by guest blogger Purple
A popular meme has been circulating the YouTube world. The meme follows the theme of “sh*t people say” and originated from the YouTube video titled, “Sh*t Girls Say”. Since the original video, the meme has taken off, as people from all walks of life continue to create their own videos and exhaust the list of things people say. The videos rely on stereotypes and personal experiences to create parodies of every day actions and encounters of different people. This YouTube trend of rapid expression of opinion demonstrates people’s comfortability using YouTube for freedom of speech. These parodies have connected people through laughter, dialogue, and common experience. What do you think?
Check out the video that started it all and then check out some of the others:
I think this series is actually a pretty nuanced critique of more covert, seemingly 'progressive' language of oppression. I've looked at a few of the "Shit X People Say" series and I think the "Shit Straight People Say to Gay People" and "Shit White People Say to Black People" did a really good job of revealing some of the bigotry inherent to the way that dominant groups speak to the Other. In many of the videos, the question posed by the white/straight/dominant person is intended to interrogate the identity of the black/queer/marginalized person in a way that only functions to further marginalize them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the videos do a great job illustrating how fetishized marginalized groups can become. For instance, in the Shit Straight People Say video the girl is constantly fetishizing/marginalizing her gay friend with comments about how "he's just one of the girls", etc. The Shit White People Say functioned similarly vis-a-vis fetishization of black women, hip-hop, etc.
While this could be a great exercise in dialogical user-generated material, however, I personally feel like these videos have served more for entertainment purposes rather than highlighting the oppressive nature of seemingly harmless stereotypes and everyday language.
ReplyDeleteIndividuals may point out the real-life experiences that are illustrated in these videos but will express or identify why we feel a dissatisfaction towards the language.
Another interesting aspect of these videos that warrants exploration is the representation of one's own identifying group as well as the representations presented of other groups. If we could observe subtle "performance" choices, rather than focus strictly on the messages, we might see how these representations can be oppressive to others or to the self.
I personally am not offended by the videos that are supposed to represent me. I find them humorous. All the videos I viewed were humorous to me, as they were intended. I don't view these videos as a demonstration of a language of oppression, but more so as a language of liberation.
ReplyDeleteI have ignored watching the videos since they have been out. I knew based on previously reading responses and comments, they are just silly and poking fun at the absurdity of stereotypes. I'm in my 40s and I find my patience for cheap entertainment via Youtube to be on the low tolerance side.
ReplyDeleteHaha
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