YouTube Poop, often abbreviated as YTP, is a type of video mashup, created by editing preexisting media sources for humorous, confusing or shocking purposes and often containing mature content. YouTube Poop videos are traditionally uploaded to the video-sharing website YouTube, hence the name, but may be mirrored or uploaded on other video sharing websites like Newgrounds, VidMe, and/or Dailymotion.
Contents
Techniques
In a typical YouTube Poop video, visual and auditory effects are used 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. Some 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 that may entertain, confuse or irritate, depending on the viewer. Associate professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University Michael Wesch has defined YouTube Poop 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 may include television shows, movies, cartoons, commercials, video games, and other videos obtained from YouTube or elsewhere. There is no generally accepted limitation as to what kind of source material may be used for a YouTube Poop. Some primary sources include Michael Rosen, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the show Super Mario World with quotes like "Mama Luigi" and Noice. YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture notes YouTube Poop having a particular fascination with "low" Saturday-morning American cartoons from the 1990s such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog as well as anime series, videogame cutscenes and videos from YouTube itself.
YouTube Poop is often derivative in the sense that the work of one artist (or "pooper") is frequently 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.
Copyright and fair use
Due to the use of copyright materials and the manner in which these sources are depicted, YTP videos are frequently removed from YouTube following a DMCA complaint. However, political scientist and author Trajce Cvetkovski noted in 2013 that, despite Viacom filing a copyright infringement lawsuit with YouTube in 2007, YouTube Poops such as "The Sky Had a Weegee" by Hurricoaster, which features scenes from the children's television show SpongeBob SquarePants (in particular, the episode, "Shanghaied") and a satiric caricature based on Nintendo's Luigi as he appears in the educational video game Mario Is Missing!, 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 parody, pastiche, or caricature creator if the parody, pastiche, or caricature 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 often make efforts to take their videos down due to the mature and defamatory content prevalent in them, especially if they have a large audience of children watching their work. Children's poet Michael Rosen (who claims to have "become a cult" among YouTube Poopers) 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. Rosen issued a warning on his website, saying that: