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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQC1w7lIrIA
For those of you who think watching people perform new urban dances on YouTube is waq ( Little Known Fact: the "q" placed after the "wa" actually emphasizes wackness), allow me to briefly describe what appears at the end of the above link. Six Black kids from L.A. are attempting to bring back dead dance moves from the late 80's and early 90's. They incorporate different new urban dances and styles of clothing with old dance moves and bright colors; the end result is a "bridged gap" of sorts. They call this, "Jerkin'", and anybody who Jerks is a - you guessed it - "Jerk".
Old School meet New School. New School, Old School.
Now before I proceed to why this ignorant, obnoxious, ridiculous dance is so significant to me, let me first say that this urban culture (oh yeah, culture) is hot. It's unique; it's difficult; it's refreshing... But enough of the glorification of regressive behavior.
This... style... does more than evoke laughter, applause, and admiration. It effectively joins two generations, two periods of time. The running man is one of the most recognizable dance moves of all time, and was made famous during the 80's; the "Reject" is a staple of "Jerkin'" and is just the running man, but backwards. To some, all you will see after you copy/paste the link into your URL box and hit "Enter" is a few kids, 16 and 17 years old, being loud and obnoxious in the streets when they could have just as easily picked up a book, turned on CNN, or attempted their math homework. But to me, those same 16 and 17 year old loud and obnoxious kids playing in the streets are doing something that is in many ways more important than the aforementioned "productive" activities; they are preserving the rich and bountiful past from which the present has been derived; they are creating their own image and offering to society something more powerful than political misguidance and economic greed: individuality. The fact that they dare to deviate from the norm and improve upon a tradition in urban culture that once defined neighborhoods and other communities is refreshing, not to mention inspiring. Who would have thought you could learn anything from a few 17 year olds talking trash and dancing in the middle of the street?
Dare to be Different.
JbP
For those of you who think watching people perform new urban dances on YouTube is waq ( Little Known Fact: the "q" placed after the "wa" actually emphasizes wackness), allow me to briefly describe what appears at the end of the above link. Six Black kids from L.A. are attempting to bring back dead dance moves from the late 80's and early 90's. They incorporate different new urban dances and styles of clothing with old dance moves and bright colors; the end result is a "bridged gap" of sorts. They call this, "Jerkin'", and anybody who Jerks is a - you guessed it - "Jerk".
Old School meet New School. New School, Old School.
Now before I proceed to why this ignorant, obnoxious, ridiculous dance is so significant to me, let me first say that this urban culture (oh yeah, culture) is hot. It's unique; it's difficult; it's refreshing... But enough of the glorification of regressive behavior.
This... style... does more than evoke laughter, applause, and admiration. It effectively joins two generations, two periods of time. The running man is one of the most recognizable dance moves of all time, and was made famous during the 80's; the "Reject" is a staple of "Jerkin'" and is just the running man, but backwards. To some, all you will see after you copy/paste the link into your URL box and hit "Enter" is a few kids, 16 and 17 years old, being loud and obnoxious in the streets when they could have just as easily picked up a book, turned on CNN, or attempted their math homework. But to me, those same 16 and 17 year old loud and obnoxious kids playing in the streets are doing something that is in many ways more important than the aforementioned "productive" activities; they are preserving the rich and bountiful past from which the present has been derived; they are creating their own image and offering to society something more powerful than political misguidance and economic greed: individuality. The fact that they dare to deviate from the norm and improve upon a tradition in urban culture that once defined neighborhoods and other communities is refreshing, not to mention inspiring. Who would have thought you could learn anything from a few 17 year olds talking trash and dancing in the middle of the street?
Dare to be Different.
JbP
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