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What is this Harlem Shake??
Other | Tuesday 19th February 2013 | Osh
If you haven’t been sat in a cardboard box for the last month you’ve heard of the new craze that took America by storm, swept across the Atlantic and hit our rocky shores recently ( for better or worse.)
Yes, I’m talking about the internet meme, Harlem Shake.
The ‘art form’ of this meme was established by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia known as The Sunny Coast Skate when they uploaded a video on February 2nd. After a while, people began to replicate the original video and upload their own versions which led to viral chaos. On February 10th, the upload rate of Harlem Shake videos reached 4,000 per day. By February 11th about 12,000 versions had been uploaded with over 44 million unique views. By February 15th about 40,000 Harlem Shake videos had been uploaded with a total of 175 million views. It became an uncontrollable demon taking down every person who laid eyes upon it; everyone felt that they could do it better than the last.
So, the formula. What is the Harlem Shake?
It is a video lasting 30 odd seconds, featuring an excerpt from the song Harlem Shake by Baauer (which shot to #1 on the iTunes America chart as a result of the phenomenon). The video begins with one person wearing a helmet or mask dancing alone to the song, although surrounded by other people seemingly unaware of said person. When the song drops, the video then switches to the entire crowd going mental and doing a crazy dance for the next 15 seconds or so. This is where variations tend to kick in and the crazier the better. Nudity, costumes, and stupid dancing is the name of the game.
Why the popularity?
Well we are a simple race aren’t we? So the reasons for success are pretty clear. The videos are short and funny. It’s a rather simple explanation to fit our simple minds. And the reproduction ability is, dare I say it, simple. Any fan can make a version of the video because it requires minimal production capabilities; a single locked camera shot and one jump cut. It is also possible to make with as many or as little people as you want, both can make for entertaining videos when done right. Therefore the craze has spread from being the output of mere mortal such as ourselves, to even celebrities jumping on the bandwagon. Ryan Seacrest, Azealia Banks, and most recently the Topshop supermodels (Cara Delevigne and Jourdan Dunn).
Anyway I suppose the big question now is how long this craze is going to be about?
How long will it take for the next big thing to take over? I suppose we can only wait and see. For now just enjoy it.
Harry Illingworth
@harryillers
