UTURN on Youtube!

Subcultures make our life interesting! Subcultures can be define as a group who looks different, shares different beliefs and activities as a result of resistance against the societies’ problems and norms. However, what defines youth subcultures are music and style!

Uturn is a youtube channel. The people behind it can be seen as an example of a subculture or they are trying to be one. They are a group of Saudi youth who shares the love of creating interesting videos on YouTube. Currently they produce 15 different shows discussing local news, popular YouTube videos and social issues in a comedic manner. The channel got so popular that many western news channels, such as CNN talked about it.

Click here to watch the CNN video

Subcultures, such as Uturn, emerge in societies as a result of struggle. When the hip-hop subculture emerged, it was the poverty and discrimination that led to its emergence. People might wonder what might be the struggle in the rich Saudi society that led to the creation of Uturn? It is the corruption and the social problems the conservative Saudi society suffer from. One of Uturn members is Omar Hussain, who presents the show 3al6ayer. He discusses the Jeddah floods in many of his episodes. He focuses on the financial corruption in the infrastructure. For example, the person who was supposed to spend government money to fix Jeddah streets did not use it in that way resulting in the floods.

The Labeling Theory is one of the theories used in studying subcultures. In his book, Goths, Gamers and Grrrls, Ross Haenfler explained by saying that the theory “proposes that actions or people are deviant only when society label them deviant.”
Referring to the Labeling Theory, the Saudi society labeled Uturn as deviant. There is gender segregation in Saudi Arabia. Even in restaurants lines, men stands in separated lines. The people at Ururn are a mixed group of men and women. This might not sound like a big deal, but in Saudi Arabia this is considered deviance. Deviance is one of the things that make a subculture one.

The pictures below, are from the show Alfe2a Alfala. The episodes end with rap songs most of the time. Their pictures on Uturn pages of show how they are trying to look deviant by trying different styles.

One of the essential elements in a youth subculture is style, such as language and fashion. The group refers to their fellow members as “Youturenii” (Youturner). They use weird slang words such as “Shamangahabash!” This is the word used when a situation is missed up and confusing. The other part of style is fashion. Bader Saleh, EyshElly presenter, has an interesting style in fashion. In some episodes, he wears a normal Polo shirt. However, instead of the Polo logo there is a drop shaped logo. This logo says “Marka Muya” (Water Brand).
Another example of fashion is Omar Hussein. Sometimes he plays a superhero role in his show. The way he dresses when he plays this role is abnormal and deviance. This reflects their want to be a subculture. The superhero is called Abu Serwal wa Faneela.

He dresses in Serwal and Faneela, which are what men wear under their traditional thob. He also uses a wezar, traditional fabric men wear around their west, as a scarf around his nick. Although this weird way of dressing is for the show only, it is a fashion statement. It is about breaking the norms and keeping traditions that reflect their identity. This shows their cooperation of Arabic culture on the global website YouTube. Their sense of fashion make their subculture special.

Globalization in its simple definition relates to the blending of cultures. Globalization affected many of the ideas behind these shows. One cannot help but notice the similarities between these shows and western ones. 3al6ayer with Omar Hussain is similar to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show was glocalised by having a Saudi young man talking about local issues. They are also making a superhero look more local by dressing him up in Arabic clothes.

Globalization cannot pass in a sociology blog without talking about its deeper meaning. Globalization is also about capitalism and resistance. It cannot be mentioned with out bringing up the big corporations who are making money out of it.

Big corporations started getting advantage of Uturn big fans base. Mobaily, the telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia is sponsoring Uturn shows. In return, Uturn advertise for them. Nestle Nescafe is doing the same thing too. Now, many other companies started paying Uturn for advertisements. This might be moving Uturn from being a cool subculture to being part of the mainstream type of media.

This subculture is making our life interesting through their videos on Youtube. Still, the Youturners receive lots of criticism in the comments section on YouTube. Many people resist them because of the bold topics they discuss and their including of girls in the show and behind the scenes. However, Uturn are resisting back and being themselves.

Cheap Short Film Causes Chaos

A few days ago, a short film was released on the Internet and as a result my twitter homepage has been flooded with tweets about it. There are many active twitter users in the Arab world, so it is not a surprise that the video spread as fast as it did. The Arab youth are becoming increasingly aware about the events happening in the Middle East. The various forms of media help facilitate their ability to receive and send out their opinion.

Following the release of this YouTube video, there were furious protests occurring at the US embassy in Egypt and Libya. The youth subculture makes up more than half of the entire Arab population (Pre-publication ARAB ENTERTAINMENT SATTELLITE TELEVISION, page 14). Most of them have a voice and are not afraid to use it. Journalists are reporting on the issue in Australia, England and other parts of the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sQPRtS2h7k&feature=share In this short film, the filmmakers are mocking Islam and the Prophet, Mohammed sala allah 3alyhi wa salam, and the Islamic culture. Middle-easterners are stereotyped as having dark skin, as the actors in the film are heavily sprayed with fake tans and make-up. They bring up controversial topics related to Muslims and Christians, portraying Muslims as being beastly and ignorant. The also address sacred Muslim sayings in a mocking sarcastic tone.

From a sociological perspective, extreme ethnocentric thoughts are used to portray Arabs in this film. They mock the cultures and beliefs of Muslims because they are different than their own and they fail to understand them. They use material culture, such as the jalabiya/bisht and the dishadasha that is worn by the Muslim men in the film. Additionally, most of the men in the film have a long beard, which is often seen as a symbol of Islam.

Videos put on YouTube can be seen by everyone in the world. When a film like this is put up on the Internet, people might watch it and get an incorrect image of Muslims and their values and norms. This stereotypical image of Islam could be a result of socially constructed films, articles, and various types of media that socialize people into thinking in a specific way.

Arab Youth on YouTube: fouseyTUBE

YouTube has one of the largest online communities where original content is uploaded every day. It generates discussion about media texts that are posted between people and leads to parodies and replicas of the same content. I tend to think there is a form of hegemony on YouTube as the creators who are paid to post and those who are of large followings. They tend to disseminate their ideas and formats of what a video should be like, and their followers follow suit. Making the format of daily vlogs, a ShaneDawson video, or make-up tutorials the norm on YouTube.

One YouTuber who came to mind when thinking about Arab youth creating content online is Yousef Erakat the mastermind behind his hilarious channel fouseyTUBE. He is one of the few Arabs on YouTube that I find has appealed to quite a large audience with his own original content poking fun of people from the Middle East and their culture.

Some of his most popular videos include: SH*T DRAKE SAYS, MIDDLE EASTERN PARENTS, SHI*T MIDDLE EASTERN GUYS SAY, MIDDLE EASTERN MISTAKES and SH*T MIDDLE EASTERN GIRLS SAY.



Now the Internet meme Sh*t Girls Say is how three of Erakat’s most popular videos came to be. His version of the famous comedy sketch appealed to his audience who are mainly Arab youth. Sure there are others who must have found a liking to the videos, but mostly people who are from the region will get the humor of some of the text. Now, based on the statistics from his videos the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada are almost always the top three countries where the video has been viewed. I hypothesis this is due to the large Arab communities living abroad in addition to the natives of those countries.



After uploading SH*T GUYS SAY and seeing the reaction that he got from it, I’m pretty sure that encouraged him to do the girls’ version. The process that takes place surrounding the message can be explained using a flow chart. The focus is on the message that is in the center. Now, the sender has to come with a way to get that message across to its target receivers. Once the message has been created in the way that suits the senders’ needs it is up to the receiver to interpret the message. The only way that the sender will know if the message was received correctly is by providing a method for feedback. Feedback allows the senders to also be able to better encode their message in the future.

I doubt that Erkat used a flowchart when thinking about his videos. Though I am fairly sure that he sees which of his video formats appeals to most people and continues to grow from there.

It's Fryyy-day Fryyy-day

It's Friday, Friday. You know you love it. And apparently the world agrees. 13-year-old Rebecca Black has come out of absolutely nowhere to become the biggest YouTube sensation of the moment, demonstrating the power of social media. She's already got more hits than Lady Gaga's latest song.

I can't decide if I love this or hate it. The inane lyrics ("gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal"), the cheesy video production values, the overuse of Auto-Tune (for "singers" who can't sing in pitch), the earnest performance, and even the way Black sings the words "Friday."

Sure, it's grating and annoying, but it's also goofy and winning. It's easy to hate and hard to hate, all at the same time. To quote Black, it's fun, fun, fun, fun. Sociologically, you can go in a million directions with this. It certainly demonstrates the democratic use of the Internet, the power of social media (the song went viral in less than a week), the sexualization of young girls, the media's ongoing fascination with youth culture, cyberbullying, the infectious thrill of corny-yet-awesome pop music, the explosion of the prosumer, and the fact that industry manufactured stars like Beyonce may not be offering what people really want. Opinions are decidedly mixed, but you have to admit, this is a darn catchy song. Play it once, you'll probably play it again -- whether you want to or not.

Like all viral videos, "Friday" immediately spawned a host of parodies, covers, tributes, and other hilarious responses. This one is particularly great.


And if you hate that, there's always the super slowed-down version that sounds like some art-rock madness cooked up by Radiohead.


Or the chipmunk, fast version. Aw yeah!