Not sure if any of you are familiar with the "Pursuit of Jappiness" video made by three students at The University of Michigan, but I thought it was worthy of discussion. We've discussed in class how the media, mostly Youtube and Facebook, are outlets that people resort to--especially young adults and teenagers to achieve overnight fame or success. I think the boys who worked exceptionally hard on this video, who tried to depict what 'jewish' life or 'Greek Life' is like at the University of Michigan, may have taken their joke a bit too far.
Coming from someone who is Jewish and a member of Greek Life, I do find the video entertaining, but also quite offensive. I am surprised because it seems that these guys worked so hard on this video, but for what? What if some of the over 300,000 views this video has garnered isn't from a Jewish member of Greek Life at the University of Michigan or someone from a similar University? Do viewers actually understand the humor and seemingly innocuous jokes that these guys are trying to tell? I really don't know, but what I do hope is that this video does not haunt them in the future. Although it may be funny now, when applying for jobs and such, is a video like this really going to hurt them in the long run?
The question I am trying to answer is, how far is too far on 'youtube.com?' This site enables us to show the world our creative sides. However, what if our creativity is undermined or deemed inappropriate? Even worse, what if your hard work isn't valued the way you feel it should?
See how they responded to some of these questions.
Ah, the Pursuit of Jappiness video. I will admit that, like a lot of other people at Michigan, I find the video very entertaining. This could be because I know two of the kids who made the video decently well and know how hard they worked on it. To me, it's just really catchy and well done.
ReplyDeleteI think that you can answer the question "Do viewers actually understand the humor?" just by looking at the comments on the video. That's a great thing about Youtube and other new media sites-- they allow for interactivity between users, a lot of times through comments. Although a lot of the comments are positive and applaud the guys for really incorporating U of M into the video, a lot of people are offended and feel that the video takes stereotypes a little too far.
As far as haunting them in the future, I think that it will depend on what sort of career they are going into. I know that one of them wants to go into video production and, in that case, the video might actually be beneficial instead of detrimental. Despite its offenses, it is done incredibly well. But, you're certainly right saying that the video has the potential to hinder their careers.
Overall, I just find it so amazing that Youtube can launch people's careers so easily.
So I tried to write a post defending this video, saying that it was just poking fun at some commonly accepted stereotypes. I tried to say something along the lines of: "everyone who watches this already knows these things to be true," but in essence, isn't this just a stone's throw away from racism. Isn't that the same argument that people will use to defend their patently racist assaults on significant racial groups. We wouldn't call this video "racist" because the jewish-greek demographic is not a significant one.
ReplyDeleteIt's as simple as this: sydney was offended. and the average passerby will say something like: ease up its just a joke. But to deny someone their genuine reaction and hurt from a video is to demean them, that's not fair.
I think the central question is: "is this video offensive." And at first glance, I would say no. But isn't something offensive simply if it offends anyone. I was quick to say no because I wasn't offended, but I wasn't considering other people.
It would be surprising to see if this had any impact on these boys' futures. I doubt it will. If every person that posted an embarassing video on the internet didnt get hired, their wouldn't be a workforce. I also happen to know one of the guys in this video and he is one of the nicest people I know. They'll be fine.