Chapter 2 i t s lust l ike a mini-mal l 3 1

"It's just like a mini-mall" 13y no means is this situation completely novel, as many nascent mediafpri))s have found their beginnings in simple comic scenarios as clid early

Textuality and participatory culture Fl onl cal ly ba(l bpy fllnls like L lit losel!I arrose 1vhcre a naught> childon YouTube 1voulcl plap a prank. on an unsuspecting elder to racist 1vatermelon films that1llp>ved aucliences to revel in the then popularly amusing stereotyped image of

blacks eating copious amounts of 1vatermelon, conlccl) Xvas I nlajor dr iv inpDavid Gurney fprce for d)e early cinema. Humor is almost al>vays built upon novelty of some

spi t sUrprising or upsetting a vie>ver's (or an onscreen character's) cxpectatipns. While, in the very early days, just the situation of seeing a projectedn)ovino image provided novelty, very quickly these shorts began to capitalizeQn 1110) c constl Uctecl humor as an engine to drive patrons to the theater. To mGui)ning's formulation of early film culture as a "cinema of attractions" fore

I:or anyone )vith an active c-mail account, viral video has been,)ll bul i i icscal> grounds the importance of such novelty, and his argument oITers an interestingal>lc since at least the l>coitinin}) oi 2007. Lv cil i nc lividuals )vtthnut r c i !u l ) r parallel to 1vhat is goino on >vith viral video right no>v. These current clips areintcrnct access arc oitcn pi cscnlcd u ilh these ) idco 'mcmcs" }hrouph I cpol }s very much in the realm of the largely comic attractions Gunning outlines asUl ncwtlpvs or daily talk sho)vs, }lien via commcnlar1 on sucli c l ip-l>ascd rcvic)v The early evolution of television is another period that can help put viralshou s as VI I I 's l3est II'ee( Et er and I-. s lhe Soup. Internet stl canlln}) video l>as video into reliel. Here the 1vork of such scholars as Lynn Spigel, Patricia Mclbecome nothing if not a icrt ilc plot for dic sprcacl ancl prnpac!aiion ol ) isual )encamp, ancl George Lipsitz offers incredi1>lc insights into the 1vays thatcul}UI c, and vu al video his bccnnlc lhc clpnl in ltll cate}>oi y ol o(.nl c d(>set Ii) comedy, specifically situation con)edy, in early television allowed I'or thct ion applied to its content. I-low ever, thc viclcos that tl iis term his conic l o negotiation of clynamics such as pencler ancl ethnicity. Susan Murray's Hitchdescribe arc a hctcroocncous mix in terms ol sul>jcct, Inrm, )n( I mc>ninp. your .In(erma to the Stars takes a broader vie>v on comedy's role by focusing onThey include clips that ,)rc rcconlcxlu>lizalions oi pr ( -cxisl inp nlcdia texts the histories of television's biggest early stars comeclians. IMurray describes(c.o. I cnllxcd ol nlashccl-up Illovtc }I 1llci s, p1I od les pt I)luis a)id lclc vision these figures, especially variety stars like jackie Gleason, as "highly intertextualpl 0})t roaclclsls l l l ovvcd ln c i r cul >lc n u l s idc t h e i r performer(s).'" 13asecl upon her discussions of ho>v these performers circulatedintended market(s), )ncl machinima), original and parodic iiovcllv sonp videos,

J transmeclially, but also through different roles ni thin a given medium, thisrcpurposcd videos macle by producers nc) cr intcndin}) such )vide audiences description bears out, and though she cloes not linger on the point, the corre(or any audience at all), anil short >clualiles clcpicling freak )ccidcnrs, aclnrahl(' lation ol the comic persona and performative/commercial intertextuality andlnln11ls, ol vll loUs olhel Il lpfncnls lhll 1vould mix n i c e ly u i th ih i- c nt l lcnl n l

malleability is an important one. Comedy, an(I humor in general, is an interold media stalu arl : l iner>ra s Fttnntat Hoinc I t Jeos. tcxtual endeavor in a very funclamental sense. Humor can only take place in a

'i et, these diverse texts are all described as 1>art 0( lhe cultural phctlnnicilnnspace of shared expectation expectation vvhich can then be subverted in such

oi viral video in thar their popularilv his I csilllcd tlot f rom lop -clnwn n)cdiaa 1vay that incongruit) ar ises. Yet Ibis incongruity must st il l be cu l turally

dist'ribulion bul rather throuph viral circulation: thc sharini! Ol LIRI. l ink,legible. The comcclian thrives on intertcxtuality u hich provides a basic leoibil

embccldino on blops ancl other social ncl>)nrkinp >a}>('s, anil n ld-fashic)ncd ity even )vhen it is being subverted, vvhereas the "dramatic" or "earnest" figure)vorcl-of-mouth . Perhaps lhc nlosl sip()ltlc ln l , , i t ld c l ()sist lo u l i l l v*,no, i lot)i( nt is more po>verlul )vhen the textual persona can bc contained. This inherentIor these lransmedialccl texts is their l c l ia i)(c nn h i !mnr s lhc h onk u i l h drive to)var(I intertcxtuality in comecly makes it a prime vehicle for helping to

ich lo pu l l i n n c)v v ic )vers, ln subscqucnll ) c ncnurcia(I iiles w ilh their humor in ) iral vicleos should be no surprise; ho)vcver, in orclcr to ascertainfan>ily and Ir icnds, and sometimes even,i l low inn v!()vers tn lake ')arl in Ih (

bct tcr l>oth thc fielcl's parallels and discrepancies 1vith these moments of emerI ormatinn o i t h c i c x i b y c o m icallv mod i iv inp i ! an ( I /n r r c s !)Ond!no lo i ' I

pent media history, morc Iocused analysis needs to be conducted on v i ralthrough direct video re-editing or versioninp.

video.

32 D . Gurney " It's just l ike a mini-mall " 33

Lookin() to the case of Sammy Stephen's Flea Market !v10ntoth instantly expand the text anc] foregrounclenters when it is posted on YouTubc will hr. analyzed. Llsinp p)rat xt j i ) L]lc inherent mult i-climensionality or instability of the text . This conditionscuse (Icllnc(J by Gerar(J Gcncttc, this means thc cluster ol )ccompanying> i]. n)akes cliscussion ol' a singular text.ual elcmcnt rather complicatccl, to say thements that ai.c louncl on thc clip's main pat>c, inilucllng> ) arious soi.ts OI pil-iph least. Such a huge component of a viral clip is the climcnsion ol ) irality itseral inlormation w ith lvhjc]) thc You'I ul)c int'i'tace )l ions, ol cx cll (Icn1,111(ls cil (liat!on among users/viervel s ancl the resulting layers of text: accumulatedi ts uscf's/vlclvcr's Lo!OLcl' vi(lco sis ,)i)d p)anted, tracing this particular clip forwarcl from its germinal mon)entsat closlv fo]]0)v ) iral clips attest to this )nd,,)s hvpcl texts i o !1 yeah!" This list ol' items is repeated twice, but b)' f'ar, the most prevalent lincstitutc a facet ol thc Youl ul)c pal aL'cxt. 's w!Lh fhc l)(hs on ih(- L rrent stai o l measurecl and deliberate, much more in l ine )vjth early or "old school" raptl ansnlcdiatccl participatorv culture, as )vc]J as th issues that arise N'hen Ll ylnp than )vjth the rhythmic complexity often associated )vjth contemporary hipto analyxc such phenomena. hop, making thc lyrics both legible and reproducible. The sheer repetition of

the lyrics is no doubt a major source of the humor involvecl, and the very actHumble beginn ings? of twice repeating "It's just like" has an insistently playful quality. In addition,

thc message o]' the slogan that the furniture store is just. like a mini-mallA critical quandary in c]iscussing most viral vidos, parii(fil..fly fho~ lvirh has a built-in quality of' absurclit')'. Obvious]) meant t.o denote the expansiveembedded levels of transmcdiation, is )(h(.rc to bepin the .lnalvsjs. Al h(lph ness 0] the selection available, it, perhaps un)vittinp]y, brings to mind themost clips can be tracecl to a relatively elisor(L point of ()rinin, !heir :>c-tua] question of )vhat exactly a "mini-mall" is. While some may find the termLcxtuality is so radically altcrc(] upon eiitry into the Inti;met I l ieu that innocuous or even pleasing, for many the idea of a mim-mall is fraught )vjthclip itself quickly becomes only one component of a st'ill-developing textual negative connotations of suburban s]>ra)v] and anti-aesthetic architecture. Theheld. Of course, as Ito)and 13arthes ancl other poststructuralists have already presence of "Flea!v)arket" in the name of the store reinforces this as well. In a

30 D . Gurney - It's just l ike a mini-mall" 35

'a'v ibis s!>('aks to the CI )ss dcliiogi aohic l>el!i,1dvci t isc(l to, )s t hose ivho ness ro thc j ingle that makes it. stand out, Still , El len's part.ly sarcastic andl ill'0 l hell noses 10 01!nl-lilalls lend 10 bc 11)osc 'ho ci)n 1f lol d 10 sf)op unrealizecl su

" It's just l ike a mini-mall" 3736 D . Gurney

strcaminu video hpstinu sites, is a clc->r example ol rcrncdial.ion tj>l or!ah hypcl a jpw anujc across Flea !cd it . R a l j>cl

1G tripe(i pp(lch in thc lorcmpund with a sea of other couches and table lanlps inI

than seel in(i tp h ide their meclialed nature, thcsc sites 011kc lt unavoidably l j>e j>ackground. The drpj>pcd ceiling complete with fluorescent lightingvisible. Tracin!> Stephens cpn>I11cr eral thr puuh this nctu ork rv i l j c l ucid lie l ' aturcs prpnl inently in the upper re ion o f the shot , an(i there a l a r ej>oth thc rvorkinps ol YpuTubc and thc stil l cxpandin rex!. ol' "Flea Market "Fin1n(lng Available" sign hangii>g from it. While it might seem tp he thc sor lMpll tgp l>lcr y Lon(r 'v CI SIO!1. pj thin(r thill: 01any cpillnlcl cials ivoulcl avoid, this visual inlormat ipn has ijcfi

A niajor point ol in lcrcsl l'or this clip, or any 'I'ouTuhc clip, is thc viclco nitc use value. This type of ceilinp signals that this is a lower-priced furnil.ureivindpsv nested 0!1 thc cl ip's pauc. I hc iv incjou is p l lhc s lal1(ill d 4:3 l s l'>ii 't put] t cate] inu !110I c tp Lhc wol king ol lp (ver-middle cl lsscs than lo those rvhpral.io that divas initially cslablishcd hy carly cinema ai>d l.hin ll ansfcrrccl lo lclc are looking for designer, antique, pl custom items. Like the lyr ical contentvislon (lhpuph hpth thcsc anrcccdcnt media noiv employ v>rious ividci 1011>lars coi1siclerccl above, the sign highli(>hts this class-specific cpdin() hy emphasizinglp clistlnpuisli various tcxls). When onc enters thc l-Ica Marl(cr!%10ntg>ornery that even >vith lhc louver prices, there is thc option tp spread out the j)ayn>ent 1 onu ('crsion" pauc, like any Youl uhc clip pape, thc video immccli>rely through lin>ncing.starts plavin(>. Over lhc voiceless music lr>ck, thc camera slowly pans right al A series pf twp, faster, right pans at lprver angles avoiding any ceiling reveal

another sectional couch and a clear glass dinin(> table as thc f>rst lyrics, "Livingl-ppms, bedrooms, clincttes, ph yeah," are r1pped. The 1>puncing bc>t seems to

(I! U j>ropel thc c'ln1cla 1long In thcsc shots, 1ttcsting t'0 ti>c plcilitude pl furni ture1vailablc, hut then, the commercial cuts to a static shot, still in the sho>vrppiand at a straight-on angle. This is a long shot of Stcj>hens in front of a beigesectional couch, very close in color to his oivn suit. I-lc dances back and forthwith the 01usic ivhilc lip-synching to the vocal, making it clear that he is theperforn>er/pitchn>an. Also in ihis shot, siiperirnposed text in lhe hptton> leftcorner idcntihes that this is "San1nly Stephens Mini Mall Rap."

Llppn ann pilncing thc na111c pf thc stol'c in the lyr ics, thcrc is a cut to anexterior shot in thc parking lot 1vhere Stephens stands next ro t ivo deliverytrucks, pointing tp that name and the store's slogan emblazoned on tl1e side of

Figure 2. I YouTube video window (screen caprure by the author). Figure 2.2 Delivery truck in a parking lot (screen capture by the author).

38 D . Gurney " Ir.'s jusr. like a mini-mall" 39

onc of thc trucks. The intentional]> stuttercd vcl'sion oj' thc s]ocd b)) Stephens al this point, subsc Mal.ket Montgomcri Long Version" as oj I-cbruary 12, 2010), i ts late y o l t l c l u l l o(LIC I c'tc.dynamic of the commercial, bcpjnnjn as a canted angle close-Lip ol thc t'I Uck, g hc comments lorm a portion of the paratext as 1ve]I, ivjth t>vo l orms avail

uickly zooming out to a much ]onat Stcph(ns Is a jun-loving rctailcr, 1 f'ol-n> part of the hypert'exl that u:I]] be f'urt'hcr considered latel in this chapt'cr.true char>clcr i n t h c t r 1ni p i t chmen t h rounes the tcxlu>lilv o j ,> You I uhc clip as something pen lo comments, like user/vie I i o n . could bc meant harlnlessly but, intentionally or not, I ecall the racist coon cal i

13clo

40 D . Gurney " lt's just l ike a mini-mall" 4 I

totsc..l 's "it's just l ike a mini mall . . . h l lc in the case of 1 viral clip such as "Flea Market IVIonttromcry Longusers/vie1vcrs arc making their on (albeit fceblc) form ol comccly by incor Vrsion." Unlike the "( icleo Rcsponscs, Lhcsc videos may not have been proppor at)I)fr CulthCLS Into thC I l l Lrc]V IaU(latol 1' ConlnlCULS 'ludo)'V. 1 hCSC I aciSt erly submitted as responses, though some ol the clips in the "Video Responses"comments typicallv spur their ou n responses 'ith other users/vicrvcrs chas can appc)r in I'Jlis box as u'cll. 'I hcse listinos al e con)pose(] of screen-c)pttn'ctising Lhc apparent racism, others cncoul.)On th ritrht sick of Lhc vicleo inclo

" It.*s just. like a mini-mall " 4342 D . Gurney

announces "You don't look l ike a pop star, but yoU vc pot a gi clt' voice," cial interest. In Iact, there are various other parties (Current I V , u ebsitc)u hich jackson backs up u ith, "Ycs, it's u cir-d. It's ivilcl, I say ycs , Thc

) ))nlylivcbid.corn, and others) u ho have recruited Stephens for similar services. He

ju/Un/:. 1 his cycling ancl expansion of his celebrity is indicative of theeyes quite >vide as il in surprise or cxcitcmcnt is inserted ls 1 reaction, potential inlpact of u hich YouTube-hostcd content is incr casint>]y capable.

I his parodic "remix" u.orks on manv Icvc]s. I ii.st, i t is put t ing thc i lu "I=]ca Market Montg>ornery Long Version" and its textual net>vor.k inclicatcIootapc of Stcphcns in a noi cl context, but onc t]iai even many transnat iona] some o]' the hest ancl thc u orst of ivhat viral 1 idco is. YVhile many clips garneruserslvievvers vvicler and broader

Idol prot>ram u)hich has nou been males >(hone-shotInternet. mcmc and then coming> lull c'irclc ls a local pii(hman ih o ugt'I in

" lt's just like a mini-mall" 4 5D. Gurney

)0 p)';)ct)cc, ho''Lvc)', th)s conti 0) )s ) 1) L'I)' c Lln)i vrs))v 1 ress, 1997). 4 (u)i ' ttc l ) ) i ' r dchm>ti'0 (I]au)qom< r)' Advcf))scr, a loc)l OC)vsf')1pc)' 10)' thc;1rC;), hosted an online contest to re)nix thChii formal typoloov in GLmrd Civncttc, I ' )J)mpscas: Jucra)ufi )f) rhc Recona[jr)tjon oj' Television

7. YVhjj "h) pert< st" l)as noiv vn)crcd < o[[o

Chapter 2 " It's just l ike a mini-mall" 3 [

"It's just like a mini-mall" By iio means is this situation complcchere a naughtv childon YouTube )) OLI]d p[a)' a pranl' on an unsuspcctina elder Lo racist )vatcrmelon fi lms that

a]]0)ved audiences to revel in Ihc then popularly amusing stereotyped i111agc ol'b]acks eating copious amounts of isinn these figures, especially ) ariein a] 1ll(J p1I o(]iva)' that incongruity arises. Yet this inconI>ruity must stil l be cul turally

distiril>ution bul rather through viral circulation: Lh, clemcni is more po)vel ful )Chen I.hc I.extual persona can be contained. l his inherentfoi these I l i )nsn)cdiaic(J Lexis is their r c l ian('c nn hu in n r , i s I h