The Functions of YouTube

Thank you to Elona and Georgia, for sparking my sudden interest in this topic for this blogpost. Elona's post on Jersey Shore and Georgia's response to my post on celebrities and religion gave rise to this idea.

YouTube was created in early 2005 and in only six years, the website has become the world's most widely used medium for uploading and viewing video content. In my personal opinion, YouTube has greatly contributed to society - and its contributions are not limited to how it has innovated the way we share and view videos.

Just as Dustin Kidd argued in his article that popular cullture, by virtue of its ubiquty is normal, YouTube has also become a norm in society. The website began as a platform for individuals to upload original content and continues to serve that purpose, however, now large media corporations also share material through the website. In November 2006, YouTube was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion.

For the purpose of organization, I borrowed Dustin Kidd's subheadings and tweaked them to relate to YouTube.

YouTube as a Space of Norm Production
I'm sure most people have either been part of or witnessed a conversation about a YouTube video. It is normal to say "I saw this video on YouTube..." or after recording an embarrassing video jokingly (or non-jokingly) say, "I'm going to put this on YouTube!" Media corporations use the website as another means of communicating and transmitting their messages about social norms - what to wear, how to act, etc. Viewers are exposed to more ideas about social norms through video bloggers, music videos, news reports... pretty much every video uploaded on the site!


YouTube and Social Boundaries
As Dustin Kidd argued, popular culture helps constitute our identities and also separate our identity categories from others. In the same way, YouTube offers a system to strengthen our identities by creating lists of "similar videos" for users. Subscriptions help individuals stay connected to other users who share similar identities and the "Trending Videos" section of the website offer users a way of knowing what the rest of the world is watching. These features on the website reinforce social boundaries and our understanding of the norm.

The Rituals of YouTube
YouTube allows for shared sentiment through its multitude of videos, whether it be a new music video, a cute kitten video, or a man talking about a bedroom intruder. The millions of people who watch these videos share a sense of meaning. It is also very common for groups of friends to come together to watch a funny YouTube video together or pass links to friends through Facebook and Twitter.

YouTube and Innovation
YouTube has redefined the way we share and view video. Individuals are invited to broadcast themselves through a medium that can reach the worldwide audience within minutes. Unlike traditional television, the viewer has freedom to search what they are looking for and can interact with the video creators by rating videos, commenting, or making video responses. Not only has YouTube given new meaning to video, but it has also reshaped the music industry. YouTube gave new meaning to music videos, a marketing device that had lost much of its significance at the start of the millennium. Many talented artists who made videos either for fun or to get noticed by record labels have been signed to major labels and everyday people have made themselves into celebrities. Through YouTube, anyone can be an expert (e.g. make-up tutorials) and anyone can be a critic.

YouTube as the Road to Change
The main positive contribution YouTube made to society was a bottom-up quality. The public was responsible for the original and creative content on the website. However, after the interference of large media corporations, the website became commercialized and has more of a top-down quality. YouTube allows for interaction between creators and consumers where the everyday person can share their opinions.


I am an absolute YouTube junkie. Often times, instead of Googling topics, I search YouTube to see what opinions people have to say. I never thought I would reflect so deeply on YouTube, but this course continues to surprise me week by week!

Here are some of my favourite YouTube videos... maybe some of these will allow for shared sentiment!











I would fill this blogpost with a million videos if I didn't think it seemed too excessive.

"I'd first like to thank GOD!"

This past weekend, the Golden Globes recognized "excellence" in film and televeision. Ricky Gervais hosted the event and took the opportunity to make some cheeky, yet controversial, jokes about Hollywood stars. Five days after the awards show (which is an eternity on the internet), Gervais' opening monologue is still one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. This is how he ended the show:





Ricky Gervais, who has many times publically stated that he is atheist, reminded me of those celebrities who personify secularity, yet always thank God in their acceptance speeches. Some celebrities, most likely, are genuinely thanking God in that moment; however, it is obvious that other celebrities are nonsensically offering their thanks and just going through the motions of acceptance speeches.

In the past, actress Scarlett Johansson and comedian Kathy Griffin both made public statements about the absurdity of other celebrities’ thanks to God during acceptance speeches.

Claiming actors and actresses who thank God in their acceptance speeches are an embarrassment to the profession, Scarlett Johansson said in an interview, "Some people can be so goofy, especially the ones that say, 'I'd like to thank our Lord Jesus up above!' I'm like, 'For the love of God, keep your mouth shut. That's why the world is so f***ed up because God is focusing solely on your career.'"

At the 2007 Emmy Awards, Kathy Griffin, in her acceptance speech she said, “Now, a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn't help me a bit. If it was up to him, Cesar Millan would be up here with that damn dog. So all I can say is suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now!”
She later explained that her comments were meant to be a satire of celebrities who themselves are controversial yet thank Jesus for their awards.

It seems as though the act of thanking God publically has become such a routine part of awards shows. And regardless of a person’s faith or secular themes they promote, God can still have a hand in helping the rich get richer. The lines between Christianity and popular culture are blurred. Perhaps while these celebrities are selling sex through their work, the mention of God helps these individuals remain moral beings?

Response: Are the Flanders Good Christian Role Models?

LINK to the original blog post

Good point at the end! I didn't even consider the fact that Ned should have been at church too.

I agree with you – the Flanders are not good Christian role models. But I believe they are very accurate representations of many “Christians” in the world today. Having gone to church since the day I was born, I have come across every type of church-goer, which includes people or entire families that act very much like the Flanders. Like you mentioned, the Flanders seem more interested in keeping their church’s membership up than in being true to their faith. I had been part of a church that split into two sides after years of political tension. The church that had split formed two separate, new churches and fought over the remaining members. Both churches played a game of tug-o-war to increase their membership and frowned upon individuals who decided to attend the church that opposed them. Although both churches continued to practice the same religion, the people seemed to care less about whether individuals were true to their faith than whether they attended the “right” church. The Flanders and their concern for their church’s membership over faith seems to be an accurate representation of many people involved in the Christian church today.

The scene with the Flanders singing the hymn was probably my favourite part of the episode because it reminded me of Christian missionaries who do the same thing around the world. Many of these missionaries decide populations of low- and middle-income countries need Christianity more than anything else and spend resources without looking at what communities might actually need. More often than not, people who go to LMICs end up gaining more out of their experience than the communities they were visiting (Darnell, 2007). The Flanders remind me very much of people who travel across the world with missionary zeal to sing hymns and talk about Christianity whether the local populations want to listen or not.

Darnell, S. (2007). Playing with race: Right to Play and the production of ‘whiteness’. Sport in Society, 10(4), 560-579.

Brand New Eyes

The title of this first post is borrowed from my favourite band's most recent album. The band explained the meaning behind that title in an interview "in order for our band to move on to whatever's next — and also us personally, as individuals, in order to grow up — [we needed to start] seeing each other, seeing everything, in a whole new perspective."

This was what resounded with me the most after today's first class.

I'm going to start looking at mass media in the context of North American culture through 'brand new eyes'.

...It's nearly 2AM, but I wanted to get this blog started for now. More reflection later, sleep now.