Opinions

The Harlem Shake’s popularity is positively impacting our culture

If sex is what sells, then what in the world is happening with the Harlem Shake of 2013?

People are literally going out of their way to be as unappealing as possible or so it would seem. Yet, this is the No. 1 ranked

YouTube video explosion since last year’s Gangnam Style – which was at least somewhat stimulating, being that it didn’t involve men in banana suits thrusting their hips.

In a world where so much focus is placed on controlling the masses, this dance dares to encourage the absolute release of inhibitions in order to fully participate in the body-flopping dance that is the Harlem Shake of 2013.

The Harlem Shake is not new, and for residents of Harlem – veterans of the original cultural dance – the idea of liberation is not new either.

Although they might not particularly appreciate the simplification of the dance to the outlandish freeform that it has become, there is no contention about the idea of using this dance as more than a punch line. The dance is freedom, the dance is liberty, and for some, the dance is sex.

This is why there is a federal court case against the Harlem Shakers who made their video on an airplane in flight.

It is why there are athletes who have been suspended from their leagues for pushing the limits of the Harlem bandwagon.
The intensity of this ideal of liberation explains why there are even protestors in Egypt and Tunisia who have been arrested for bringing the Harlem Shake to the political arena against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yes, it’s true that there are jokers on YouTube rolling around simply to get a laugh out of this phenomenon, which actually began in Australia as merely a piece of comedy.

However, it is also true that an entire flight, passengers ranging from children to senior citizens, jumped around to the techno track by Baauer for the sole reason that it felt good, it felt fun and they felt it as a whole.

The dance, though it might not technically be what it originally was, has broken through a generational gap that Gangnam Style was unable to penetrate.

College students watch these videos with their friends and with their parents. Some have even made videos of their own with their parents and grandparents.

The videos are not professionally produced – though some are much higher quality than others – but they are uniform enough with each other to imply a sense of conformity and admiration amongst the community of participants and supporters.

The dance may be unattractive as hell the way we’re doing it in 2013, but the appeal of the idea has it growing faster than ever.

The outlandish Harlem Shake dance mobs are gaining momentum every day.

It doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, and for the most part, that’s a good thing.

Paige Pelonis is a sophomore journalism and international studies major and the assistant opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
 

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