YouTube teaches students
MULTIMEDIA
By Kahla Price / Intern –
(Video By Khai Ha / Staff Photographer)
When looking at popular television shows, movies and songs that involve any sort of choreography, one question seems to arise among people today: Can I learn that on YouTube?
From classics such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to newer videos such as “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” by Beyoncé, today’s society has become obsessed with spending countless hours learning these moves to showcase their skill in replicating the trendy routines.
Clark Hall residents practice choreography on Monday to music from the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. (Photo by Kaitlin Hoag / Photographer)
“A lot of time is wasted on watching silly things on YouTube such as a squirrel water-skiing,” said Neil Foote, an electronic news professor. “For traditional media producers to survive, they have to adapt to subjects that appeal to the new age.”
Foote also said the popularity of YouTube has soared because of its extreme accessibility.
“It’s convenient, it’s easy to use, and it’s fun,” he said. “YouTube has created an environment where videos can be easily produced in someone’s living room and distributed to literally anyone across the world.”
Many hours can be spent watching the readily available content without realizing exactly how much time is wasted. That, some say, is the downfall of spending so much time surfing YouTube.
(Photo by Kaitlin Hoag / Photographer)
“You really don’t realize the time wasted until you look at the clock and notice that five minutes has turned into 25 minutes when you watch the same clip over and over again,” said Joe Gonzalez, a history junior and Clark Hall resident assistant.
Lance Trachier, a communication design freshman, believes learning dances from YouTube is a big factor in today’s social world.
“I think YouTube makes it easier to learn dances for everyone,” Trachier said. “We spend so much time learning them because we like the idea of showing people we can do them, too. They’re great to show off at events. For my sister’s wedding we learned ‘Thriller’ just so we could perform it in front of everyone.”
In July, Minnesota residents Jill and Kevin Kheinz danced down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever.” The video has since received more than 26 million views and landed them on shows like “Good Morning America.”
(Photo by Kaitlin Hoag / Photographer)
Popular shows and movies also play a deciding factor in how popular a dance becomes.
“It’s because of shows like ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ People start talking about what they saw, and because it catches people’s attention, they start looking back at replays,” said Brad Cummins, a computer science freshman. “Then everyone wants to learn it because a lot of people know what you’re doing when you start dancing.”
Some dances are seeing their popularity skyrocket on campus as homecoming events like Yell Like Hell, where students perform dance routines during the bonfire, draw near. Participants and choreographers are creating routines based on their individual style and those from well-known videos.
“I wasn’t very into school activities but I like dancing and the title ‘Yell Like Hell’ caught my attention,” Cummins said. “I really like the popular moves we’re doing from a video, yet still adding in our own ideas too.”
Gonzalez, a participant in Clark Hall’s Yell Like Hell entry, said he loves to watch YouTube videos and thinks learning choreography and can unite groups.
“I think it’s a wonderful recreational activity. It brings togetherness because people see and recognize what you’re doing and want to join in,” Gonzalez said. “After all imitation is the highest form of flattering.”
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