The Observer, February 8, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 16
The must-see viral videos of YouTube.com
For all the good things the Internet has to offer, one particular site stands out among the rest. It is a daily stop for many, offering all kinds of material, from serious to humorous, from high-quality productions to webcam masterpieces, and it even posts movies illegally in 10-minute segments. YouTube.com is truly a world-wide phenomenon. The amount of media on YouTube may well rival the collections of the entire OhioLINK library system. However, for all the truly genius pieces of entertainment, there are a significant number of less than funny or downright pointless videos. How does one sift through the dirt to find the videos that are pure gold? It takes a special skill, intuition, and some impressive searching skills. Nevertheless, the quality videos generally make the pop culture rounds, spreading across Facebook profiles and MySpace pages like viruses. From this conglomeration of sources, here are three of the best videos on YouTube, from the funny to the political.
Potter Puppet Pals in "The Mysterious Ticking Noise."
Harry Potter lovers and haters cannot help but appreciate the addictive humor in this hand puppet rendition of the world of Harry Potter. The tagline explains the basic premise, "Snape hears a ticking sound. Love ensues." Snape is then joined by each of JK Rowling's main characters chanting their names in a musical fashion to the sound of the ticking noise. One of them discovers the source of the ticking noise, only to bring doom to them all, courtesy of Lord Voldemort.
"I Got a Crush...On Obama" by Obama Girl.
Considered genius by some, offensive by others, this YouTube gem takes politics to a whole new level. Obama Girl, a scantily clad political activist shows her support for presidential candidate Barack Obama by dancing sexily and crooning, "You're into border security, let's break this border between you and me." Making a mockery of the kind of celebrity fanaticism that the primary elections produce, Obama Girl also attracts the attention of the male population – politically active or otherwise – with her long legs and Pamela Anderson-esque demeanor. After the humor is finished, Obama Girl's voice somehow gets stuck in the viewer's head, playing "Obama-bama-bama" over and over again. Of all the political media out there, somehow Obama Girl's devotion to the candidate puts the rest to shame.
Dramatic Chipmunk.
Also referred to as dramatic hamster and dramatic prairie dog, this short clip is a must-see. Taken from a Japanese children's television show, the Dramatic Chipmunk has spawned countless dramatic spin-offs, including the Kill Bill style and the Bond remix. The video is so ubiquitous, ingenious, and dramatic that it has its own site for hardcore fans of the dramatic look: dramaticprariedog.com. Describing the video may well ruin the fun of it all, but if there is any one clip on the entire YouTube site that is worth watching, this would be it. Dramatic Chipmunk can easily be the best five seconds of your life.
Photos Courtesy of youtube.com.
