Video 1 @mermaidgraceofficial

Camera is from behind a group of people in front of tank. Some are holding up phones, capturing and replicating the image. Others have hands pressed against the glass. A woman dressed as a mermaid is swimming underwater in the tank. She twirls and blows a kiss to the music. The lighting casts an otherworldly glow. There being an audience gives the feel of an authentic show. The mermaid represents a mythical femininity. The glass separating her from her audience and the phones replicating her image, the performance of celebrity.

Video 2 @sssniperwolf000

Anime posters litter the background. Woman in glasses and a wig copies the original dance–twirls, hand to mouth gesture, blows kiss, zooms in to song, dabs. She is lip syncing. She is replicating the dances and camera panning and angles that @nyannyancosplay uses.

This is an example of copy surpassing the original—an already popular creator need only do the base trend, with nothing particularly original about it, to rise to the top.

Video 3 @marshmellomusic

Man in a chef’s coat and electronic dance music helmet is dancing to the music with their own moves, though he makes the index-thumb to chin gesture. They are in a minimalist apartment or hotel. Based on the creator’s account and on their notable helmet, they are a famous EDM musician. Their dance moves, with the covering of their face, the chefs outfit, the room, all give impression of a cold elitism. Displaying high status.

Video 4 @ottoman5

A person is stretching their hands before typing an essay on their stickered Macbook. It pans in to the timing of the song, and you see the words of the essay are the lyrics to “Mia Khalifa”. They then highlight and cross out these words as if they are grading until the image resembles @nyannyancosplay. Then it jumps to the paper receiving an A. It ends with a dabbing animation. The hand-stretching, essay-typing, and grade-receiving = student assignment archetype being converged with image/symbols of popular youth culture.

Video 5 @kendal6628

A group of kids in a schoolyard. They are doing stunts, dances to the music while lipsyncing, the camera pans into them to the music. One kid is flipped, another kid is trying to lift a much heavier kid. The video has an authentic feel to it, and a style much like a music video. There is sense like they are showing off to each other and using the video as a means to connect with each other. It remind me of my own friend group copying a trend online in order to bond.

Video 6 @kierabridget

A woman turns slowly in a gaming chair. Her hair is purple. She zooms in on her smirking face at the end. The description says “when you die ur hair purple and you’re ashamed of it.” This video is seemingly an outlier in that no one is dancing or lip synching, which only adds the feelings of shame and anxiety.

Video 7 @vanessamerrell

A girl in a pink hoodie with the hood up and long hair is lip synching to the music. She makes a few gestures, but is more held back. She gives off a very reserved and relaxed demeanor.

Video 8 @maverickbaker

Boy is in a bedroom with an American flag and neon sign on the wall. He is wearing a jersey of some kind and has flashy hair. He is jumping, pointing and moving his eyebrows very expressively. He is displaying a show-offy egotism, one of cyber-consumer American culture.

Video 9 @ash_lay

A woman is dancing and gesturing aggressively and provokingly to the song in a kitchen wearing a college t-shirt. There is a pot on the stove.

Video 10 @littlebucksh0t

A woman is sitting on a couch chewing gum. She is lip syncing and makes a few of the original gestures. She flips her hair back and puts her finger to her cheek. She is holding a puppy.

Findings

Next: Analysis/Conclusion