Canadian milk made me do it
Answer in progress" reveals the secret to meaningful content
YT short of the week #011
Hello friend 👋
After watching a YouTube short with an epic saga about milk packaging, I have permission to make anything interesting.
I remember reading a Thom Yorke interview talking about VICE, the movie.
(I'm paraphrasing here)
Thom: "When I watched it, I thought:
'Wait, are you allowed to do movies like that?'"
Boy, isn't that the ultimate compliment?
The image of a modern music hero pointing at the screen, looking at you, and asking:
"Hold on. Can I do THAT?"
It warms my heart.
So yes, this one is about permissions.
Because we all give, revoke, and collect permissions.
Here is how to make your own.
4.6M views // 268K likes // 5.7K comments // 58 seconds // 219 words
Story beats
1. Make the ordinary intriguing
"This milk is in a bag."
These 3 shapes can help you draw 95% of the observable universe.
2. Historical flashback
"Back in the 60s, it landed on shelves beside the usual containers."
I've spent my life thinking I can't draw for sh*t.
But after watching “Rita med Will” (a Swedish art show for kids), I learned that you can break down anything into elemental shapes.
3. An inciting incident
"It was only in the 70s when Canada began to switch to the metric system, which is when bagged milk really got its grip on the market."
I've been drawing a lot lately.
The inciting incident was working as a Montessori English Teacher in Beijing.
To be paid to sing, read, and draw with kids was to have access to "make-don't-think-land".
4. Practical benefits
"Dairy producers found that milk bags were way easier to adapt than other options."
On my first week, Miao-Miao walked next to me carrying a sculpture and I asked her:
"Hey Miao Miao, what's that?"
She rolled her eyes and said:
"I don't know, Matias. I haven't asked it yet."
Then she hopped off.
That was in 2015 and I still think of that moment.
5. Sensory details
"You just take your bag, grab a jug that you could buy at the grocery store, and then you get some scissors or there's some customized tools. You grab the corner and snip."
Permissions are given or taken. And that's the beauty of YouTube Shorts like "Why Canadians drink bagged milk".
I watched and, like Thom Yorke, I pointed at my phone dumb-faced and asked:
"wait, are you allowed to do THAT?"
"4.6 million people are interested in the history of milk packaging?"
6. Tidy resolution
"Eventually, metrication eased up, so bagged milk is only available in a few parts of the country due to lingering regulations and consumer demand."
I grew up in a time and place where drawing was for the talented. I wasn't. So I didn't draw.
Sad violin. Roll the credits.
I lost permission to draw thinking I had to be good.
Then I regained it working with kids.
Rewind the credits. The film ain't finished.
7. Cheeky sign-off
"So now you know why."
So now I need to convince Thom Yorke to put one of my drawings on one of his album covers.
Look, we're entering an era where anyone can create beautiful things by typing prompts in a text box.
There's no one stopping you from printing, writing, or drawing your permits.
Because you don't need one.
Storytelling lets you share what tickles your fancy because EVERYTHING'S FASCINATING. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Go find the "bagged milk" you want to talk about and share with the world. Go wild.
The "Bagged Milk" recipe:
1. Make the ordinary intriguing
2. Historical flashback
3. An inciting incident
4. Practical benefits
5. Sensory details
6. A tidy resolution
7. A cheeky sign-off
See you next week 🫶
Matias Ruiz-Tagle
Founder of Atomic Stories