Part I
Digital tools and platforms allow us to challenge a wide array of issues found in social media tools, platforms and the ways in which we use them in a creative method that is appealing to viewers (McIntosh, 2012). Using the digital media of videography to capture the audience also makes the message engaging to the audience. By reediting television, movies and news media for relaying the desired message allows the creator to use the audiences previous pop culture knowledge to attract their attention. Usually the content that is manipulated adds some context, humor or irony to the message being relay, like Todd Graham’s Apocalypse Pooh which uses Disney’s Winnie the Pooh as characters for the movie Apocalypse Now which is set during the Vietnam War (McIntosh, 2012). By using a Disney movie as well-known as Disney the Pooh it allows for the message to be understood by a large audience. It also gives a sense of innocence to the characters that creates sympathy in the viewer towards the Vietnamese War that might not have occurred if they used alternate subject material for their remixed video.
By using popular culture references, the audience is able to understand and identify with the creators outlook and think critically about what they have been presented with. For example, Laura Shapiro’s Wouldn’t It Be Nice? uses a wide variety of popular movies and TV shows with famous same-sex pairings, including the famous stipulation around Spock and Kirk in Star Trek, coupled with the song ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ by the Beach Boys as a demand for more gay characters in mass media (McIntosh, 2012). Shapiro’s use of a short film to critique the movies industry’s lack of portraying same-sex couples shows that a medium can be used to critique itself. Bryan Boyce’s Special Report uses leading broadcasters combined with sci-fi and horror movies to deliver a special report of the impending doom they are going to inflict on us (McIntosh, 2012). This brings the question of the media truth-fullness and their focus on only portraying the negative things that are going on in society. By using the reports themselves to relay this message of terror, it really makes us question their messages and dedication to the truth.
Different platforms allow us to share our message in different formats and can even alter the meaning of our message. YouTube focuses on video content and by using a video on YouTube rather than a blog allows the message to hit a larger audience. I find this to be the case with political videos, as many are not willing to sit down and read a blog or article on political debates and positions as they find them to be dry, but a quick video requires less time and dedication so that these issues can be realized by more individuals. For example, Steven Marshall’s S-11 Redux: (Channel) Surfing the Apocalypse released in 2002 by the Guerrill New Network challenges the USA government’s war on terror (McIntosh, 2012). While one of the longer remix videos at ten minutes in length, it mockingly brings to light the United States exaggeration of the terror they are facing from Osama Bin Laden and their justifications for war, demanding that we learn to bury our animosities to break the cycle of violence and revenge.
These tools and platforms also allow us to increase the speed of transmission as well as the number of people reached. The Black Lantern’s George Bush Don’t Like Black People, based on Kanye West’s statements about George Bush’s prejudice towards black people, went viral within 48 hours of it being uploaded with so many viewers that he exceeded his bandwidth (McIntosh, 2012). This would not have been possible without the internet to facilitate it. They can also provide a level of anonymity and can be cost effective, as was the case with St01en’s Lord of the Rings of Free Trade which was originally uploaded to Indymedia (McIntosh, 2012).
Part II
- Selfie by the Chainsmokers
This music video is a parody of the youth of today who spend all of their time on social media websites and are constantly posting pictures of themselves, called ‘selfies’. In the video, they utilize a number of selfies, many of which are humorous, to drive the point home on just how absurd the obsession with taking selfies really is. The narrative makes the statement, “But first, let me take a selfie” numerous times which criticizes how so many people postpone reality so that they can photograph themselves for their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profiles. The video also criticizes the aspect of the bathroom mirror selfie by showing the main narrative of the video in the washroom of a bar. This video was popular among my Facebook friends, which I thought to be ironic as it makes fun of practice that is really common among them and those among them who took the most selfies seemed to be the main audience.
- #Hashtag with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake by The Late Night Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
This video depicts Jimmy Fallon, host of the Late Night Show, and Justin Timberlake having a complete conversation in hashtags, a metadata tag on Twitter that allows comments to be grouped. This video uses the language of Twitter to criticize the amount of short forms, abbreviations and slang that is commonly used on social media websites. By using common hashtags and pop culture references he uses the language of Twitter to subliminally criticize the language of Twitter. The fact that they say the hashtags aloud in a conversation, rather than simply showing them on a computer screen, really emphasizes the ridiculousness of it all, especially when a single thought is accompanied by a plethora of hashtags.
- I Dare You To Watch This Entire Video by Collegehumor
This video is simple in nature, having only one person featured for the entire duration. In the video he criticizes how many people have lost the ability to focus for any period of time, such as the three minute duration of the video. To make his point he dares the audience to not to skip ahead, pause, or leave it on in the background. Many people flip through YouTube videos because they cannot sit through an entire video or get distracted. His form of critique is effective because he is explicitly talking about people’s inability to watch a video in a video. He also challenges the audience to make a change, become engrossed in a book or venture out and experience the world. By filming this critique on our use of YouTube and inability to watch a full video all the way through as a boring YouTube video really helps to prove his point, especially the 10 seconds of silence.
- Google Is Full of Crap by Collegehumor
This video is a parody on the Google concept videos that have been released for products they’re working on, such as Google Glass or the automated, driver-less, hands free car. The video depicts a Google employee taking us around Google and showing us humorous prototypes of not yet released products that are supposed to generate excitement in the consumer with the promise to make our fantasies a reality. They criticize Google’s release of numerous concept videos when they have not yet actually released, or even finished engineering these products. By filming their critique in the same method as a concept video it is much more entertaining for the viewer and helps to establish their message.
- Honest University Commercial By Nigahiga
This video critiques commercials of post-secondary institutions that depict the school as being the best way to make a positive life change and promote their school as being more successful than others. The video relays the message in the form of a university advertisement that would be a more honest depiction of a college campus that doesn’t only tell you about the good qualities of post-secondary education, but also the frustrating side, such being stressed, having to work two jobs to pay fees and not being guaranteed a job upon graduation. They are openly challenging the methods of colleges in their advertising methods by reproducing a similar advertisement. By choosing to relay their message through the format of a university ad really pinpoints the weaknesses of televised university advertisements while maintaining your attention.
- Tinderella by Collegehumor
This video depicts two people using Tinder, a smartphone dating app that matches people based on their attraction to each other. This video mimics the story of Cinderella, a well-known fairy tale, and portrays Cinderella and her prince charming meeting on this popular dating app. By injecting Tinder into the story of Cinderella they definitely have an emphasis to the message they are relaying to the audience. This video is a criticism of the the lack of personality and romance in modern day dating, especially through the use of phone apps and websites. By showing the typical scenario of a Tinder ‘date’ they really drive the point home much more effectively than if they had taken the approach of I Dare You To Watch This Entire Video with one person narrating the pitfalls of Tinder.
In conclusion, these six videos confirm the fact that we have the ability to critique digital tools, platforms and the behaviors associated by using the actual tool or platform itself. This can be done either by using the tool/platform in the video itself, as is the case with Tinderella and Honest College Ad, or by using the tool/platform as a means of distribution for the video to reach an audience that is familiar with the topic being discussed, like in I Dare You To Watch This Entire Video where he uses YouTube to distribute his video critiquing users who cannot sit through an entire YouTube video. By using the tool/platform in its own critique helps to firmly establish the message being relayed in a way that is easily understandable by the audience as well as adding entertainment value to the argument.
McIntosh, Jonathan. “A History of Subversive Remix Video Before YouTube: Thirty Political Video Mashups Made Between World War II and 2005.” Transformative Works and Culture. 9 (2012). http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/371/299
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