Everyday or traditional activities filmed staged or made to be posted on YouTube? by Bree Serna
NOTES: Origins and Context | See Also
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Origins of this content
This texteo was made by Bree Serna as her final for 2010 LFYT.
Contextualization
Matt was an average working man who quit his job and decided to use the rest of his money to travel around Asia. His friend gave him the idea to dance "his dance" (the only dance moves he's ever used) in a crowded street and he would record it. It was posted online and passed along and quickly became well known. Stride Gum then picked up the video and sponsored Matt to travel around the world and do "his dance" in every city he went to. The trip lasted 6 months (39 countries, 7 continents). This happened not only in 2006 but Stride also sponsored another trip for him in 2007 to go around the world to video him dancing with the people that emailed him to give them a chance to dance in the video, incorporating his same dance moves.
"This might not be an interesting life but it's showing you an aspect of my life."
-rrichie1990 (YouTube user)
One common theme in some of the most viewed YouTube videos and even those with an insignificant amount of viewers is the element of humor with a human connection through real life activities such as David visiting the dentist or a new hip entertaining way of walking down a wedding isle. In this way it as though YouTube has taken America's Funniest Home Videos to the next level. Where rather than sending in their videos to a television show they can simply shoot it with a digital camcorder and upload it with the click of a mouse. The comments and amount of views the video gets is the determining factor as to how funny or entertaining the video is.
Aside from the possibility of being a YouTube star the appeal for amateurs to make videos of themselves putting a twist on every day life for entertainment purposes is so popular because the viewers can identify and relate to the images being presented in front of them. Based on the increased popularity of reality television shows like Jersey Shore or Bridezilla for example, it shows that the general population enjoys the authenticity (or rather lack there of) in the reactions and actions of the individuals in the show or video. Though in large part the audience knows it is staged they choose to indulge because they relic in this more exciting and entertaining version of their lives.
Even what is going on in the video is not that exciting people like to watch it because the person in front of the camera is sharing a part of themselves. This is especially true of vlogs and other talking-head amateur videos. The "realness" of these videos however has been compromised in scandals like the lonelygirl15 vblogs.
Though YouTube videos are not exactly a reality T.V. show they share several common characteristics. Those being the lower costs of filming " real life," the abundance of individuals willing to get a shot at being in the lime-light even if only for a split second, the high turnover of people being in these reality television shows and YouTube videos reaching some sort of celebrity, and as of more recently in relation to YouTube all the Advertisement, marketing, and opportunities that come between videos or scenes. It seems as though filming everyday life to be broadcasted on a mass scale is a win-win situation for all parties involved considering at the end of the day all anyone cares about is financial gain or when speaking of YouTubers the small possibility of gaining financially from YouTube. The only risk in projecting these false senses of reality being our society losing touch with what is really real.
-rrichie1990 (YouTube user)
One common theme in some of the most viewed YouTube videos and even those with an insignificant amount of viewers is the element of humor with a human connection through real life activities such as David visiting the dentist or a new hip entertaining way of walking down a wedding isle. In this way it as though YouTube has taken America's Funniest Home Videos to the next level. Where rather than sending in their videos to a television show they can simply shoot it with a digital camcorder and upload it with the click of a mouse. The comments and amount of views the video gets is the determining factor as to how funny or entertaining the video is.
Aside from the possibility of being a YouTube star the appeal for amateurs to make videos of themselves putting a twist on every day life for entertainment purposes is so popular because the viewers can identify and relate to the images being presented in front of them. Based on the increased popularity of reality television shows like Jersey Shore or Bridezilla for example, it shows that the general population enjoys the authenticity (or rather lack there of) in the reactions and actions of the individuals in the show or video. Though in large part the audience knows it is staged they choose to indulge because they relic in this more exciting and entertaining version of their lives.
Even what is going on in the video is not that exciting people like to watch it because the person in front of the camera is sharing a part of themselves. This is especially true of vlogs and other talking-head amateur videos. The "realness" of these videos however has been compromised in scandals like the lonelygirl15 vblogs.
Though YouTube videos are not exactly a reality T.V. show they share several common characteristics. Those being the lower costs of filming " real life," the abundance of individuals willing to get a shot at being in the lime-light even if only for a split second, the high turnover of people being in these reality television shows and YouTube videos reaching some sort of celebrity, and as of more recently in relation to YouTube all the Advertisement, marketing, and opportunities that come between videos or scenes. It seems as though filming everyday life to be broadcasted on a mass scale is a win-win situation for all parties involved considering at the end of the day all anyone cares about is financial gain or when speaking of YouTubers the small possibility of gaining financially from YouTube. The only risk in projecting these false senses of reality being our society losing touch with what is really real.
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