"We just take so much for granted," a female student admonishes in the recent viral video, "Sh*t Brown Students Say." The three-minute YouTube clip attempts to poke fun at Brunonians for the ridiculous, Brown-specific idioms we use from day to day. From mailroom struggles and SafeRide hunting to the perpetually inclement weather and the party scene, the video celebrates the social and cultural aspects that make the University the quirky place it is. But the student's warning that we take so much for granted may be an accurate way to describe the perspective presented in "Sh*t Brown Students Say." The video — though a light-hearted stab at the Brown community — fails to recognize that not everyone can say all of the statements within the piece and may point out more differences within the community than collective traits.
The Internet phenomenon began in December with the "Sh*t Girls Say" videos, and an influx of "Sh*t [insert category of people] Say" videos soon followed. I anticipated that a video would inevitably be made to describe students at the University. Our creative body of students would need to take advantage of the craze, especially to lift spirits in the dead of winter. I speculated with other students about the details the makers of a "Sh*t Brown Students Say" video would include, like "heteronormative" and the pretentious interpretations our classmates use to impress their professors and peers. Unfortunately, when our school joined the ranks of other Sh*t People Say videos, I was a bit disappointed.
"Well ya know, 'cause like he's writing this thing, but at the same time he's like writing … about his experience writing this thing," one student terribly articulates as the video mocks the Brunonian tendency to play the meta-philosopher in the classroom. Many of us have sat in a class with that type of individual or may be that individual, and we can chuckle at the joke.
On the contrary, there are quips to which quite a few students do not and cannot relate. "My girlfriend went to Horace Mann," a male student tells a buddy in the first moments of the video. A mash-up of scenes follows where the characters talk about the private high schools their friends attended, such as the aforementioned Horace Mann, Fieldston and Dalton. "What's with [the] Horace Mann/Fieldston/Dalton obsession, Brown?" one YouTube user commented, and I had to ask myself the same. Many Brown students were not financially capable of receiving an education at a private high school, and such jests are reminders of those socioeconomic divisions. Furthermore, a lot of the students who have received private school educations, myself included, are not very preoccupied with who went to what secondary school anyway, unless one of our classmates is wearing a sweatshirt labeled with the name of a school we recognize. I could not tell you which classmates attended which high schools, nor would I really care to.
One of the more troubling components of the "Sh*t Brown Students Say" video is the racial implication. The highest rated comment to the video comes from an alum who apparently graduated in 2002. The YouTube user, "SinatraNight," implied the video should be called "Sh*t White Brown Students Say," and since the video entered the online world, I have heard many students currently at Brown make similar comments in response. "If this was really anything ‘Brown' there'd be more racial representation," YouTube user "againstthebrilliance" also responded. I could not agree more. One of the students in the video asks, "Is this racist?" While the video in itself does not discriminate on the basis of race, it really does not make the effort to include different racial experiences.
The biggest disappointment of the "Sh*t Brown Students Say" is that the video is not conscious that it focuses on certain privileges and highlights racial, economic and probably many other social divisions within the Brown community. It really leads viewers to ask: Who really says these things?
Without a doubt, the video could not possibly appeal to everyone who considers themselves part of the community at the University, but it should not be alienating either. One of the most controversial "Sh*t People Say" videos, "Sh*t White Girls Say … to Black Girls," received a lot of attention because it not only pointed out the distinctions between two different groups of women, but also because it provided a platform for these groups to converse. White women and black women were given a chance to discuss who says what kinds of things and the consequences of that language. In that vein, perhaps a video representative of Brown should have sent the message that we all come from different backgrounds, and sometimes we need to laugh at the way we talk or neglect to talk to each other. I thank the original creators behind the "Sh*t Brown Students Say" video for the initial laughs, but I also challenge the creative minds at the University to make a clip truly representative of our community — before we really get tired of these videos!
Helen McDonald '14 is concentrating in YouTube studies and can be reached at Helen_McDonald@brown.edu.
