A YouTube Poop is a type of video mashup created by editing pre-existing media sources for humorous, profane, annoying, confusing, scary, shocking, surreal, or dramatic purposes. YouTube Poops are traditionally uploaded to the video sharing website YouTube, hence the name.
History and techniques
The first YTP wasn't uploaded onto YouTube, but on the website SheezyArt in 2004 by a user named SuperYoshi. The video was called "The Adventures of Super Mario 3 Remixed", or what is now known as "I'D SAY HE'S HOT ON OUR TAIL". A typical YTP uses visual and auditory effects to alter the underlying work. Some of these videos may involve completely or partially repurposing sources to create or convey a story, while others follow a non-linear narrative, and some may contain no storyline at all. Alternatively, a YouTube Poop may consist solely of an existing video repeated in a slowed or remixed loop. In many cases, YouTube Poops utilize a bizarre sequence of elements which may entertain, confuse, or irritate, depending on the viewer. Associate professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, Michael Wesch, has defined YouTube Poops as "absurdist remixes that ape and mock the lowest technical and aesthetic standards of remix culture to comment on remix culture itself". Media sources of YouTube Poops include television shows, movies, anime, cartoons, commercials, video games, and other videos obtained from YouTube or elsewhere. In the late 2000s, cutscenes from games released on the Philips CD-i platform were an incredibly common source in YTPs, due to the perceived campy nature of the animations. YTP is often derivative in the sense that the work of one artist is sometimes used as the underlying work for another video. Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, referred to this behavior as an example of call & response within a remix culture. Another prominent type of video in the community is known as a "collab", wherein a group of YouTube Poopers' videos are compiled to make a longer, often feature-length video. Most of the time, the videos featured are made exclusively for the collab and are not uploaded to YouTube prior to the collab's release. YouTube Poops have evolved over the years, and in the current era, it has more of a similarity to avant-garde media.
Due to the use of copyrighted materials and the manner in which these sources are depicted, YTPs may be removed from YouTube following a DMCA complaint. However, political scientist and author Trajce Cvetkovski noted in 2013 that, despite Viacom filing a copyright infringementlawsuit with YouTube in 2007, YouTube Poops such as "The Sky Had a Weegee" by Hurricoaster, which features scenes from the animated seriesSpongeBob SquarePants and Weegee, remained on YouTube. The law in the United Kingdom does allow people to use copyrighted material for the purposes of parody, pastiche, and caricature without infringing on the copyright of the material. Copyright owners are only able to sue the parodist if the work contains hateful or discriminative messages. If the case is then taken to court, it will be down to a judge to decide whether the video meets these criteria.
Individual responses
Individuals involved in YouTube Poops sometimes make efforts to take YouTube Poopers' videos down because mature and defamatory content is prevalent in them, especially if they have a large audience of children watching their work. Children's poetMichael Rosen initially attempted to take his videos down, but after a few frank discussions with YouTube Poopers, he decided to allow the videos to stay online, comparing the remixes to the use of photo editing software in a later interview. Rosen issued a warning on his website, saying that: He put a similar warning on his YouTube channel's "about" page. In 2010, a Pooper using the name cs188 made a series of videos using commercials from a Texas foundation repair company; this first of these videos, titled "No One Needs Foundation Repair", featured the company's office phone number during several scenes. Fans of cs188 and others who had seen the video began calling the company asking for "the joj" and making obscene statements. After the company's owner threatened cs188 with a lawsuit, he removed the videos from his main channel
