Not at All a Gift From the Interwebs
Personally, I wouldn’t call these viral videos “A Gift from the Interwebs.” In fact, I find them to be the exact opposite. Where in the responses and covers, interpretations and criticisms did people actually address the real issue at hand? Did anyone take the Five Guy’s food review seriously and decide that maybe they should try the seemingly delicious burger and fries out? Did the residents of North Dakota flock to the highly praised new establishment to try the signature endless salad and breadsticks? Did the residents of Lincoln Park and viewers of the news actively search for the criminal who endangered the well being of Antoine Dodson’s sister? Absolutely not. In every single one of these examples, the Internet was responsible for completely diminishing the original purpose of the review, news story, and blog post.
The media exists to entertain. There is nothing wrong with that. However, when a ‘meme’ completely eliminates and almost dismisses something as serious as rape, I can’t help but feel angry. When did spending time on one’s computer trying to figure out how to change someone else’s voice, add a song to it, and maybe a few funny captions trump the seriousness of the issue at hand? I think these videos are just another way to demonstrate how far gone the values that we hold as human beings are. It stunned me to read that people responded negatively to little old Marilyn Hagerty’s blog post on Olive Garden. Again, people lost sight of what the intent of the post was about. All she did was comment on how great this new Olive Garden was. Of course people have to find something negative to say and penalize her for being excited. Who cares! Leave the lady alone! She’s thrilled to have her salad and breadsticks and Fettuccine Alfredo so let her be! Why is it such a concern to other people that she lives in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere America? It shouldn’t be. But again we see the responses deviating from what they should be focused on.
The misrepresentation of the African American community also bothered me to no avail. We all know that stereotypes exist out there. Not only for the African American community, but just about every ethnic group in the world. The creation of these memes, especially in response to the Five Guys burger review and the Antoine Dodson news report seemed to me more cruel than funny. Sure, when we first see them we chuckle here and there, but what do these videos say about us as a culture? About the way we’re portraying and in turn interpreting people of these ethnic groups? I know for sure they’re not helping our nation in a positive manner. Racism still exists, and for decades we have tried to rid our country of ignorant ideas and misperceptions but the creation and horrifying popularity of these videos makes it seem like we’re taking two steps backward instead of progressive steps forward.
Videos, memes, blog posts and all other entities on the Web can shed a positive or negative light on the society in which it originates. Sadly, I think these “Gifts from the Interwebs” make us look like insensitive, cruel, and in some cases ignorant individuals.
One response so far
I completely agree with your opinion! I made a similar argument in my blog about the skewed focus of these seemingly unimportant articles/critics. The post was very enjoyable to read since the anger you have toward the issue is so apparent.