Dr. Strangelove’s most recent book from the University of Toronto Press is Watching YouTube: Extraordinary Videos by Ordinary People.
Watching YouTube is on sale now for a mere $20 at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.
Watching YouTube is reviewed by Jenefer Curtis in the Globe and Mail, Geoff Pevere in The Literary Review of Canada, and Cecilia Guida at Video Vortex.
Strangelove’s last book, The Empire of Mind: Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement, was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award in non-fiction (2006).
More reviews and Strangelove books.
Scroll down for a complete Subject, Video, and Name index.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Home Movies in a Global Village
2. The Home and Family on YouTube
3. Video Diaries: The Real You in YouTube
4. Women of the ‘Tube
5. The YouTube Community
6. The YouTube Wars: Elections, Religion, and Armed Conflict
7. The Post-television Audience
Conclusion
Catalogue Copy
Watching YouTube: Extraordinary Videos by Ordinary People
Michael Strangelove
In Watching YouTube, Michael Strangelove provides a broad overview of the world of amateur online videos and the people who make them. Dr. Strangelove, the Governor General Literary Award-nominated author that Wired Magazine called a ‘guru of Internet advertising,’ describes how online digital video is both similar to and different from traditional home-movie-making and argues that we are moving into a post-television era characterized by mass participation.
Strangelove draws from television, film, cultural, and media studies to help define an entirely new field of research. Online practices of representation, confessional video diaries, and debates over elections, religion, and armed conflicts make up the bulk of this groundbreaking study, which is supplemented by an online blog at Strangelove.com/blog. An innovative and timely study, Watching YouTube raises questions about the future of cultural memory, identity, politics, warfare, and family life when everyday representational practices are altered by four billion cameras in the hands of ordinary people.
Michael Strangelove is an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa.
Subject Index
ABC, 183
Abu Ghraib, 153, 154
activism: fat, 94, 95; media, 43; political, 178; YouTube genre of, 125
Adobe, 185
adolescents. See teenagers
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The, 49
advertising, 5–6, 50, 72, 74, 159, 175, 178, 203n41; and amateur videographers, 7, 134, 174, 177, 182; and children, 54; and femininity, 94; Google, 6; and MySpace, 195n7; online, 164, 169; political, 140; techniques of, 74; television, 167–8. See also product placement; YouTube: advertising
aesthetics: of amateur video, 30, 42; of attraction, 47; avant-garde, 43; of commercial studios, 28, 36, 146, 181; of hierarchies of, 84; home movies, 27, 28, 32, 40; intolerance, 37, 40; mainstream, 87; of negation, 174; norms 39; of transparency, 70; of YouTube, 26;
AI Lab Dark Web, 151
alcohol, 62
Al Jazeera, 153
amateurs: and appropriation, 162, 182; definition of, 3, 16–17, 177; and Google, 7; as irrelevant, 183; media practice of, 15, 43, 44, 73, 138; motives, 4, 23; as producers, 14, 17, 30, 173; versus professional, 82, 113; and reality, 180; significance of, 174–5; and YouTube, 16, 113, 121, 136, 157. See also cultural production: amateur
amateur film, 24; definition of, 23, 197n3; early, 127. See also home movies
amateur video. See video, amateur online
America, 41, 68, 88, 146; anti-, 129; broadband use, 127; cultural ideal of, 119; elections, 138; and hatred, 147; and homemade bombs, 151; Internet population, 146; lifestyle 134–5; public discourse, 119
America Online, 184
analogue home movies. See home movies
anger, 119. See also hate
anorexia. See pro-anorexia
anthropology, 103, 133. See also visual anthropology
appropriation, 58, 60, 116, 152, 161–3, 182; negative, 62
Arctic Pictures, 198n18
Argument Culture, The, 119
ARPANET, 46
Association Européenne Inédits, 23
atheists, 149–50
AT&T, 11
attention, 7, 8, 28, 51, 54, 71
attention economy, 71–2, 202n23
audience, 13, 32; active, 25, 158–63, 179, 214n3; competence of, 64; female, 99; fragmented, 167–8, 171, 179; mass, 8, 30, 73, 117, 162, 167–8, 177, 191; mental states of, 36; passive, 159; perception of, 46; post-colonial, 163–65; predetermined, 35
audience, online: active, 14, 35, 38, 158–63, 172; and commercial content, 113; of diarists, 73; domestic, 43; and erotica, 88; expressive capabilities, 165; feedback, 80; globalization of, 45, 140; and meaning, 160; normative gaze of, 74; objectivity of, 31; participatory, 117; post-colonial, 179; as producer, 163, 171; reflexive, 75; and spectacle, 127; and the universal, 39, 45; as virtual partner, 72
Auld Lang Syne, 52
aura, 33, 35, 86, 101
authenticity, 28, 35, 64–8, 186; and diaries, 74, 82; and politicians, 140; as problematic, 70, 79, 119; and selfhood, 76; and women, 86, 101
authority, 181
autobiography: definition of, 69, 205n73; as interactive, 76; and order 68; persistence of, 82; and the real, 78, 204n58; as research subject, 78; Web-based, 203n34. See also diary; video diary
autoethnography, 123
autonomy, 59; demand for, 69; erosion of, 63
babies: on YouTube, 56, 60
Barbie, 92–4, 134, 160; and feminism, 94
BBC, 10, 53, 73, 77
Bebo, 195n7
birth, home, 134
birth, unassisted, 135
Blair Witch Project, 173
blasphemy, 150
blogging, 8, 48, 69, 71, 201n44; and children, 53, 67, 187; and conflict, 144; and gender, 98; and identity, 204n48; and reputation, 54, 68, 112; software, 165
blue screens, 31
bourgeois, 61
BusinessWeek, 55
cable-cutting, 179, 216n63
Canada, 141–43, 145
capitalism, 5, 166, 192; contradiction of, 160; and control, 178, 191; patriarchal, 84; and persuasion, 181, 186; transformation of, 182. See also marketplace
CBC, 131, 168
CBS, 171
celebrities, 111–13, 136, 189; and fans, 116
cellular phones, 14, 17
censorship, 29, 144, 148. See also YouTube: censorship
children, 48, 201n57; as early adopters, 60–1; Native, 92; objectified, 94; programming by, 55; sexuality, 54–5; video practices of, 48–51, 53, 59, 92–3; on YouTube, 49, 55, 129, 135–6
cinema, 167, 171; alternative, 177; of attractions, 127–8
Cisco Systems, 10, 11
civil society, 144, 146
Cloverfield, 173
CNN, 10, 55, 116, 131, 139
communication: expanded, 111, 164–5; gender and, 100–1; interactive, 75, mass self-, 144
community: activism and, 95; Black, 81; and consensus, 29; decline of, 208n13; definition of, 104; Native American, 92; and norms, 118.
community, online, 9, 48, 103–5, 135; gay, 120; and production, 118; and shared interests, 104; social contract, 121. See also fan community; YouTube community
confession, 68, 71, 172; and deviance, 82; psychological value of, 71, 81; and television 51; theories of, 72, 78; and uncertainty, 68. See also autobiography; video diaries
confessional videos. See video diaries
consciousness, 69, 74
consumer lifestyle, 22
consumer society, 68, 176
consumption: destructive, 182; mass: 175, 181
context: of amateur video, 177, 186, 204n48; of America, 150; and domination, 99; and gender, 101; imperial, 179; loss of, 31–2, 37, 39, 40, 58, 198n37; of the online audience, 165; of research, 73; and self-expression, 76; and self-identity, 59, 76; and women, 84; of YouTube, 119
convergence, 72; and the home, 73
Convergence Culture, 117
conversation, 147; mundane, 145
copyright: infringement, 19, 109–10, 111, 156, 184, 189; and appropriation, 161. See also Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Country Music Television, 37
creationists, 149
Critique of Everyday Life, 14
cross-dressing, 54, 59, 79
CSPAN, 139
Cult of the Amateur, The, 24
cultural democracy, 159, 171, 172, 190–2
cultural production, 101–102, 136; amateur, 6, 16–17, 101, 142, 162, 164, 181–3, 191; deinstitutionalized, 24, 176; digital, 187; globalized, 31, 33; viral, 142
cultural studies, 159, 160, 163, 178, 204n55
culture: amateur, 183; bastard, 183; confessional, 71; contemporary, 67; corporate, 39, 159, 175; digital, 185; dominant, 85; fan, 114, 116; globalized, 33; high, 69; local, 31, 36, 40; mass, 99; participatory, 116, 183, 187, 191; patterning process of, 26; policed, 190; popular culture, 13, 50, 159–60; ‘read only,’ 183; western, 71. See also media culture
culture industry, 102, 183; definition of, 175
cyberspace. See Internet
Dallas, 12
dance, 54, 86–7
dating, 54
democracy, 191
democratization: of the lens, 178, 180; of moviemaking, 30, 180; of words, 180
diary: definition of, 69; as disruptive, 70; and privacy, 69; psychology of, 80–1. See also video diary
diaspora, African, 90
Diebold, 156
digital cameras. See video cameras
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 110, 111, 136, 148–9, 156, 209n31
digital universe, 17
digital video. See video: online
discourse: confessional, 76; counter-hegemonic, 176; dominant, 160; of empowerment, 159; marginalized, 70; of truth, 71; vernacular, 144–5
Disneyland, 39
diversity, 30
divorce, online, 89–90
documentary: and mass audience, 73
domestic. See home
Dr. Phil, 51
drugs, 62
DVDs, 170
editing, 31, 32, 65, 82
elections, 138–9, 141, 144
elites, 144
empire, 68; Christian, 150
erotica: amateur, 87. See also fetish; pornography
essentialism, 42, 69, 70
ethnography, 9, 123; digital, 131, 196n13
E*Trade, 29
everyday, the: and commodification, 192; and conversation, 145; facticity of, 78, 204n55; film and, 38; ideology and,14–16, 77; media and, 16, 73; as political, 178; and the post-human, 196n35; YouTube and, 40, 53, 62
experience: feminism and; 78; Marxism and, 78
exploitation, 182
Facebook, 13, 16, 19, 21, 139, 195n7; and privacy, 53, 54
fagging. See flagging
fair use, 109–10, 111, 136, 143, 184, 189-90, 209n39
fame, 57, 114, 116, 122, 130, 136, 187
family, 45; as audience, 29, 32; in home movies 26, 43; in home videos, 49, 52; nuclear, 44; representational practices, 48, 59–60, 62
Family Guy, 29, 147
fan community, 104, 113–14, 116–17
fans, 114–18; ethnography of, 123; Lego 130. See also parody
fellatio, 60, 87
femininity, 94; normative, 95, 96
feminism: debate over, 84, 90; and pleasure, 86–7
feminist theory, 78
fetish, 87
film, 36, 72, 167; revenues, 170
filmmaking: Super-8, 43
film theory, 185, 199n47
Five Awesome Girls, 88–9
flaggers, 120
flagging, 19, 120, 153
Fox Interactive Media, 11
Fox News, 153
fragmentation, 68, 169. See also audience: fragmented
Frankfurt School, 175
freedom, 60
free labour, 182
gatekeepers, 84
gender: and speech, 99; performed, 86, 96. See also Internet: gender of; YouTube: gender ratio
Generation YouTube. See YouTube Generation
Geriatric1927. See Oakley, Peter
gift economy, 182
Girlfriend, 131
Globe and Mail, 142
Google, 119, 184; annual revenues, 6; goal of, 7;
Hamas, 153
hate, 57, 71, 119–20; online, 148
haters, 66–7, 82, 118–21, 124; definition of, 118
hate speech, 119, 147, 191
hegemony, 61
History of Sexuality, 71
Hollywood, 29–30, 36, 42, 43, 127, 182; context, 109; and endorsements, 55; producers, 65
home: and commercial media, 50; geography of, 41, 50; idealized, 48, 53; permeable, 61; video diaries and, 73
home movies, 22, 54; and aesthetic intolerance, 37; and adults, 62; alternative, 177; and anthropology, 25; and bathroom scenes, 50; cultural patterns of, 26, 28–9, 40; definition of, 23, 27; and history, 24, 39; and ideology, 44, 62; intended audience, 31, 44; local context of, 31, 32, 38–40; as objective, 31; perception of, 24; preservation of, 33; and realism, 43; as shared experience, 39; standardization of, 44, 53, 199n56. See also video, amateur online
Hulu, 11, 175
hyperreal, 68, 70, 133
IBM, 11, 169
identity, 16, 28, 68, 160, 201n44; Black, 91, 206n32; colonized, 182; and confession, 72, 81; context of, 76, 204n48; construction, 40, 48, 56, 59; corporate, 111; crisis, 68; destruction of, 60, 187; hunger for, 68; national, 167; online video and, 54, 58, 157; professional, 112; women’s 92, 102. See also subjectivity
ideology, 14–16, 44, 147, 186; and commercial culture, 176, 191; conversation and, 145; dominant, 62, 100, 159–60, 171; and soap opera, 100, 207n76
Imagined Communities, 104
imperialism, 12
incest, 32, 54
indeterminacy: of meaning, 26, 37
IndyMedia, 176, 178
Information Please, 31
institutions, 71; confessional practices of, 72
instructional manuals, 28, 29
insurgents, 151–2, 154
intellectual property. See copyright
International Film Archives, 23
Internet: alternative, 176; and anger, 119; and anthropology, 103; broadband, 127; and cable-cutting, 170; characteristics, 8, 31, 46, 70, 132, 171; colonized, 164–5; and convergence, 62; culture, 24, 147; deinstitutionalized, 81; democracy, 192; dialogue, 48; and diversity, 186; feminization of, 99–100; freedom, 109, 111, 164; future of, 166; gender of, 97–8, 100, 207n63, 207n75; growth rate, 146, 169; identity, 68; ideological consensus, 100; and imagination, 104; live feeds, 60; and misogyny, 84; normalization, 191; and politics, 138; psychology of, 60, 72, 103, 201n57; and reflexivity, 75; social environment, 58; traffic, 10–11; unconstrained, 79; uncontrolled, 77; and war, 153
Ipecac, 29. See also vomit genre
Iraq, 10, 152–5
Israel Defense Force, 153
iTunes, 184
Jerry Springer Show, 51
jihad, 152
knowledge: historical, 39
language: as totalizing, 78
Le Monde, 119
Let the Bodies Hit the Floor, 71
libertarian, 164
Life After Television, 166
literature, 192–3
lobbyists, 138
Lonelygirl15, 12, 43, 64, 65, 86, 172
looking glass self, 58
Los Angeles Times, 55, 138
male gaze, 86, 87, 205n14
market consolidation, 30
marketplace, 72; and creativity, 176; and identity, 94; as thief, 183
Marxism, 44, 78, 79, 101, 182, 197n3
mashups, 186
mass consumption: and standardization, 35
masturbation, 54, 146
Mattel, 92
meaning: alternative, 176; corporations and, 183; intended, 161, 171; preferred, 147, 159, 163, 182; shared, 175
media: activist, 178; alternative, 174–9; bias, 133; broadcast, 5, 65, 138, 161, 171, 195n2; and childhood development, 61–2; commercial, 5, 48, 50, 83, 144, 146, 165, 179, 216n59; consumption, 117; corporations, 112–13, 136; distinctions among, 43; ideological, 162; mainstream, 144; mass, 5, 144, 162; power, 158, 160; producer, 74; and self-monitoring, 75; and truth, 173; and violence, 97. See also new media
media culture, 7, 8, 9, 13, 137; Barbie and, 92; broadcast-based, 5; capitalism and, 93, 158; and consumption communities, 117; controlled, 176; dominant, 179; and fame, 82; femininity and, 93; Generation YouTube and, 144; global, 58, 185; misogynistic, 84, 86; norms of, 27; post-television, 173; YouTube and, 51
media studies, 163; alternative, 176. See also new media
memory, 33, 39; appropriation of, 59–60; collective, 40, 135; political, 138; public, 54
Microsoft, 170, 184
misogyny, 84–5
Missing Persons: The Impossibility of Auto/biography, 78
moviemaking: defined by adults, 61
music: piracy, 184, 190; remixes, 57; videos, 57, 58, 116, 118, 130
My Big Redneck Wedding, 36, 37
MySpace, 13, 53, 54, 68, 153, 195n7
Napster, 184
Napsterized, 170, 184
narcissism, 51
narrative, 78, 143
National Post, 143
nationalism, 39
NBC, 183
new media, 70, 154; theory, 70, 100
new religious movements, 149
new social movements, 178
New York Magazine, 89
New York Times, 61, 109, 114, 119, 130, 156, 161, 170
Nielsen, 169
norms. See social norms
obesity, 62
obscenity, 88, 146, 147
online diary. See video diary
oral sex. See fellatio
orphaned films, 23. See also home movies
Ottawa, 214n76
paparazzi, 75
parents, 48, 49, 51, 57, 134; authority of, 61
parody, 37, 47, 58, 187; and Christianity, 149; and fans, 114–17, 130, 210n48; and politics, 142; and status, 136; toxic, 59–60
participatory culture. See culture: participatory
patriarchy, 93
piracy, 170, 190
play, 123
Playboy, 88
pleasure, 101–2
politics, 140–1, 144; activism, 178; and hatred, 147; and obscenity, 146; and the personal, 176; and video tracking, 140. See also elections
post-colonial theory, 164, 165
pornography, 59, 87–8; amateur, 29, 87, 205n19. See also YouTube: pornography
postmodern, 70, 78
postmodern condition, 26, 31, 68
postmodernists: and community, 104
power: audience, 172; challenged, 144; definitional, 175; and gender, 96, 100; ideology and, 44; and media practice, 42–3, 67, 143, 162; representational, 9; and voice, 145
privacy, 37, 47, 53; domestic, 74; psychic, 69; and public life, 75; and self-identity, 58; violated, 52, 54, 59–60, 62
pro-anorexia, 95–6
product placement, 55. See also advertising
production, mode of, 8, 177, 182
professionalism, 82
propaganda, 154, 159, 186, 191
psychoanalytic analysis, 35–6, 123, 199n47
Psychology Today, 68
public behaviour, 58
public diplomacy, 154
public domain, 58
public opinion, 141, 144–7, 152
public relations, 5, 6, 138, 143, 159
public sphere, 56, 60, 70, 141, 143–4; and feminists, 99; and regulated media, 146
punk rock, 64–5
rape, 54, 188
RCA, 5
reality, 173; as invalid category, 78; primacy of, 78; social, 145, 158; transmission of, 180; uncensored, 154; video diary and, 69, 75; virtual, 133
reality-TV, 186
reflexivity: and advertising, 203n41; definition of, 74–5, 203n40; and video diaries, 73, 75–6, 80, 82; visual, 132. See also, YouTube community: reflexive
relationships, online, 89
remixes, 182
representation, 6, 24, 25, 27, 168; and authority, 123; consensus on, 32; conventional, 50, 78; direct, 73, 82; disruptive, 70; formulaic, 35, 44; idealized, 48, 49; mainstream, 190; monopolization of, 4; new modes of, 173; objective, 75; patterns of, 30, 50; and reflexivity, 75; and subcultures, 39; uncontrolled, 176, 197n1; of war, 150; and women, 84, 92, 99
reputation: and the Internet 53; and online video, 54
Request for Comments (RFCs), 46, 48
Rich Bride, Poor Bride, 36
Scientology, 148–9
self-disclosure, 71, 81
self-esteem, 51, 58, 81
self-expression, 68; context for; 76; sexualized, 87
self-identity. See identity
self-knowledge: skepticism of, 78
self-perception, 58–9, 72, 74
self-presentation, 71; and control, 60
self-representation, 85, 122, 204n58; objectified, 86–7. See also representation
semiotic democracy, 160, 171
semiotic guerrilla warfare, 159
Sex and the City, 94
sexuality, 86–7; and adolescents, 54; and media, 62
shaming, 62
siblings, 32, 51–5, 62, 71
sociability, 104
social networking, 51, 54, 70, 124, 181, 195n7, 208n13; and gender 98
social norms, 25–6, 27, 28, 40, 122; erosion of, 88; gender, 95; non-compliance with, 59
spammers, 120, 121
special effects, 31
spectacle, 127–8, 187
SpongeBob Squarepants, 114–15
Stand By Me, 29
Star Trek, 114
Star Wars, 115–17, 211n92
state (nation), 164; bureaucratic apparatus of, 71
Stickam, 61
storytelling, 128, 143, 176, 178, 181. See also narrative
striptease. See dance
subjectivity: and autobiography, 69; Black, 90–1; death of, 76; and diaries, 69, 76; as plural, 76, 203n47
super peers, 62
swearing, 56
Sydney Morning Herald, 55
taboo, 55
taste, 14; construction of, 12, 30; popular, 82; and social networks, 181; and television, 171; tyranny of, 30; and video diaries, 82, 168
technological determinism, 174
technology: digital, 131–2, 176; intention and, 43, 50; and utopia, 166; of video, 62
teenagers, 48; as early adopters, 61; and live webcams, 61; and media, 62; objectified, 94; and reputation, 54, 59–60; self-absorbed, 80; video practices of, 48–50, 51, 52, 86, 133; and violence, 97; on YouTube, 49
television, 6, 11, 28, 41; and amateur video, 51, 58, 139, 169, 186; cable, 170; and choice, 163; colonialism of, 165; compared to YouTube, 46, 48, 64–5, 79, 124, 172, 177; confessional, 51, 72, 73–4; golden age of, 158; network, 168; piracy, 184; post-, 166–7, 170–1, 173–4, 179; and power, 9, 12, 164; production, 73; and pseudo-pornography, 87; punk, 64; and reality, 72; and toilets, 50; viewing trends, 169–70
theory: fictionality of, 78
Time, 7, 8, 41, 153, 168, 191
Time Warner, 184
Tourism British Columbia, 65
TroopTube, 153
Twitter, 21, 53
U2, 188
unboxing videos, 134
United Airlines, 192
United States. See America
Universal Music Group, 190
user-generated content, 6–7, 8, 10, 176, 195n4,7; volume of 17
VCR, 197n1
vernacular, 147, 150, 156; and video blogging, 83, 152
Vernacular Voices, 146
Viacom, 109, 209n29
Victorian: age, 68; family, 61
video: aesthetics, 30, 43, 173–4; confession, 71; criticism, 36; culture, 172; definition of, 43; economics, 50; and feature film, 43; file formats, 185; future of, 167; identity of, 24; and power, 172; and realism, 173; rental industry, 170; specificity of, 43, 62, 172, 174, 215n49; theory, 185; and the written word, 192
video, amateur online: accountability, 140; advertisers and, 7; as alternative, 8, 15, 168, 174–7, 179; and anarchism, 191; and authenticity, 186; bias of, 133; and blogs, 47; and campaigns, 140; and celebrity, 116; and conflict, 137; and conversation, 46–7, 128, 193; cultural backdrop of, 51; cultural features, 185–6; and democracy, 138–40; domestic setting of, 43; and domination, 99; economy of, 183; and gender, 11, 100; and haters, 120; and hegemonic femininity, 93; and humiliation, 130; ideology of, 186; and insurgents, 151; and Internet traffic, 10, 127; and intention, 45; Israeli, 153; and journalism, 178; law and, 110; and the mundane, 50; Palestinian, 153; and personality development, 54, 59; political, 142, 145, 197n1; popular, 125–6, 129; preservation of, 33; and production, 70, 118, 176; psychology of, 122; and the real, 64–8, 133; remixes, 58; replies to, 13, 121; and resistance, 160; sexual content in, 54, 87, 94; social function of, 62, 124; statistics, 11, 187, 217n17; technical features of, 125–6; titles, 54; and toilets, 50; as transgressive, 28–9, 95; transparency of, 133, 174, 202n20; as trash, 12; and truth, 143; uncontrolled, 183; violence in, 94, 96
video, amateur: definitions of, 23–4; domestic setting, 41; as inferior, 23–4, 41; intended audiences, 23; political character of, 176–7, 179
video blogging, 64, 75, 126, 203n34; and aggression, 67. See also video diary
video cameras, 17, 22, 154, 187; and confession, 72; and the everyday, 53, 62
Video Diaries, 73
video diary: and audience, 74; and authenticity 64–5, 67, 68–9, 74; and autobiography, 73; co-created, 77; and confession, 67–9, 71, 73, 76; contradictory, 75; and deviance, 82; and facticity, 79; and feedback, 73, 75; gender differences, 85; and narcissism, 80; as new, 70; participant-generated, 73; and privacy, 69, 75; transformative, 81; and transparency, 70
video games, 201n57
video, home, 44; and situation comedies, 43
video metadata, 107
violence, 97, 119, 151–3, 210n59
virtual community. See community, online
visual anthropology, 26, 27, 32, 131
vlog. See video diary
vomit genre, 28–9, 198n26
Wall Street Journal, 55, 170, 190
war, 137, 150–6; cultural, 160
Watching Dallas, 12, 99, 101
weddings, 34; mock, 36–8; representation of, 35
Wedding SOS, 36
wedding videos: particularity of, 35; standardized, 35–6
women: abused, 49, 51, 52; and Barbie, 94; Black, 90–1; counter-discourse of, 85, 96; debate over, 85; diarists, 85–6; and live video, 61; marginalized, 84; Native American, 91–2; objectified, 86–7; and paternalism, 100; and pleasure, 102; voices, 99; and violence, 97
World Wide Web, 165. See also Internet
YouTomb, 109–10
YouTube: as an adjective, 5; advertising, 6–7, 106, 108, 110, 120, 177, 195n4,9; aesthetics of, 14, 28, 47, 173; American users of, 11, 119; and anger, 119; audience, 44, 46, 64, 117–18, 161, 169; and authenticity, 186; and artistic innovation, 131; bibliography of, 21; and blogs, 141; and brands, 112, 192; and celebrities, 111–13; censorship, 108–9, 120, 152; and children, 60–2; comments, 38, 47, 57, 74, 90, 193; and commercialization, 191; and confession, 71–2, 76; content themes, 125; as contested space, 85, 112–13; conversations within, 66, 144; context of; 84; and copyright, 110, 126, 184; core value of, 64; culture, 82, 108, 117, 123; and Defense Department (U.S.), 153; and deviant labels, 58; and dialogue, 47–8; diversity within, 186, 191; and domesticity, 62; and elections, 136–41, 146; entitlement, 208n19; erotica, 87–8; and explosives, 151; file format, 185; future of, 184; gender ratio, 97, 207n61; golden age of, 113; hate speech, 119; and hatred, 148; and Hollywood, 185; identity, 48, 113; justice, 188; launched, 6; licence, 182; lifecasting on, 188; lawsuits, 109; mainstream and, 91; as mass medium, 65; and miscommunication, 32; ‘Most Viewed’ category, 43, 131; news and, 141; and norms, 70; operating costs, 6; and pedagogy, 55; policies, 19, 96, 107–8, 120, 152, 156; and political communication, 141; politics on, 147; production volume, 10; pornography, 106–7; purpose of, 127; reflexive, 116; and religion, 148–50; and resistance, 16; scalability, 126; and self-perception, 59; site design, 19; social connections and, 51, 124; social structure, 125; subscribers, 47, 51; as symbol, 185; and transparency, 70, 76, 79; user statistics of, 11, 14, 196n16,17; as a verb, 5; view counts, 21, 126, 131; violence, 96–7, 210n59; volume, 125, 171, 175; and war, 151–5; and women, 84, 98–100. See also video, amateur online
YouTube community, 9, 44, 48, 85, 103; conflict in, 137; definition of, 121; of pirates, 109; reflexive, 120–1; and rejection, 96; resistive, 95. See also community, online; fan community
YouTube corporation, 106, 108–9, 117, 120, 184
YouTube Generation, 4, 31, 53, 144, 154; decriminalize, 190; hyperactive, 55, 161; original members of, 18, 135; postmodern condition of, 26; productivity of, 187
YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture, 9
Zapruder film, 173
YouTube Video Index
10 Confessions, 71
13 Reasons I Love My Mom, 51
A Fat Rant, 95
Adolph Harper loses it, 142
Ainslie Henderson – Charlie Bit Me Song, 57
Algorithmically Demote This! 108
Allen’s Listening Tour, 139
A Message To All Haters! 118
andsanp is gone? 124
An Engineer’s Guide to Cats, 128, 182
angry professor, 123
An Inconvenient Truth, 139
Atheist Delusion, The, 149
BAN SARCASM FROM YOUTUBE!!! 118
Barack Obama Kids and Hitler Youth Sing for Their Leader, 147
Barack Obama masturbating, 146
barbie and the city, 94
Barbie and Ken_Rough sex, 94
Barbie Diaries, 94
Barbie Girl, 92
Barbie Girl dance, 92
Barbie vs Psycho Ken, 94
Black Women Dropped the Ball, 91
Blasphemy Challenge, The, 149
Brigitte’s Blasphemy Challenge, 150
Brother and Sister, 32
Canon Rock, 131
Chad Vader, 117
Charlie Bit Me Techno Remix, 57
Charlie Bit Me – The First TV Interview, 57
Charlie bit my finger – Adult remix, 59
Charlie bit my finger – again! 56–7
Charlie Bit Me My Finger – 5 years later, 57
Charlie Bit Me 10 years later, 58
Charlie bit me 15 years later, 58
Charlie bit me 50yrs later, 58
Cherry Chocolate Rain, 117
Chocolate Rain, 116, 187
Chocolate Rain by Chad Vader, 116
Chris Crocker – Individuality/Gender, 79
Chris Crocker – LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! 114
Church of Oprah Exposed, The, 112
Confessions, 71
Culture en peril, 139
Darth Vader Command You to “Leave Britney Alone”! 115
Disneyland Home Movies, 39
Downfall, 141–2, 161–3, 165, 214n76
Dracula bit my finger and it really hurt, 57
Dr. Strangelove Buys a Cup of Coffee, 188
Dr. Strangelove Smashes a Cell Phone, 123
Dr. Strangelove Unboxing an Easel, 134
Drunk Dad, 48
Drunk Mom, 48
Emo Boy, 198n37
First Blog / Dorkiness Prevails, 64
first try, 76
Flagged or Fagged, 120
Fuhrer Obama – Grant Park, Chicago – Hitler Youth, 147
God. Is. Imaginary. 150
guitar, 131, 187
Hahaha, 56, 60
Hail Hitler, Hail Obama, 147
Happy! Crazy! Fun! FEMINISM, 94
Happy New Year 2008, 32
Harper Dictatorship, The, 141–2
He’s gonna kick MY ass? 129
How does the world feel to you through YouTube? 46
How to make your 1st Vlog! START TODAY! 126
Huge Black Girl Fight, 96
I Confess, 71
I Got a Crush … On Obama’ By Obama Girl, 139
I Got Weave In My Hair So Must Wanna B White, 91
I Hate Black People Because … 119
I Masturbated To Sarah Palin (John McCain Ad), 146
important message for everyone, 80
Introducing Our Family, 44
Is YouTube a Feminist Space? 84
Kevjumba Responds to Haters, 118
Leave Barney Alone!!!! 116
Leave Britney Alone – 7 year old girl, 115
LEAVE DORA ALONE!!! 116
Leave General Petraeus Alone! 116
Leave George Bush Alone!! 116
Leave Indians Alone, 116
Leave Spongebob Alone! 115
Leave Strangelove Alone!!!! 116
Magnetize Dialogue, 147
Mean Laughing Baby/Fall Compilation, 60
Meet My Family, 44
Meet My Folks, 44
Meet My Parents … 44
Mother’s Day Video 2007, 51
My Anorexic Story [updated], 96
My Confession, 71
My Parents Drunk, 48
My Parents Fighting, 48
My Parents Hate Me, 48
My Stupid Family, 48
“NORA: Practice Makes Purr-fect”, 129
Not Barbie Dolls, 94
Numa Numa, 18, 130, 187
Numa Numa Lego, 130
Numa Numa Stormtrooper, 130
Numa Numa – The Return of Gary Brolsma! 130
OMG I Am Fat, 95
Oprah Denies Christ, 112
Oprah’s Message to YouTube, 112
Oprah Winfrey Show, 51. See also Winfrey, Oprah
Oral, 88
Peace for Iraq – Stop the war, 152
Please Explain The Difference, 152
Pro Ana, 95
problem in this country is niggers, The, 119
Prof smashes laptop: what REALLY happened, 123
Rational Response Squad Banned! 149
Real in the HyperReal, The, 132
Real Me, The, 65
Re: Being a Chick on YouTube, 101
Redneck Wedding, 38
Redneck Wedding of the Year, 38
Re: Haircut Experience update!!! 118
Re: LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! 114
Response to a response to a video 
, 46
RE: Why I youtube, 124
Rez Kids, 92
rez life, 92
RIP the golden age of YouTube, 113
Samsung Omnia (i900) Unboxing, 134
Sasha CHEER for Team U.S.A!!! 129
Slut Barbie, 94
Star Wars Kid, 130
Stephane Dion: White and Nerdy, 142
Teenager Gets Fucked and Gives a Blow, 106
That Damn Downfall Clip, 161
Thinspiration! 95
This is What a Feminist Looks Like, 84
Thunderstruck – US Army, 152
TILA TEQUILA’S MESSAGE TO HATERS, 118
Tom Cruise Scientology Video – (Original Uncut), 148
To My Haters, Flaggers & Trolls, 118
To My Mom with love Happy Mother’s Day, 51
Tricia Walsh-Smith Is Going Bonkers, 90
two talking cats, The, 129
Unassisted Birth, 134
United Breaks Guitars, 192
Vlogging is Stupid, 75
Waffle House Wedding, The, 38
Wasting Time at the Parliament! 142
Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us, 131
White Trash Weddin, 36–7, 39
Why I YouTube, 124
XXX PORN XXX, 107
yay it’s all GOOD, 87
YouTube Community: A Commentary by Dr. Strangelove, The, 192
YOUTUBE HATERS ..!! 118
Youtube is Dead, 108
Name Index
Adorno, Theodor, 175, 183
Allen, George, 139
Allison, Juliann Emmons, 100
Anderson, Benedict, 104
Ang, Ien, 12, 99, 100, 101, 102, 160, 162, 163
Antioco, John, 170
Ashcroft, Bill, 164
Atton, Chris, 8, 176, 178, 179
Attwood, Feona, 88
Aufderheide, Patricia, 209n39
Bahner, Adam Nyerere, 116
Bakardjieva, Maria, 103
Barlow, John, Perry, 164
Baudrillard, Jean, 13, 78, 133
Baym, Nancy K., 118
Beeler, Harold, 90
Benjamin, Walter, 33
Boisselier, Brigitte, 150
Bolter, Jay David, 70, 202n20
Bourdieu, Pierre, 12, 37, 74
Brolsma, Gary, 18, 130, 187
Brouwers, Janneke, 111, 113
Brown, Jeffrey C., 110
Bruss, Elizabeth W., 82, 205n73
Buckley, Michael, 7, 66
Bunker, Mark, 148
Burgess, Jean, 9, 106, 109, 121, 123, 187, 208n19
Burns, Conrad, 139
Bush, George H.W., 150
Butters, Andrew Lee, 153
Campbell, Jan, 77, 78
Carlson, Tom, 141
Carpenter, Edmund, 133
Carroll, Dave, 192
Carruthers, Susan L., 154
Castells, Manuel, 140, 141
Chalfen, Richard, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 199n56, 200n12; critique of, 44, 200n11
Christensen, Christian, 198n26
Christman, Tory, 148
Cilluffo, Frank, 152
Claire, Maelle, 18, 134–5
Clavert, Sandra L., 204n48
Clinton, Hillary, 141, 160
Cohen, Leonard, 150
Compagucci, Melissa Jenna, 101
Cooley, C.F., 58, 201n43
Corner, John, 64, 65
Couldry, Nick, 201n51, 204n57
Crocker, Chris, 69, 79, 114–15
Crocker, Steve, 46
Cruikshank, Lucas, 55
Cruise, Tom, 148
Cubitt, Sean, 24, 25, 30, 166–7; on Internet democracy, 191; on media competence, 64; on medium specificity, 172–3, 190, 215n46; on wedding videos, 35, 38; on YouTube, 185–6
Curran, James, 158, 159, 162, 214n3
Current, Edward, 149
Dames, K. Matthew, 110
Dawson, Lorne L., 149
DeFranco, Philip, 169
de Klerk, Nico, 38–9, 199n55
de Kuyper, Eric, 199n55
Dickinson, Tim, 139
Diller, Barry, 170
Dion, Stéphane, 142
Douglas, Mary, 105, 121
Dyer, Miles. 126
Egan, Susanna, 76, 81
Eskew, Carl, 140
Evans, Mary, 68, 78, 204n58
Fairbanks, Eve, 140
Faulkner, Susan, 217
Feagin, Joe R., 207n75
Fernback, Jan, 105
Ferreday, Debra, 96
Feuer, Alan, 130
Figglehorn, Fred, 55
Fiske, John, 123, 159, 160, 207n76, 214n3
Fitzpatrick, Geraldine, 77
Flaherty, Robert J., 198n18
Fleishman, Mara, 65
Ford, Harold, 140
Foucault, Michel, 71, 72, 81
Freud, Sigmund, 15, 25
Geertz, Clifford, 25, 36, 38
George, Jason, 130
Gibson, Barbara Ellen, 73
Giddens, Anthony, 15
Gilder, George, 166
Giles, Sharron Rosa, 44, 46
Gillespie, Tarleton, 111
Gissin, Amir R., 153
Gomes, Lee, 5
Goswami, Usha, 201n57
Green, Joshua, 9, 106, 109, 121, 123, 208n19
Griffins, Gareth, 164
Griffith, Margaret, 80
Grossman, Lev, 41
Grusin, Richard, 70
Gunning, Tom, 127
Gunster, Shane, 175
Guzdial, Mark, 125
Hampton, Howard, 141
Harbord, Janet, 77, 78
Harley, David, 77
Harper, Stephen, 141
Hartley, John, 143
Hauser, Gerard A., 144, 145–6
Heffernan, Virginia, 96, 149, 161–2, 165
Hennebry, Jenna, 149
Hilderbrand, Lucas, 208n19
Hill, Emily, 94
Hill, Matt, 123
Hitler, Adolph, 141, 147, 161–2
Hobsbawm, Eric J., 68
Horkheimer, Max, 175, 183
Hudson, Tramm, 139
Huffaker, David A., 204n48
Hunt, Kurt, 111
Hurley, Chad, 170–1
Issacs, Ellen, 137
Itzkoff, Dave, 114
Jacobson, Bob, 65
Jaszi, Peter, 209n39
Jenkins, Henry, 47, 117, 118, 123, 182, 186, 191
Jesus Christ, 71
Jones, Steven G., 105
Jusasz, Alexandra, 193
Kampman, Minke, 120
Karpovich, Angelina, I., 118
Keen, Andrew, 23–4
Kellner, Douglas, 91
Kennedy, Tracy L.M., 99
King, Rodney, 173
Klinger, Barbara, 177
Klusman, Paul, 128–9
Kumar, Parul, 209n39
Lamerichs, Nichole, 117
Landow, George P., 68
Landry, Brian, M., 125
Lange, Patricia G., 16–17, 120, 122
Lauper, Cindy, 93
Lavigne, Avril, 94, 131
Lefebvre, Henri, 14, 15, 196n30
Lenz, Holden, 190
Lenz, Stephanie, 190
Leonardo, Michaela Di, 99
Lessig, Lawrence, 183, 190
Liddell, Fiona, 71, 81
Lieberman, Joe I., 140, 151
Lim, Jeong-Hyun, 18, 131
Livingstone, Sonia, 61
Lovink, Geert, 166
MacDougall, David, 199n56
MacKinnon, Catharine A., 87
Madden, Mary, 217n17
Manning, James David, 147
Manovich, Lev, 182
Martinson, Floyd Mansfield, 55
Mazerolle, Paul, 97
McLuhan, Marshall, 25
Melican, Jay, 217n17
Meyrowitz, Joshua, 61
Minty, Riyaad, 153
Morahan, Martin, 207n75
Moran, James M., 42, 46, 200n11,12,20; on the essence of video, 62, 172, 174, 180, 199n7, 215n49; on realism, 43; on the representation of families, 49, 52–3
Moscovitch, Philip, 142
Mulvey, Laura, 205n14
Murdoch, Rupert, 184
Nash, Joy, 95
Newman, Michael Z., 82
Nussbaum, Felicity A., 69, 70
Oakley, Peter, 76–7
Obama, Barack, 10, 138, 139, 146, 160, 170
O’Brien, Damien, 209n29
O’Day, Vicki, 137
Ortutay, Barbara, 208n13
Oulliette, Laurie, 178
Palsi, Sakari, 198n18
Paolillo, John C., 121
Peers, Martin, 170
Peterson, Leighton C., 103, 104
Phuc, Kim, 153
Pini, Maria, 74
Plato, 181, 216n1
Poster, Mark, 14, 15, 31, 61, 189, 196n30, 35
Probyn, Elspeth, 78, 204n55
Quigley, Adam, 46
Raza, Ghyslain, 211n92
Renov, Michael, 71, 72, 79, 82
Richler, Noah, 143
Rivard, Michel, 139
Rizzo, Teresa, 47, 127, 128
Rodriguez, Clemenca, 179
Ronai, Carol R., 207n75
Rose, Jessica, 64
Rosenwald, George C., 80
Roth, Rebecca, 71
Rouch, Jean, 72
Ruby, Jay, 74, 203n40
Ruoff, Jeffery, 27, 32, 198n39
Saucier, Guylaine, 168
Schäfer, Mirko Tobias, 183
Schejter, Amit M., 138
Schmidt, Eric, 6
Sealey, Peter, 167
Seitz, Matt Zoller, 156
Sekula, Allan, 198n39
Serfaty, Viviane, 81
Shade, Leslie Regan, 207n63
Sherman, Robert I., 150
Shinkle, Crystal, 188
Simon, Herbert A., 202n23
Singer, Ben, 197n12
Slabbert, Nicholas J., 144
Slade, Steve, 198n44
Smooth, Jay, 75
Solove, Daniel J., 53, 60
Spears, Britney, 114, 116
Spender, Dale, 97
Stauffer, Donald, 69
Stelter, Brian, 195n7
Stephens, Mitchell, 192
Stewart, Jon, 13
St. Jacques, Raymond, 216n1
Strandberg, Kim, 2007
Sunstein, Cass, 119
Tannen, Deborah, 119
Tester, Jon, 139
Tice, Dianne M., 58
Title, David, 170
Travers, Ann, 99
Trudel, Chantal, 166
Trujillo, Iván, 23, 36
Út, Nick, 153
van Dijck, José, 191
Valenti, Jack, 190
Valenti, Jessica, 85
Walkerdine, Valerie, 100, 159, 214n3
Wallace, Patricia, 60
Walsh-Smith, Tricia, 89–90
Webb, Jim, 139
Weiner, Allen, 107
Weiswasser, Stephen, 183
Wesch, Michael, 18, 64, 131–3
White, Anthony, 98
White, Mimi, 72
Whittaker, Steve, 137
Wiener, Wendy J., 80
Williams, Raymond, 158
Wilson, Samuel M., 103, 104
Winfrey, Oprah, 106, 111–13, 209n40
Wood, Peter, 119
Worth, Sol, 26, 33
Wright, Karen, 68
Wright, Michelle, 206n32
Wu, Kevin, 65
Wylie, Margie, 97
Yemini, Moran, 138
Zimmerman, Patricia R., 23, 24, 197n3, 200n12; critique of, 44, 200n11
Zsembik, Barbara A., 207n75
Zonday, Tay. See Bahner, Adam Nyerere, 116
Zoonen, Liesbet van, 98