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjZpBq1XBE

Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_rjBWmc1iQ

Defunctland: The History of Action Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flkW-ceNvck

Defunctland: The Bizarre Garfield Dark Ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK3Yr80lPOY

Defunctland: The Failure of Disney's Arcade Chain, DisneyQuest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZQGtnEL2xs

DefunctTV: The History of Zoboomafoo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USIVXo5R46Q

DefunctTV: The History of Bear in the Big Blue House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw-gXhcYW0

Sources:

https://www.numlock.com/p/numlock-sunday-kevin-perjurer-talks

https://twitter.com/kevinperjurer?lang=en

https://twitter.com/Defunctland?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/09/09/youtubes-defunctland-chronicles-the-history-of-amusement-parks/?sh=1c262af65758

https://orlandovoyager.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-kevin-perjurer/#:~:text=I%20grew%20up%20in%20Kansas,theme%20parks%20stayed%20with%20me.