Sometimes, scrolling through shorts on YouTube can provide a bit of content whiplash. In one video, someone’s explaining the geopolitical problems of some country that’s halfway around the world. A single swipe later, you’re watching a bunch of guys half-buried in the sand singing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”
That latter video comes courtesy of The Johnson Brothers.
The channel, run by Amos, Isaiah and Sam Johnson, delivers funny videos featuring a variety of ridiculous plots and satirical nods. The three guys are often joined by a number of male friends collectively known as “The Boys.”
The channel primarily uploads short-form videos, though viewers will also find a handful of 10-minute comedy sketches. Regardless of the format, the topics remain generally the same: In many, The Boys mimic the movements and stylization of some video games. In others, they satirize relatable moments that many a male friend group has experienced.
And they often end in over-the-top fight scenes, filled with lightsabers, zombies or Hobbits.
The channel’s content is certainly original, and it’s also clever and funny. Though the moments are taken to an extreme, viewers will get a kick out of the many ridiculous situations in these videos. As far as channels based purely on entertaining their audience go, The Johnson Brothers succeeds more often than it fails.
And though the channel ultimately seeks to entertain, viewers can still glean some small positive messages from certain videos: One warns about phone addiction; another focuses on cheering up people who feel down.
All the videos promote a general feeling of camaraderie among the guys here; the channel offers a positive portrait of male friendship to boys and young men. And it’s clear that the men on the channel are great friends.
While not explicitly Christian, The Johnson Brothers occasionally post pro-Christian content: a few shorts depict Bible studies or convincing a friend to read the Bible; otherwise, many of the actors wear crosses or shirts promoting the Christian faith.
While many videos take things to an extreme, the content itself doesn’t tend to cross the line. Though some videos include scenes where fictional characters die (stabbed by lightsabers, bitten by zombies, shot, etc.), we don’t see blood or gore in these moments. Still, a couple of these moments may be too intense for younger viewers, such a video where the brothers play a life-or-death game of hide and seek, or when someone gets kidnapped.
The Boys often run around shirtless on the beach or in other situations. In one short, we briefly see a few men wearing adult diapers charging at the cameraman.
The Johnson Brothers captures the pure fun of a healthy male friend group, and I think any guy who has experienced anything similar to their antics will feel right at home here. While the channel focuses on trying to garner laughs, it doesn’t stray into excessive content concerns to earn those laughs, leaving The Johnson Brothers a relatively clean watch.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
