2-BSide
4B —Thursday, September 13, 2018
b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The creation of YouTube
allowed for the widespread
distribution of DIY web series
and home videos. The social
media platform also provided
niche communities a place to
broadcast their special brand
of weird.
The
Lonely
Island,
a
comic-rap group made up of
“Saturday Night Live” alums
Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer
and
Jorma
Taccone,
went
viral simultaneously with the
launch of YouTube. Their SNL
Digital Short “Lazy Sunday”
helped make their pseudo-
band as well as the social
media platform gain celebrity
status.
However, The Lonely Island
doesn’t write your typical rap
songs. Their music videos
satirize popular culture and
feature
themselves
with
famous guest stars dressed
like nerds with unibrows,
sporting literal gift boxes as
their “package” and other
showcases of absurdist humor.
As their song titles suggest
(“Jizz In My Pants,” “I Just Had
Sex,” etc.), TLI both appeals to
and undermines “bro comedy”
culture, best represented by
the
filmographies
of
Seth
Rogen,
Vince
Vaughn
and
Adam
Sandler.
Often,
the
trio makes fun of stereotypes
of fratty material through
extreme interpretations.
For example, in “Dick in
a Box,” Samberg and Justin
Timberlake sing, “A girl like
you needs somethin’ real /
Wanna get you somethin’ from
the heart / … It’s my dick in a
box.” Here, the group mocks
the notion that women would
appreciate some guy exposing
himself without consent and
laughs at the entitlement of
men who approach situations
in this manner.
Although all three members
self-identify as feminists and
use surreal and exaggerated
elements to satirize norms of
masculinity, their popularity
still relies on the consumption
and enjoyment of the “man-
child”
act.
Samberg
even
admits he relies on topics that
made him laugh as a kid, which
Jesse David Fox of Vulture
summarized as, “Dick jokes.
Teenage boys love ‘em. So the
Lonely Island keeps delivering
‘em.”
Good Neighbor Stuff, the
SNL Digital Short successors
to TLI, also got their start on
YouTube. Current SNL cast
members Kyle Mooney and
Beck Bennett were two of the
main members.
GNS
produced
“bro
comedy” low-budget videos
as
well,
mostly
centering
around marijuana and the
awkwardness of daily life. The
most popular videos on the
GNS YouTube page include
shock humor bits titled “is my
roommate gay?,” “My Mom’s
a MILF” and “this is how we
trip.” Similar to TLI, GNS
both indulges in and satirizes
expectations of masculinity.
So why does a correlation
exist
between
popular
absurdist
humor
on
the
internet
and
bro-culture?
Is
there
a
female-centric
equivalent to the man-child
act?
In a roundtable discussion
on Consequence of Sound,
Randall
Colburn
defined
the “bro comedy” sub-genre
as
following
a
friendship
between men challenged “by a
female … (in which) the women
are comically attractive and
underdeveloped, reduced to
either manipulating shrews
or flawless sweethearts …
(where) bad ‘boys will be boys’
behavior is celebrated.”
In
other
words,
“bro
comedy”
is
inherently
unaccepting of women comics.
Actually, comedy in general
is highly misogynistic, with
some critics, like Christopher
Hitchens in his 2007 Variety
article “Why Women Aren’t
Funny,” attempting to provide
empirical proof that women
are biologically unfunny.
Unlike
micro-budget
cinema,
whose
low-stakes
open the door for new voices,
absurdist
comedy
has
not
provided a similar home for
women discriminated against
in their genre and profession.
Instead,
men
continue
to
dominate
the
creative
conversation.
Even though groups like
The Lonely Island and Good
Neighbor
Stuff
challenge
Where are all the female
absurdist YouTube stars?
MEGHAN CHOU
Daily Arts Writer
NBC
norms of masculinity, their
type of humor is still limiting
for both women collaborators
and consumers.
Despite
the
minimal
amount
of
financial
investment
necessary
to
create
successful
absurdist
humor
content
(“Lazy
Sunday” cost TLI a total of
$22), no female-led absurdist
YouTube comics have gained
popularity the same way as the
aforementioned SNL alums.
Admittedly,
Issa
Rae’s
more mainstream sense of
humor allowed her YouTube
series “The Mis-Adventures
of
Awkward
Black
Girl”
to
become
the
critically-
acclaimed “Insecure,” but her
sitcom-format and comedic
tone are not a parallel example
to TLI.
At the moment, there is no
response to the popularity of
the “man-child” act. A grown
man acting like a teenage
boy with references to crude,
elementary jokes can thrive,
even become a comedy icon. A
trio of “bros” being ridiculous
can reach over a billion hits
on YouTube with a video that
cost the same amount as a
hardcover novel.
Are
SNL
digital
shorts
like “Dongs All Over the
World” or “Natalie’s Rap” the
female version of absurdist
comedy? In my opinion, no.
While
absolutely
hilarious,
these videos rely on the same
playbook of TLI and GNS — a
playbook written by and for
boys.
This
is
not
to
suggest
men
and
women
create
different types of comedy
because
of
their
gender.
Instead, this exploration of
the underground world of
YouTube comedy seeks to
bring to attention the lack of
female voices in a medium
that should be less restricted
by gender politics.
Where’s the “sister comedy”
group? And why haven’t we
heard of them yet?
At the moment,
there is no
response to the
popularity of the
“man-child” act. A
grown man acting
like a teenage boy
with references to
crude, elementary
jokes can thrive,
even become a
comedy icon
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
Beautiful creations can
come out of the suburbs;
Austin Smith is proof
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
B-SIDE SECONDARY
Austin Smith was four years
ahead of me at our high school
in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. We
had the same art teacher, the
amazing Peg Pasternak, whose
investment in her students
cannot be overstated. Today,
we’re both still in touch with
her, but while I’m here in Ann
Arbor determining what to do
with my looming adult life,
Smith is dazzling the world
with a new form of portraiture.
“When I was younger my
main medium of art-making
was drawing and painting —
and I was always drawn to
creating portraiture,” Smith
said in an interview with The
Daily. “The work I make now
feels very similar to past work
I would make, and I see it as an
evolution in the way I create
portrait imagery.”
Now 24 years old and living
in New York City, Smith is a
self-proclaimed
multimedia
artist. He works predominantly
in the fields of fashion, textile
and set design. Career interests
aside, he’s quickly become
known
for
his
innovative
use of the human body, most
often his own, as a canvas. A
mere glimpse at his Instagram
profile,
@empty.pools,
transports his 41,500 followers
into a form of fantasyland only
a supremely imaginative mind
could conjure up. Photos of
Smith’s face covered in nails
and colorful acrylic squares
mingle with portraits of his
naturally blue eyes exuding a
reptilian shade of green, the
skin surrounding them covered
in (temporary) tattoos and
plumes of dark purple makeup.
“I don’t know, I’ve only been
making this type of work for
less than a year,” he said of his
inimitable self-portraits. “I’m
happy that it’s spread as much
as it has and I’m not really sure
I know the full scope of my
reach.”
So far, Smith’s reach has
extended to some of the most
influential figures in fashion.
Though not a model by trade,
he has walked runways for the
likes of Moschino, The Blonds
and Opening Ceremony, all of
whom admire his work so much
they permitted Smith to apply
his own facial tattooing for the
shows. Those of us among the
fashion set know how big of a
deal that is — it’s not every day
you see a designer eschewing
the
accepted
standard
for
relatively
uniform
makeup
among models.
“Having people notice my
work feels amazing, and it’s
all happened in the last year or
so,” he said. “When I stopped
being afraid or doubt the ideas
I had artistically is when I
felt like what I was making
actually could be impactful to
a lot of people. I met (Jeremy
Scott,
creative
director
of
Moschino) out one night at a
Ladyfag party I was hosting.
We got dinner and he asked me
to be a part of his show. You
never know who you’ll meet on
a night out in NYC.”
And so it was his charisma,
coupled with his unabashedly
raw artistic vision, that has
cemented Smith’s status as
the new golden boy of the
New York cool-kid scene. His
work serves as but one possible
introduction to the present
conversation surrounding the
role of body in fashion.
“I’ve never thought of what
I do as body modification,
because to me, modifying your
body is a more permanent
thing.” When I asked how,
then, he would classify his
portraiture
work,
Smith
wondered aloud: “More like
‘body adornment’?”
Whether in the form of
permanent modifications or
temporary,
illusion-inducing
effects, body alteration has
always existed in fashion —
albeit in forms that are perhaps
less about expression and more
closely related to aspirational
femininity. Take the corset,
the dramatic waist-cinching
garment that has its roots in
the 16th century. Panniers
of the 19th century added
boning to the lining of women’s
skirts to create a larger-than-
life
circumference
of
the
hips. The bustle, emerging
around the same time, was
the originator of the faux big-
booty effect. In the late 20th
Century, designers like Rei
Kawakubo of Commes des
Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto
began pushing boundaries of
the body in a more abstract
direction. Kawakubo’s Spring-
Summer 1997 collection, which
featured pieces with goose
down-filled lumps intended to
distort the shape of the female
figure, is perhaps one of the
most poignant examples. Smith
may
work
predominantly
with the face rather than with
garments, but the concept of
physical
transformation
for
art’s sake is a concept that has
carried over into his portraits.
Regarding
artistic
inspirations,
Smith
cites
Pierre
et
Gille,
Dave
La
Chapelle, Petra Collins and the
Instagram-famous duo Fecal
Matter as some of his greatest.
He is aware, though, that not
everyone views his brand of
physical transformation, from
creating wire facial jewelry to
applying copious amounts of
temporary tattoos, as an art
form.
“I think some people have
trouble
seeing
what
I
do
as art, or have a hard time
separating me from the images,
and assume I’m just parading
through life as a monster,”
he said. “I don’t mind that,
though. I like what I do not
being for everyone.”
Though
Smith
does
not
classify his work as body
modification, I couldn’t resist
asking him what he thought of
New York’s A. Human exhibit,
a
recently
opened
gallery
experience in Manhattan that
claims to serve as a “fashion
showroom from the future”
devoted
to
otherworldly
adjustments
to
the
body.
Models within the space are
said to tout everything from
“biological heels” — shell-like
appendages
extending
from
the soles of the feet like fleshy,
ingrown stilettos — to a pair
of turquoise shoulder horns
designed
in
collaboration
with fashion designer Nicola
Formichetti.
“I’ve been meaning to go,”
said Smith of the exhibit. “I do
feel from images I’ve seen that
it’s pulled a lot of inspiration
from lesser-known artists I
follow. I find with everyone
sharing
their
work
online
now, it makes it easier for
larger entities to steal ideas
from emerging artists with no
repercussions.”
Of
course,
every
artist
deserves
credit
where
credit is due. It’s clear that
Smith is actively seeking out
opportunities
where
he’ll
receive his fair share of acclaim.
He’ll be debuting a beauty-
related project with magazine
Dazed on Sept. 26 and said
there are more collaborations
with the publication to come.
“I think people are becoming
increasingly more interested
in showing their true selves
— especially in this politically
conservative climate,” he said.
“It takes a lot of courage to step
out into the world the way you
truly want to, and that type of
confidence scares people.”
Smith’s
trajectory
makes
it
glaringly
obvious:
Self-
expression is valuable in its
every
manifestation.
Even
if you give a few people the
heebie-jeebies along the way,
you’re bound to make your high
school art teacher very, very
proud.
TESS GARCIA
Daily Style Editor
“I think some
people have
trouble seeing
what I do as art,
or have a hard
time separating
me from the
images, and
assume I’m
just parading
through life
as a monster,”
he said. “I
don’t mind
that, though. I
like what I do
not being for
everyone.”
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