Salon.com > Viral Video

Must-see morning clip

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:18:00 +0000

This video probably won't help you follow-through on your New Year's resolutions, but it will at least make your Wednesday morning a little brighter:

2012′s ultimate movie mashup

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:39:00 +0000

The end of the year has already inspired a retrospective look at the year's pop music. Now, Tumblr user Sleepy Skunk has created a movie trailer mashup, piecing together moments from 182 movies released in 2012:

Melbourne Metro PSA: “Dumb ways to die”

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:25:00 +0000

This week's viral video comes from an unlikely source: Melbourne Metro Trains. The video, "Dumb Ways to Die," is part of a campaign aimed at preventing train-related deaths in Victoria, Australia.

The PSA sheds light on a dark subject, using cute characters and catchy music to make a serious point. John Mescall, the executive creative director who headed the campaign, said, “We’ve got people eating superglue, sticking forks in toasters and selling both their kidneys. But truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and we still couldn’t come up with dumber ways to die than driving around boomgates and all the other things people do to put themselves in harm’s way around trains. The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn’t want to hear any kind of safety message – and we think dumb ways to die will.”

Watch the three-minute video and sing along:

h/t Tastefully Offensive

Pat Robertson on “Fifty Shades of Grey”

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:20:00 +0000

"700 Club" co-host Pat Robertson is shocked that "30 percent of women are involved in pornography," he says. He is furthermore shocked by the success of "Fifty Shades of Grey," whose author is “a little housewifey-type that doesn’t look like some glamour queen.”

h/t Right Wing Watch

Four-year-old girl tired of “Bronco Bamma” and Mitt Romney

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:51:00 +0000

One girl cannot wait for the campaigning to end.

We're with you, Abigael:

Chanel’s Brad Pitt ad goes viral with help from parodies

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Chanel's new perfume ad featuring Brad Pitt has has gone viral, but today Ad Age reports that it's because the video featuring the "Sexiest Man Alive" has been "ripe for parody." (Indeed, the commercial, which was supposed to be an attempt "to keep a legend fresh," is instead 30 seconds of what feels like a failed audition for "The Days of Our Lives.")

Ad Age notes that "Chanel No. 5 landed near the top of the Viral Video Chart this week" at 7.4 million views, but one-third of those views are getting boosts from derivatives of the ad, which include parodies.

Chinese dissident artist makes “Gangnam Style” parody

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, considered to be the most influential artist in the world, has released his own version of the oft-parodied viral hit "Gangnam Style." The infectious song is already a statement of sorts, but knowing the thought-provoking artist and political activist, there might be something more to it than that (Weiwei appears handcuffed to another man partway through the video).

Of course, as the Washington Post notes that Weiwei "never seems to take himself too seriously," it's possible the parody is just in good fun, too.

via Washington Post

Feminine hygiene company responds to viral rant

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Bodyform, a British brand of feminine hygiene products, knows how to capitalize on a marketing opportunity. Last week, a man named Richard Neill posted a hilarious rant on Bodyform's Facebook page in which he expressed his outrage over having been "lied to" about the reality of women's periods, which commercials depict as "joyous adventurous time." It went predictably viral:

Hi , as a man I must ask why you have lied to us for all these years . As a child I watched your advertisements with interest as to how at this wonderful time of the month that the female gets to enjoy so many things ,I felt a little jealous. I mean bike riding , rollercoasters, dancing, parachuting, why couldn't I get to enjoy this time of joy and 'blue water' and wings !! Dam my penis!! Then I got a girlfriend, was so happy and couldn't wait for this joyous adventurous time of the month to happen .....you lied !! There was no joy , no extreme sports , no blue water spilling over wings and no rocking soundtrack oh no no no. Instead I had to fight against every male urge I had to resist screaming wooaaahhhhh bodddyyyyyyfooorrrmmm bodyformed for youuuuuuu as my lady changed from the loving , gentle, normal skin coloured lady to the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin. Thanks for setting me up for a fall bodyform , you crafty bugger

Finally: The Paul Ryan Bad Lip Reading

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Bad Lip Reading, a video series of comical, random dubs over politicians, has finally delivered its Paul Ryan parody. The video diary portrays Bowhunter gushing about his band, "Steak Baby." Pictures of Hermione Granger and Nickleback loom in the background.

h/t Mashable

Weird news: Cat video film festival

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:52:00 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Warning: This is a story about online cat videos. If you're among the seemingly tiny minority of the general population not interested in watching a 1-minute clip of a cat in a T-shirt pounding on a keyboard, then move along.

For everyone else, a new measure of respectability is looming for an Internet pleasure that is both massively popular and, for some people, a bit embarrassing. The Walker Art Center, a well-regarded museum of modern art in Minneapolis, on Thursday is presenting its first "Internet Cat Video Film Festival" to showcase the best in filmed feline hijinks.

With about 70 videos over 60 minutes, the Walker is mounting a social experiment as much as a film festival. At issue is whether cat video lovers used to gorging on the clips in the privacy of their homes will do so in public — an online community of fellow aficionados interacting face to face for the first time.

"It is a cultural phenomenon that raises some interesting questions," said Katie Hill, the Walker program associate who first suggested the festival.

But Hill, a self-described "art historian and cat lady," was quick to add: "I'm not a behavioral psychologist, I'm not a sociologist. I just think they're funny and cute, and I think a lot of other people do too."

These babies know what life is about

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Babies have a strong connection to sound -- especially sounds from their parents. You may have seen this video of a 2-year-old deaf boy squealing with bliss when he heard his mother's voice for the first time. These girls have clearly heard guitars before (they've got a dance routine down), their similar reaction never fails to be cute.

Watch out, Dad; you might have groupies on your hands.

Growing up, made viral

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:25:00 +0000

She's a wide-eyed, tow-headed cherub who, in the space of under three minutes, morphs into a smiling tween before our eyes. And since Dutch filmmaker Frans Hofmeester posted a highlight reel of a dozen drooling, giggling and pigtailed years in the life of his daughter on Vimeo last week, his "Portrait of Lotte" has been viewed nearly 4 million times -- and elicited the awe of the online community.

What is it about the rapid transformation of Lotte that's made her such a viral star? Part of it is no doubt the impressive amount of work the video represents – and the consistency of Hofmeester's project. In 12 years' worth of weekly videos, Lotte's hairstyles, expressions and number of teeth change, but the background and music guide us smoothly, hypnotically through. It's also maybe because, as Deborah Netburn noted Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times, "the online audience has a history of clicking on time-lapse videos" like the classic "Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 6 years."

Obama’s campaign video: Osama vs. puppies

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:15:00 +0000

We get to see Barack Obama's 200-watt smile only fleetingly in "The Road We've Traveled," the 17-minute video made by "Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim that the president's reelection campaign released on Thursday. (The video is linked above, and embedded below.) No slouch at turning boring non-accomplishments into effective propaganda, Guggenheim knows he's got to save the smile for the right moment, and most of Obama's appearances in the video show him in steely and/or inspirational mode: Declaiming about morality to schoolteachers and autoworkers and gay soldiers, or sitting hunched and pensive in still photographs, surrounded by his economic team as the incoming headlines get worse.

The year in viral videos

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Another year gone by. And with it, all those precious hours that might otherwise have been spent writing novels and training for marathons, sacrificed at the altar of talking dogs and people ripping up paper. Thanks, YouTube! So with heavy hearts and glassy eyes, we bid adieu to the videos that this year made us laugh, sparked our outrage, touched our hearts and made us feel like partyin' partyin'.

Cats, now and forever

Nyan cat

As if to answer the question, "Is there anything more hypnotically odd than Rebecca Black's 'Friday'?" along came the glorious, three-and-a-half-minute endurance test known as Nyan cat. With its inspiring "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" lyrics and its gif of a smiling half-kitty, half-Pop Tart with a rainbow soaring out its butt, Nyan cat made absolutely zero sense. It has been viewed nearly 55 million times. Peanut Butter Jelly Time and Ooga Chaka Baby, make room on the dance floor.

Cat mom hugs baby kitten

A homophobic mayor’s lesson in love

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

How do you calmly confront prejudice? How do you rationally converse with someone who has contempt for your family? Just like this.

Our story begins in June, when Troy, Mich., realtor Janice Daniels decided she no longer hearts the Empire State. Apparently forgetting that Facebook pages can be viewed by other people, she posted on her wall that "I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there." I'm sure the tote bag was devastated.

The post might have gone unnoticed as mere Facebook-troll blather had the Tea Partyer not been elected mayor last month. It didn't take long for the Keep Troy Strong blog to point out the incendiary post, and for Daniels to delete it. She then issued a mealy-mouthed apology, stating that though "I do believe marriage should be between one man and one woman, it was inappropriate to use that language." She further explained that "It was meant to be a joke, silly, a funny thing." Of course, the month before, the mayor explained how she wants to use her new job to "promote the healthy aspects of society," including "intact families." "Intact" -- apparently as long as they're not "same sex."

Rick Perry: More disliked than Rebecca Black

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Which FTD Thank You bouquet do you think John Pike sent Rick Perry this week? Did he go for the "Sweet Splendor" or the "Because You're Special"? Maybe he opted for the Hickory Farms sausage and cheese box? He must have done something grand, because who else but Rick Perry could have provided the Internet with the most funny-horrible thing since Pepper Spray Cop?

You've seen the "Strong" video by now. Your friends have posted it all over Facebook, usually with a string of LOLs underneath. In a campaign ad that, unfortunately for Perry, strongly evokes both Heath Ledger's tormented performance and his sartorial leanings in "Brokeback Mountain," the man who uproariously still believes he has a shot at the White House says, "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." He goes on to promise, "As president, I'll end Obama's war on religion. And I'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage." (Perry staffers are already distancing themselves from responsibility, with his top pollster calling the ad "nuts.")

A viral video turns a bullied teen into a star

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:45:00 +0000

If you want to get a sense of everything that is wonderful and terrible about the Internet, look no further than the saga of Jonah Mowry. In August, shortly before the start of a new school year, he was a nervous and despairing gay 13-year-old who poured his heart out on YouTube. To the strains of Sia's "Breathe Me" and via a series of wrenching, confessional index cards, Mowry revealed the bullying he'd endured since first grade -- and his determination not to let it get him down. "I've cut … a lot. I have scars. Suicide was an option … many times." But, he added, "I'm not going anywhere, because I'm stronger than that."

The new Muppets and OK Go collaboration falls flat

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:01:00 +0000

In theory, OK Go and the Muppets should be like peanut butter and chocolate -- a perfect combination. But their first collaboration -- a viral video remix of the theme to "The Muppet Show" -- left me with a sour aftertaste. OK Go creates videos that turn bold choreography and low-tech cleverness into dazzling spectacle; I raved about them here -- and the Muppets' recent reinvention for YouTube was one of the most delightful brand reboots in memory. Some of the newer Muppet clips are as strong as the best sketches and musical numbers on the original "Muppet Show." They recapture the surreal counterculture edge that the characters used to sport back in the days when the late Jim Henson was still committed to vaudeville and TV and hadn't yet gotten distracted by the siren song of big-budget fantasy filmmaking.

So why does this new video feel so disappointing? And why does almost everyone seem to be giving it a pass?

Why are so many modern action movies terrible?

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:25:00 +0000

"The only art here is the art of confusion." That's one of many corrosive lines from "Chaos Cinema: The Decline and Fall of Action Filmmaking," a two-part video essay about the shaky camera and super-fast cutting that dominate so many modern action films and TV shows.

Written and edited by a young German film student named Matthias Stork, the piece gathers together a lot of the complaints that I've heard and read about contemporary action films into a sort of manifesto. The piece debuted earlier this week at Press Play, a video essay-driven blog that I founded. Stork created it as way to explain how action film style has changed from the more stately type seen in such films as "Bullitt," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Die Hard" into something much faster, more frenetic and -- Stork believes -- sloppier and stupider.

Today’s must-see viral videos

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:10:00 +0000

1. Ryan Gosling, crime fighter?

The actor (or his doppelgänger) helped stop a fight in the middle of a busy New York intersection last week:

2. This orangutan is serious about cleanliness.

Watch as it wipes its face, hands -- and the surrounding area -- with a blue-and-white washcloth:

3. Improv Everywhere and the Guggenheim Museum partner to make New Yorkers smile.

The "Human Mirror" was cooler, but this is still nice:

4. Exquisitely animated "bloopers" from the upcoming "Lion King 3-D":