Literal videos
I seem to have stumbled on the phenomenon of literal videos relatively late in the game. A bunch of them went viral at You Tube last spring, and somehow I missed them. But if you, like me, weren’t familiar with them before, I’d say it’s about time you made their acquaintance.
Rock videos are often sort of funny to begin with—sometimes unintentionally so. The literal video does something that seems quite simple: it keeps the music and visuals, but rewrites the words (using a singer who attempts to imitate the voice quality of the original) to describe the action taking place. There is no reason to imagine this would be especially humorous. But in the hands of the literal video creator, it can be screamingly funny.
See if you agree. This is the grandaddy of them all, a redo of the already-quite-strange-enough video version of Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Give it time; it doesn’t really hit its stride right away. But I warn you not to imbibe any liquids while viewing; they may end up on the computer screen:
There are many more. I happen to also like this far more subdued one:
If you’re looking for still more, go here.
Hilarious! Of course, I was unaware of them. Thank you, Neo – it’s so dreary and wet here, this 2min laughter was much needed
Evolutionary epistemologists suggest that people’s cognitions evolve as they interact in their environments with new technologies. I think these literal videos demonstrate such a transformative change in cognition.
As you watch the video, you recall the original song (more or less) and simultaneously process the literal version. The video is entertaining because of this dual processing. The transformative effect on your cognitions has an interesting connection to our present-day (20th & 21st century) political world, inasmuch as the original song can be construed as operating on the level of what propaganda does to us–evokes emotions that we normally don’t bother to consciously control. The literal level of processing the video “restores” us to our non-emotional, more reasonable self which processes information more consciously.
In conclusion, these fun videos are teaching us to process incoming visual and auditory information on TWO levels simultaneously. They are thus teaching us how to process propaganda on two levels: (a) view/listen to the propaganda on the emotional level and (b) simultaneously process it cognitively on the more rational level as well. Keep both streams moving in your mind actively–enjoy the emotion, but also discern what it is doing to you.
It just goes to show–the young of the human species can always figure out a way to survive and grow cognitively in even in the most demanding and complex environment!
Meh. I prefer the Hitler videos, e.g. “Hitler Learns Scott Brown Won”.
I’m inclined to think that this kind of caricature makes the historical reality, provided one knows it, even more appalling by contrast.
A great one about movies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFicqklGuB0
The first one was really funny. I wasn’t aware of these either.
However, I did run across a Janis Joplin vidoe of Me and Bobby McGee about a year ago where the soundtrack and words were original — but the visual images tried to match the words as they were sung. For example at the very beginning of the song, when she sings “Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train” — a Baton Rouge city limit sign quickly flashed and the next image was a train station. You get the idea.
Like most Youtube music videos I have saved to my favorites, it’s been taken down due to copyright infringement.
Pretty funny. I was a bit disturbed by the James Blunt video though, as I had never caught the suicidal implication in the song. I suppose it’s part of the whole emo genre, but I wonder how many impressionable teens have been influenced by the original video?
Gloria,
Fascinating interpretation. Really interesting to read.
AVI,
Yes, I saw that movie trailer a couple days ago and laughed so hard I was crying. Brilliant stuff.
I have tears in my eyes over the fist one.
And here’s the same concept applied to TV news reports. Very well done.
Another debt to Neo which may never be repaid.
Awesome. I had to look for a video which I’d actually seen, and found Billy Idol’s White Wedding. The kitchen scene is hilarious.
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I can also recommend the Literalization of
A-Ha: Take On Me
.
And, OT — in case you think A-ha is the best band to ever come out of Norway, you haven’t heard of Madrugada
I particularly recommend, as an introduction:
Blood Shot Adult Commitment
Majesty
Kids Are On High Street
Quite Emotional
Strange Color Blue
Black Mambo