Blog for Art Education 7701

March 07th, 2013

3/7/2013

What do you all think of the socio-political context of the Harlem Shake youtube craze? Specifically, how can Critical Race Theory help us as educators analyze this sensation that our students maybe participating in?

Below I have included links to the original Harlem Shake youtube video, some other popular ones, and a response by the people of Harlem

Harlem Shake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJiSSAMNWw

OSU Harlem Shake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAFBipnlZbk

Heat Harlem Shake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WvE25IBUJM

Harlem Shake Response

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGH2HEgWppc

7 Comments

Ramya

3/9/2013 03:32:49 am

I was just reading about this phenomenon on the Huffington Post
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gilad-lotan/the-harlem-shake_b_2804799.html>
I think it is important to point out to our students the implications of trying to engage in this phenomenon. Educating that Harlem is a real place with residents who may be impacted by their participation in this craze. The faces of the people of Harlem reacting to the videos showed that while they tried to find the whole experience humorous, it may have also hurt to have seen the Harlem shake bastardized.

Priya

3/9/2013 05:32:04 am

Rightly said, Ramya! This is similar to the Gangnam Style craze--when you look at the original video by Psy and the images used in the video, you have to consider context, race etc. How do these crazes play on contexts and what implications follow subsequently?

Priya

3/9/2013 05:34:15 am

These internet memes afford a starting point for the question, "How are visual culture, contemporary practices and the multiple worlds of art taking up theory?"

Priya

3/10/2013 06:45:06 am

I came across this article, which brings up another perspective on race. How did anyone think this was ok?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/02/25/numero-magazine-african-queen_n_2761374.html

TJ Sharp

3/10/2013 07:38:48 am

I think this explains things nicely. It is Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EMA9uNIsKaA#!

Jason Cox

3/12/2013 03:35:56 am

I think this is being a bit over simplified. When two cultures meet part of the dialogue that happens between them is artistic, and that dialogue by necessity means some travelling from traditional routes.

Some examples:

The idea of how a "Valley Girl" looks and speaks is based on a Frank Zappa song meant to caricature people who make assumptions about others.... the resulting popularization of the idea was extremely irritating to him.

Many people if asked to think of a tune they would identify with the country of Spain they might imagine a part of Bizet's Carmen despite the fact that Bizet had never been to Spain. The story was inspired by a novella by another Frenchman, Prosper Mérimée, who was in turn inspired by his friend the Countess of Montijo. It was a bit of a flop when it came out.

It is well known that many of the artists of the late 19th and early 20th century were influenced by an influx of art they saw to be exotic, but this went the other way too with creators like Hokusai incorporating the strange western ideas with their more familiar approaches and themes.

When Eminem began rapping there were many who insisted that it was inappropriate and that he should just sing rock instead. He faced an awful lot of bias and only surpassed it with the aid of established figures in the music scene. To this day there are people who do not like him not because of his vulgarity, opinions, or themes, but because he is a "traitor to his race" or the idea that he "steals culture."

Now don't get me wrong, in my view the Harlem Shake meme is pretty stupid. However, my understanding of the chain that leads up to it goes something like this: a style of dance is developed in Harlem, and popularized by P. Diddy. He made a lot of money based on his music, dancing, and general style. The commodification of the dance, and P. Diddy himself, inspired Baauer to create a song which included Dutch synth rips, bits of commercials, and other songs. Originally it was a free download, but now that there is profit associated with it and Baauer has tried to keep the song from being remixed by other artists. The song in turn inspired some goofy people to free from dancing, dressing up, and mummery. That video exploded into a meme, where people were inspired by increasingly over the top images to create their own "Harlem Shake" videos.

To me this is a lot more complex than just the idea of "theft" and more about the idea of who is allowed to make and respond to art. Yes, it should be thought of critically and no, it is not necessarily okay. I'm also not sure it is okay to say that one can only speak/dance/create about a certain art form or creation if one is from a particular place, class, or race.

In my art room I could discuss how we could be inspired by other art forms as long as we didn't claim to BE them, and the phrase "Do the Harlem Shake" seems to obscure that difference in a manner that adds to the complexity of the idea. It is not as simple as good or bad, right or wrong, inspiration or theft... but when is it ever?

Baking with Bianca link

9/22/2021 07:31:43 pm

Great reading your blogg

March 07th, 2013

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