Hello! Welcome back! I can’t believe it’s already October.
Life update: I started a new job at a digital marketing agency! It was extremely bittersweet to leave work at Archie McPhee, but it is a much needed step forward in my career. I’ve been at the new job for a few weeks and I’ve learned a lot so far!
I also took a spontaneous standby flight to NYC for 48 hours with my best pal, Jillian, who is a flight attendant. Aaaand I will be in New York AGAIN October 20-25!
Night School Update: Website is coming along although I’ve been wrestling with a few options for video hosting & embedding on WordPress. Uploading directly to YouTube has worked well, but I frequently run into the daily upload limit which creates delays in getting the newsletter out. I think my record is reaching the limit on three different accounts two days in a row. SO if someone reading this happens to be a wizard with advice for a long-term solution, drop me an email: nightschooldrool@gmail.com
As always, additional updates and questions can be asked on Twitter.
Couch Guy
Seemingly out of nowhere, I began seeing video reactions, commentary and deep analysis on my FYP... all in reaction to the following video:
At the moment it has over 60 million views.
Before jumping into the reaction videos, it’s important to take a step back and provide context to TikTok culture at large over the past few weeks. While I will cover this in more detail in an upcoming Deep Dive, long story short: TikTok audiences went on an armchair detective binge searching for clues regarding the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito. Creators and viewers took to unpacking minute details from every piece of social media & video content possible. Now, I am not in any way trying to suggest that CrimeTok is the same as Couch Guy TikTok, however they are part of and inform the culture on TikTok that involves normalizing and “game-ifying” intensive analysis and theory-making about real people & events.
OKAY back to Couch Guy. There are a few types of reactions that I noticed, they are listed here in the order I experienced them in:
Silent Duets- silent with reactions as facial expression at the forefront.
Duets and/or Stitches- with commentary seeking to add to the conversation.
Parody- re-creating the original with exaggerated elements.
Heavy Analysis- digging up as much as possible on the individual featured in the original video and providing commentary.
Contact- attempts at in-person or digital one-on-one contact.
Out of Context Commentary- videos commenting or theorizing without including the original audio or video.
Cats- this is basically the same as parody but cats get their own CATegory (sorry).
Silent Duets
Stitch & Verbal Duet Reactions
The "lore-ification" of normal life is rampant at the moment, evoking language that is more commonly used for theorizing an upcoming television premiere, film or book sequel. If you ever got deep into Game of Thrones or Harry Potter fan theories, it’s basically that… but using 30 seconds of this unfortunate couple’s relationship.
Parodies
Analysis
Here are some examples of users unpacking the video nearly frame-by-frame for “clues” & meaning:
Contact attempts
Commentary
@crutches_and_spice is one of my favorite creators, here she discusses the game-like aspect of Couch Guy TikTok:
Cats
Final thoughts on Couch Guy
Sometimes it feels as though the collective conversation online is learning & experiencing emotional intelligence for the first time by unpacking awkward social dynamics within TikTok videos. I don’t necessarily have an issue with engaging in these topics on TikTok, but it feels unethical when done on a public forum to strangers without their consent while also making accusations about behavior or mental health. It is fascinating to observe nonetheless!
Guardian of the Hedgehogs
Here’s to Biguar the Jaguar, guardian of the hedgehogs…
CleanTok is off the rails
…and potentially very dangerous.
Here is a unicorn sink cleaning:
THIS ONE is hyping up a 100 product video as a reward for hitting 500k followers:
They also do videos tailored to viewers, using different chemicals to spell out names:
A pink sink:
I’m a sucker for aesthetically pleasing & satisfying cleaning content, and as a kid I was all about creating “potions” using literally whatever I could get my hands on… BUT There’s a huge risk in this kind of content being so popular, as someone could very easily attempt to create their own aesthetically pleasing chemical bomb toilet bowl video, and accidentally put themself or others in harms way. Not to mention the environmental impact that putting 100 products down the drain can have.
Side note: The videos featured here remind me of bath bomb ASMR videos from a few years ago. Compilation linked here.
Deranged Bath Content
Pickle bath? Pickle bath.
This one made me feel insane because of the impact of YouTube & influencer content has had that leads people to create what are essentially video advertisements for products:
Berries & Cream
Berries and cream is a meme that just won't quit. Quick back story: a character & audio clip from a 2007 Starbursts commercial went viral recently leading to an insane amount of remixes & jokes referring to the "little lad" and "berries in cream." Hot take but Berries and Cream might be the 2021 version of Rick Rolling…
This YouTube compilation gives a good sense of the original audio and the Berries & Cream dance:
and the next two compilations feature the audio remixes that became popular and enabled Berries and Cream to have a much longer shelf life and imbed itself deeper into TikTok culture:
Devious Licks
Students who returned to in-person schooling unsurprisingly hopped on this trend which seeks to cause chaos and destruction. First I need to explain what a “lick” is in this context, just in case. So a lick, or “hitting a lick” essentially means doing something that is ethically or legally rebellious like stealing, selling/buying drugs, etc.
The trend mostly involves students filming themselves or their surroundings committing acts of destruction, theft, or fantasizing about committing acts of destruction and/or theft.
Bathrooms tend to be the main focus for these videos, causing heightened bathroom security at schools:
Classroom Decorations
School Reactions
Upping the ante with a school key
A POV Parody:
The following parody sums up the trend well:
Speaking of bathrooms….
Here’s what being at a party or club would have sounded like in 2020 if a certain global pandemic hadn’t happened:
Thank you for reading & see y’all next time!