About a week ago the David Project co-produced a video, where a full cast of unpaid college students parodied the newest cannon of viral YouTube videos with “Sh*t people say about Israel.” The video depicts “college students” making generalizations about Israel, or asking naive questions, and closes with a standard hasbara line: Israel wants peace.
In the video, one brunette co-ed says, “I heard everyone there is in the army.” Then, twirling her hair follows up with “are you in the army?” Another sits with a friend eating from a Sabra container and asks, “is it Hamas or hummus?” Later, what appears to be a student giving a presentation in class says, “Israel uses disproportionate force against the Palestinians,” backed with a clip of, “Jews have no connection to the land of Israel.”
The purpose behind the statements and questions in the video is to demonstrate that people who support the Palestinian cause, are uninformed on Israel, its society and politics. At the end, the video concludes with a bunch of clips where confused looking people say “you mean Palestine?” and then the punchline:
‘No, we mean Israel. Because Israel wants peace. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Jews have been in Israel for over 3,000 years. Israel wants peace. Hamas doesn’t want peace. Peace, peace, peace, peace.’
Last fall the David Project created a department that trains college students in multimedia production. The program, Israel Video Advocacy Project was held in November in Baltimore, MD, where the hasbara group brought sixteen students together for a crash course in production. Dubbed as “video advocacy” in order to “create a positive atmosphere towards Israel on campus,” the David Project also provided each participant with “a flip camera and a USB wrist-band loaded with video-specific links and resources, as well as general Israel campus advocacy information.”
The program is in its pilot year, and “Sh*t people say about Israel” is the first video. (For a double-whammy of sexism and hasbara, check out “Shit Girls Say (Taglit Birthright Israel Parody.”
Post-racial racism
In early January comedian Franchesca Ramsey created the online video genre that “Sh*t people say about Israel” models. She produced what Colorlines calls a “popular and critical examination of race,” through her video “Shit White Girls Say…to Black Girls.” In the short, Ramsey, clad in a blond wig uses a voice that pitches the perfect imitation of “not trying to be racist” and being very racist, while asking a series of naive questions to the camera. What makes the video funny is that the perspective is from a black spectator and mocks the notion of a “post-racial” society.
People loved the videos and in days over a million viewed it. Young people also started making their own, which reflected their particular experience. “Shit white girls say…to Arabs,” reflecting growing Islamophobia and Orientalist attitudes, “Shit White Girls Say… To Brown (Desi/Indian) Girls,” reflecting widespread appropriation of Indian culture.
Though, not all of the videos engage in a constructive discussion of race and gender. In addition to the videos above, a series of well-made “Shit girls say” videos hit it big online, however in this series men dressed up as women, and depicted women as annoying, insecure and self-obsessed. As Samhita Mukhopadhyay writes at Feministling these videos further gender stereotypes rather than deconstruct them.
If Ramsey’s video is to explore the gaze of the oppressed, a more apropos video would be called, “Sh*t Zionists say to Palestinians.” However, no one has made that video yet.
Ha ha, that is one of the worst produced, inaudible amateurish pieces of junk video I have see for a while. This is the best propaganda you can come up with? A few random jerks saying Israel ‘wants peace’ is an argument? Or making false claims about being a democracy, let alone the ‘only’ one? What was that recent article about right wingers being stupid – this video is trying to provide the evidence apparently.
thats some pretty weak sauce from the hasbara patrol
sort of a weird turn at the end though – not sure how a feminist critique of “sht people say” videos gets the attention of deger, unless its to call mimic the call of the feminists, but in regards to the entire enterprise; but she doesnt seem to be saying that ramsey’s videos also perpetuate stereotypes – and I wouldn’t agree with her if she did.
this article is very entertaining on many fronts. i am completely behind the times wrt the current themes sweeping the internet and this whole shit girls say thing just flew right past me. some fascinating links in there that provide context wrt the hasbrats trying to get into the swing of things and what a flop is all i can say.
, a more apropos video would be called, “Sh*t Zionist say to Palestinians.” However, no one has made that video yet.
well someone definitely should and there’s an excellent blog called ‘shit liberal zionists say’ that could be mined for such a video:
http://shitliberalzionistssay.tumblr.com/
someone should do it!
thanks allison, it’s really fun having someone young and ‘in the know’ to breakdown these social phenomenons for us dinosaurs around here (assuming i’m not the only one). of course i had no idea when i started following ‘shit liberal zionists say’ on twitter it was a take off on the 8 million plus video sweeping the blogosphere.
a more apropos video would be called, “Sh*t Zionist say to Palestinians.” However, no one has made that video yet.
See All Your Base Are Belong To Us
*In A.D. 2101 war was beginning;
*Someone set us up the bomb;
*What happen?;
*All your base are belong to us;
*You have no chance to survive make your time;
*Israel are refuse to accept the Quartet Road Map (see the Government of Israel’s two resolutions A & B and 14 reservations);
*We won’t accept Palestinian government Hamas participates, unless:
A) acknowledges Israel’s right to exist;
B) Hamas also agree Quartet committee’s conditions. http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/top-stories/830-lieberman-doha-agreement-reflects-abbas-mashaal-personal-interests
The “Shi* People Say…” phenomenon has produced some really interesting social commentary. I saw this video the other day: “Shi* White Girls say to Black Girls… Is Not Racist” in which the speaker breaks it down.
“Shi* White Girls say to Black Girls” just does for white people what mass media does to black folks every day, with one very important difference. Its a joke. Its not trying to present itself as the real thing. But the media’s caricatures of blackness are trying to be the real thing. And that’s why the video’s not racist.”