Wilson Students React to Controversial Buzzfeed Video
With social media constantly making its impression on consumers, it is no mystery on how quickly a simple video clip or photo can be put on a viral pedestal. What one could perceive as dumb, could be seen as the exact opposite by someone else. As technology constantly develops, the opportunity for publicity is forever present. Anyone can instantly be noticed on the national scale while taking on local or personal concerns and voicing their opinions on video or other media. With power like this, an industry could be here today and gone tomorrow. One specific group capitalizing on this power is Buzzfeed.com. This website is one of many sites using the cross platform of news and entertainment to generate millions of views.
This social news and entertainment company is unique from other social media. What sets it apart is the fact that the Legal Editor and Founder, Chris Geidner, is able to experiment with media. Other places are afraid to try it, or the boss of other organizations will not let them, as he once noted during a television newscast for the University of Tennessee. In addition to the fact that its focus is on digital media and digital technology, Buzzfeed optimizes content as well as its capability of distribution through different mediums.
Realizing the content is continually changing, a recent Buzzfeed video stirred up a lot of commotion. The video entitled “27 Questions Black People Have for Black People” was posted by Buzzfeed to their YouTube page on April 11. Since then, the video has been viewed over one million times. With over eight million subscribers to their video page, this video generated a lot of interest with the questions that still have not been answered.
After watching the video, I showed it to a couple of students on campus to see their reactions and recorded their thoughts on this topic. Questions such as, “Why do black people look at your shoes before they greet you?”, “Do you really believe that black is beautiful?”, “Why do some black men only date white women?”, and “Why do you protest black lives matter, but tear each other down in the next breath?” were just some of what was asked.
“I am a huge fan of Buzzfeed because they always tackle topics that other people are too afraid to with little bias,” Amadea Clement ‘16 notes. “As someone of an extremely mixed background, this video is definitely something that all people, no matter the race, should watch. Some of these questions I’ve had and others I’ve never even thought about. I think the overall purpose of this video is to open viewer’s eyes to what this particular race, Black, has to deal with from non-Blacks and even their own people.”
Karalee Nichols ‘16 commented on how or why such a common food like watermelon had to particularly pertain to a race. “I love watermelon,” Nichols states. “I don’t understand why it has to be connected to race.”
Cassandra Schoenenberger ‘16 mentioned that “all races have different textures, thickness, volumes when it comes to hair, so it should never be picked down to a race issue.”
Overall the video covers a lot of contentious and interesting questions that many have. This video opens the door to multiple perspectives of different African American people and their views on each other.