Rewind: This week on YouTube; violence, pranks and dancing
If you think of YouTube as a place for music videos, wacky dancing, and cute animals, consider how it become a platform for a daughter seeking justice against her abusive father this week.
A video of a Texas judge beating his disabled teenage daughter burst on the scene three days ago, when the daughter posted a link to the video on Reddit. The disturbing video collected more the 4.4 million views since she uploaded it on October 27, as well as countless media mentions. The video, predictably, also attracted Internet vigilantism against her father—an outcome, the daughter said, that she never intended.
Speaking of Texans, a highlights video of Rick Perry’s speech at a fundraiser in New Hampshire has collected 1.2 million views. The draw? A rambling Perry makes animated hand gestures and tells bad jokes. According to VidStatsX, a YouTube traffic-monitoring site, it was the 29th most-viewed video this week.
The Grand Theft Auto V trailer, released on Wednesday, collected more than 4 million views in 72 hours. Grand Theft Auto is a popular video game franchise dating back to 1997, and the GTA V trailer was the third most-viewed video this week, according to VidStatsX.
The Amazing Atheist, a popular YouTube personality known for his rants, dealt with a fruitarian sex scandal earlier this week. But his forthright response, also delivered on YouTube, left his reputation—such as it is—intact.
A video of a young man and woman dancing to techno music while swinging swords has been deemed a pinnacle of YouTube achievement. The video and copies uploaded by fans have been viewed roughly one million times after appearing on Reddit.
Both Redditors and YouTubers have declared the video the best on the Internet. Some declared it “Internet folklore art.”
“Everything in this video is absolutely perfect. Not just the dancing. The dog, the grandma, the beer, the boom box, the painting on the door, even the damn mop plays a role. I am competely stunned by the brilliance of this video.” wrote YouTuber Chebsi on the original video.
Another must-see: a mini-documentary of a 92-year-old tap dancer. It hasn’t gotten the same enthusiastic reception as the sword dancers, but it ought to.
The French humorist and prankster Rémi Gaillard is back with another video. This one’s called the “Everest Elevator.” As of Saturday, it had just under a million views..
American prankster and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel issued a new YouTube challenge, asking parents to tease their children about their Halloween candy. The segment, titled “I Told My Kids I ate all their Halloween candy,” saw 6.6 million views—by far the most viewed YouTube challenge Kimmel has done. Crying children are comedy gold, after all.
Kina Grannis released her “In Your Arms” music video on November 2. It’s been viewed 1.9 million times since. The video is a stop-motion feat with jelly beans, and according to the YouTube description, took two years to complete.
A music video featuring Nicki Minaj and Big Sean singing about large backsides collected 3.2 million views since being released on November 1. It was the ninth most popular video on YouTube this week according to VidStatsX.
Minaj’s music also had a bit part in a work by two YouTube musicians, Kurt Hugo Schneider and Sam Tsui, who teamed up to bring the Internet masses “Pop Medley 2011,” a brilliant remix of the summer pop songs. Uploaded on Thursday, the video sits under half a million views. Be warned: This video mesmerized us. You may just explode with joy.