Screenshots via YouTube
The vlog starts with him and his family in a car, where he discusses the agenda for today: they are going to prank his father by posing as his own fan and giving him a gift. The bulk of the video captures views of the passing horizon and their short banter during their time on the road.The tone is jovial and a little sentimental. โFather, the son you love very much is near,โ says one of the title cards in Filipino.Six and a half minutes in, the tone abruptly shifts and the camera cuts to the vlogger crying hysterically in front of a hospital bed. It appears that his father passed shortly before his arrival. Somebody else is now holding the camera.Filipino YouTuber Keith Talensโ vlog entitled โ SURPRISING DAD ON FATHERโS DAY (SADDEST DAY OF MY LIFE)โ then follows Talens from a distance as other family members crowd around him. The video, uploaded on June 15, has now amassed more than 3 million views to date.Based on the initial reactions to the video, the majority of the vloggerโs audience are sympathetic and have offered condolences.
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However, some are questioning his motive in publishing the video given its disconcerting content, and were bothered that the video was intentionally edited, published, and possibly monetized.
In a follow-up video entitled โANO BA NANGYARI SA DADE KOโ (What happened to my father), Talens defends himself from critics. โIโm not the kind of person who would create a vlog about his father knowing his fatherโs dead,โ he said in Filipino. โAnd to fake all of it? I donโt even think I could blog anymore.โ This video, uploaded a day after the first one, is nearing 1.5 million views as of publication time.YouTubeโs content policy generally disallows any graphic or gory content - the video doesn't violate any of its guidelines, although viewers do catch a glimpse of the father's body.The issue for disgruntled viewers was never about its graphic nature however, but whether it was uploaded in bad taste. Is vlogging a healthy form of grief? Or has the pull of online hits overtaken good judgment? Where do we draw the line?