In defense of the state flags

The U.S. state flags have been unfairly maligned, and "Good Flag, Bad Flag" has been unjustifiably praised.

Every time a state or city in the U.S. sets up a flag redesign committee, the members of that committee are given a copy of the pamphlet "Good Flag, Bad Flag" by Ted Kaye and directed to judge submissions according to its guidelines. There is, though, nothing scientific in that pamphlet's five principles, and some of the information it presents is factually inaccurate.

To learn more about Civil War regimental flags:

0:00 The flag redesign movement
0:59 Origin of the classic state flag design
7:25 CGP Grey
7:45 Illinois
10:02 New Jersey
11:47 South Carolina
19:38 "Good Flag, Bad Flag"
20:34 "1. Keep It Simple"
21:33 The state flags are easy to distinguish
25:05 Complex flags are not harder to recognize
27:42 Complex flags do not cost more
30:33 Reversible flags
33:57 Turkmenistan
38:10 "2. Use Meaningful Symbolism"
39:31 Navajo Nation
43:03 "3. Use 2–3 Basic Colors"
44:38 Virginia
49:03 "4. No Lettering or Seals"
49:17 States that put their name on their flag
58:39 Not all text is bad, though
1:04:33 Lettering is not hard to sew
1:05:53 Flag lapel pins
1:09:40 Seals on flags
1:11:26 "5. Be Distinctive or Be Related"
1:11:43 Indonesia
1:16:46 Exceptions to the 5 Principles
1:22:47 "Test Yourself"
1:28:21 What's the point of this pamphlet?
1:29:02 In defense of an older aesthetic
1:31:58 Conclusion

[khurultai]

most aggressive Premodernist video we've seen yet

[matterwiz]

I like how this is the video equivalent of a strongly worded letter

[pointlesscine]

This is the YouTube nerd beef I needed in my life

[EngineerLume]

I do think it's funny how almost every "Why is this thing on the flag?" can be answered with either "The Civil War" or "The Revolutionary War"

[herzogsbuick]

"i tried reading your article, but many of the words were similar in length and used the same letters. i couldn't tell them apart."

[brycew]

Something I’m realizing is how much I appreciate you adding photo and video of these flags waving and in use. I found it much easier to appreciate the more ‘complicated’ flags when I wasn’t staring closely at a sterile PNG.

[kadmii]

"they do shading, you know, cause it's art"

subtle shade there

[prismarinium]

I haven't noticed before but the effort you've put into the subtitles is seriously impressive, your using parenthesis and everything over here. Its a small thing but it really shows how much thought you put into these videos.

[themilkssiah]

The "Any child should be able to draw this from memory" brings my Canadian heart pain. It's a fairly simple design yet I do not know a single adult Canadian who can draw a proper maple leaf

[PoIapopo]

The Canadian flag with the word MONTANA on it was the funniest thing I've ever seen

[SuMmErWaVer]

90 minutes of "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed". I love it 😂

[devin]

it's literally called a *palm*etto- little palm tree

[newtonpritchett]

“In Defense of the State Flags”

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense

[fairycat]

The real reason Ted Kay said Maryland has a good flag despite it all is because he clearly knows people who insult our flag tend to end up at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay.

[nullus]

"Good Flag, Bad Flag" is the second-worst thing a guy named Ted K. has mailed out to people.

[julia.carino]

Brb going to start calling everything a “stunning graphic element”

[senoraxolotl]

I came for a gentle argument for state flags, I stayed for the dismantling of vexillological principles

[ejecting]

Funny: When you removed the rugs from the Turkmenistani flag, I would've confused it with Pakistan — especially some of the older designs that had a boatload of stars. So much for "distinctiveness" ...

[elideaver]

literally no other video about the state flags I've seen has mentioned regimental colors; in the first 3 minutes this fact moves a bland, lazy design, copy pasted by politicians, into a real symbol, with the same dignity as the national style state flags.

11/10 video, will recommend in person to anyone who even remotely mentions an associated topic.

edit: cgp grey's family is from south Carolina, so the palmetto thing may be a personal vendetta

[nietoattacks]

Virgin minimalist design v.s Chad aristocratic family crest with 50 graphical elements each drenched in symbolism