The Democratic party, and especially this election, is known for its grassroots organization. This is especially evident on sites like YouTube, where members constantly post original or remixed videos in support of the movement. Barack Obama's 2004 convention speech ignited the message of "Yes We Can," and four years later it a core part of his capaign of hope and change. What I find most interesting is how easy it is for people to internalize and personalize this message. Yes, it is about Obama and his campaign for presidency, but his supporters have obviously taken it to mean much more.
How does YouTube represent this message? The videos I found range from the professional to the very homemade. This first video by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas could be considered the "founder" of Yes We Can videos, and features celebrities speaking and singing to the words of one of Barack Obama's 2004 speech.
This video inspired many to create their own "Yes We Can" tributes, mixes, and original videos. What I noticed in all of them was that they are less about Obama as a person and more about the message of hope and change. The videos were about the people and their stories.
This is an a capella group that sings a version of the Yes We Can song. Much less professional than the first, it shows how the message is spreading on different levels:
Except for the very last image of Obama's circle/sun logo, this next video, titled "Yes We Can International" completely divorces itself from Obama the man and instead creates a powerful international manifest by translating his words into many world languages and giving them to real people: "Inspired by the Will I Am video, real people from all across the world take on Barack Obama's message of change and world unity."
This next video makes it personal--yes I can. Like the original will.i.am video, this one is shot in black and white, except for the Obama speech, shown in color on a small tv. Again, the message is optimism, hope, belief:
Returning to the original song idea, the next video is a grassroots response to the "hollywood" style of the will.i.am video. Here's what the YouTube video info says:
This live music video is the grassroots counterpart to the will.i.am Yes We Can video. Ariel Thiermann's original song was recorded live with Obama supporters. We challenge you to do the same and Sing for Obama! Find out how at http://singforobama.org/.
One woman wrote a song. Three women heard it and organized the Sing for Obama music video event. Four days later, over 200 Obama supporters came together to sing and the music video was recorded live. We challenge you to learn the song, make your own video and YouTube your own versions. Get creative. Make it your own. Yes We Can. Can You? Take the Sing for Obama challenge. Download the song and find out all about the challenge at http://singforobama.org/
The above video is a direct example of the power of YouTube--to comment, to create, to remix, to join, to speak. Here's another viewer's response, a simple acoustic version of the song. Here's his comment, which speaks to the "relationship" to the other video, and the immediacy of his response:
This project inspired me beyond words. I decided to figure out the guitar chords, print out the lyrics and record this version live, in one take on my laptop. I did this all within an hour or so of seeing the clip for the first time. This was a completely improvised musical performance; I did the best I could.
And finally, here's the message from Smokey:
What I learned most from this trip into YouTube was that it's sort of like a road, with many roads that lead off onto other roads. You start going in one direction, in my case with the original will.i.am video, which leads you in another direction, which leads you in another. If I'd started in another place, I would have found different videos altogether. But the videos I did find link together, they speak to each other on a common theme. They are in conversation.
I see myself using YouTube as a teacher for an exercise much like this one. I especially liked looking at the videos that "remixed" original concepts, that added personal interpretations, that dared to take the message in another direction. YouTube is an overwhelming landscape but one where much can be discovered about people's ideas and opinions. And taking another step back, I realize that this blog posting is a commentary on the message I've been examining all morning. I of course found many other videos that I chose not to highlight, and even my choices of what to post say something--this blog and the videos shown here are a critical "remix" of sorts. I know that today, at the end of a long and heavy election season, I needed to watch videos of hope. I chose, intentionally, not to analyze TV ads; I wanted optimism, not negativity; inspiration, not defeat or despair.
I am, quite clearly, a part of this message.
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3 comments:
Kristin, first of all I really like your picture. It's really cute. Secondly, this post is incredible. I love how you critically looked at each of these videos and analyzed their content. It's amazing to see how Obama supporters, hell they don't even have to be Obama supporters, have taken this Yes We Can message so closely and confidently and turned it into something so personal. I agree with you that it seems as though some of the people are not even necessarily linked to Obama and are seeing it simply as a personal message of change, power, unity...whatever. It is possible to take the politics out of it, which I'm totally surprised by. I tried to imagine if I had seen some of these videos, obviously not the ones directly linked to Obama, how I wouldn't have even picked up on the political message and would have been more over powered by what I believe is the true message. I think even people whom identify with the republican side of politics (gross) could relate just as well. Or how about someone running a small business, or someone totally overwhelmed working on their masters... Lastly, I really enjoyed how you looked at the teaching aspect of this. I think this would make an incredible class project: to either have students do exactly what we did for this assignment, or have them create their own videos similar to these. I think YouTube has potential to be used for educational purposes, so I'm glad you identified this. Well done.
Its great that you identified how people were using Obama's Yes We Can message for their own personal message. The Yes We Can videos show that presidential candidate Barack Obama is very relatable and You Tube is a tool for relief (what ever it may be). People in these videos express their desire for hope and find releif with the aid of Obama's message via You Tube. Not only this, but the video connects different people along a central theme. Hmmmm....maybe therapists should consider allowing patients to use You Tube videos as a stress relief mechanism.
wow u used so many videos! i always know to expect well written blogs by u and i have really enjoyed ur blogs that have focused on the presidential race.
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