I’d say that not many people don’t know who this cute, little yellow furball is. From the time he stormed the American shores through the first Pokemon series up to it’s most current version. Then there’s the yearly Pokemon DS titles from Nintendo. If there’s one thing which many fans of that franchise agree on it’s that Pikachu is the one character everyone recognizes.
But Pikachu has branched out from just those anime series and DS games he has dominated for over a decade. He has made his way into viral YouTube videos which has remained known only to anime and manga fans but has slowly gained traction with non-fans as well. Below are just some of the viral video memes starring the one and only Pikachu in all his Cute Glory.
A few days ago, an old clip from the Today Show showed up on YouTube. That clip was from 1994 and it featured Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel trying to figure out what the Internet is. Apparently, the clip was posted by an employee of NBC. If you’ve seen the clip, you already know that while it’s mildly amusing, it’s also pretty tame.
Well — joke’s on you, NBC. As my friend Ron always reminds me whenever I post a picture on plixi during Thong Thursday, the Internet is forever and now, so is that clip.
So, here’s one of the many copies of that clip that can be found on YouTube. See it now before NBC demands that it be pulled down.
(Incidentally, my mom always hated Bryant Gumbel and I can still remember, when I was 13 or maybe 14, laughing so hard when my mom turned on the TV and was greeted by his image. ”Pendejo,” she said as she changed the channel.)
After seeing this video highlighted on G4TV’s Attack of the Show a couple days ago I just had to go to Youtube and favorite the video.
What else is there to say other than I knew televangelists were actually Dark Lords of the Sith in sheep’s clothing. My favorite part is close to the end where the hapless congregation just filed into his lightsaber strikes one after the other like they wanted to die.
Over the past few days, I’ve become obsessed with a four-part video on Youtube. I don’t know who uploaded this video or why she (or he) felt the need to share it with the world. I suppose I could always go to the user’s channel and send a message but I don’t think I will. To be honest, I know that even if I did get a reply, the answers would probably just be a disappointment and certainly no where close to matching what I’ve imagined. Sometimes, the best questions are the ones that are never answered.
Anyway, as for the video itself, it was apparently filmed in 1987. Though it’s never explicitly stated, I think that this video was made in a high school gym. Apparently, the occasion was a fundraiser that was meant to help pay for the senior prom. For nearly 40 minutes, members of the Class of ’87 walked out onto a makeshift stage and showed off some of the tackiest prom dresses in the history of tacky prom dresses. Seriously, with one or two exceptions, the dresses here run the gamut from horrid to hideous. These were dresses from the Gurl, What Were You Thinking? collection.
(If I may say so myself, my prom dress was a 100 times better than anything seen here. It was a black mini with a pleated skirt and a sequined bodice. I was all boobs and legs in that dress and I’m sure some people would say it was too much of both. But so what? I felt like a movie star. I also did that silly thing where you throw your garter and then you dance with whoever catches it. It was fun and all but I never got the garter back and I hate to think of what the guy who caught the garter did with it after the dance.)
So, why does this video obsess me so? Well, admittedly, some of it is the fact that whole thing — from the balloons that decorate the stage to the gift certificates to McDonald’s that are given out as door prizes — is just so amazingly cheap that it actually becomes charming in much the same way that a 50s B-movie or Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. I love listening to the breathless commentary of the two hosts and comparing it to the models who, for the most part, almost seem to know that, 23 years in the future, this whole thing is going to end up on YouTube. I also love how, as the video goes on, the audience goes from being politely attentive to openly talking amongst themselves as the show goes on. Finally, the static camera work and the fact that every model is a star for at least 15 seconds, is reminiscent of the early Factory films of Andy Warhol.
I also like to watch the models and to wonder where they are now and whether they even remember the night and the show that has captivated me. Since they were all high school seniors in 1987, they would be in the 40s now. I wasn’t even 2 years old when this video was made. I don’t know any of them and (unless they’re reading this) they don’t know me but we have a bond in that we’ve all shared the same hour. After watching this video several times, I feel as if I know most of these models. I’ve studied their body language as they walked across the stage. I’ve noticed who smiled and who looked miserable. I’ve created elaborate backstories for them and figured out who has ended up married to who and who ended up getting drunk on prom night and crashing his car (and tragically killing his date) afterward. I’ve figured out what terrible secret links together all the guys wearing the sunglasses at night. At this point, actually meeting or talking to anyone actually in this video could only be a massive disappointment.
However, I think the true appeal of this video is that it’s both a record of an actual event but yet it’s totally devoid of context. The simple act of watching it becomes a search for meaning in which you’re guaranteed to find whatever it is you want to find.
I recently discovered that Dallas’s own Newy Scruggs has become something of a Youtube cult figure as a result of a report he filed from San Francisco shortly before the start of the World Series.
I think Newy is the sports reporter for one of the local stations down here. I’m not sure which station because, to be honest, I make it a point not to watch the news. (I rely on rumor and street innuendo for my knowledge of current events…) However, I do know about Newy because when there’s somebody living in your city with a name like Newy Scruggs, you better know about it.
So, now the question is this — what lies in the future for Newy Scruggs? Will he become a famous, legendary Youtube messiah like the Garbage Day Guy from Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2?
Or will Newy Scruggs suffer the same tragic fate as past Youtube stars?
One thing is for sure. I will always enjoy randomly saying “Newy Scruggs.”
