I want to write extensively on these, but given time constraints, I’ll just give some links and let you think, with perhaps a bit of musing from myself:
• There is a viral video going around that is supposed to be disgusting. Viz. refers to it as “That-Viral-Video-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named.” I particularly like the response at Viz. because it focuses on the reaction videos that are popping up on YouTube. These videos tend to showcase the performance of disgust, often with a hand over the face or someone running to the bathroom to vomit (whether or not they are actually doing so is up to interpretation). An article at Slate includes a series of these videos, but I found Kermit the Frog’s reaction to be of particular interest. Actually, the one I found most interesting was when Kermit shows Rowlf the Dog the video. This particular video, I think, reveals quite a bit about the affective reaction of disgust. Why is this video disgusting? Frankly, yes, it’s disgusting to most people, but as Rowlf’s performance points out, disgust is a situated and constructed physical reaction.
• Back in January a 16-year-old boy in Australia threw a party while his parents were out of town and wound up making news big: 500 people showed up, they destroyed a lot of property, and the police fined this boy, Corey Delaney, and his parents almost $20,000. I just heard about this, despite the fact that this hoopla has been going on for a month. He was interviewed by A Current Affair, an interview I found astounding not only because a kid is being interviewed because he threw a party, but because issues of gender and age play out so strongly in this video. The interviewing, rather than acting as an interviewer, begins to act as a moral authority, chastising Corey and asking that he apologize. She becomes the master discourse, and this kid rebels — immaturely, perhaps, but in a way that parades the ridiculous behavior of the interviewer. It gets more interesting: these guys created a fake MySpace page for Corey, and many people thought it was real. Check out this post for a chronicling of the responses to the fake page, including requests for interviews and party planning. Also interesting is discussion on Wikipedia as to whether to include a page on Corey Delaney (via news.com.au). Gawker posts a timeline of events.
A lot to think about in regards to these events, but I have to work on teaching.
