This issue continues to come up, and it is answered well in other forums, but for Paul’s sake I will revisit. The fascination with this song and any iteration thereof has to do with the demeanor and eccentricity of the originator of the statement: Antoine Dodson.
If you have seen the original news story, then you have to agree that in his moment of television notoriety Dodson lets his desire for justice get the better of his ability to articulate much cohesive or cogent thought. The sentiment that one needs to hide their entire family because the ubiquitous “they” are “rapin’ everybody out here” is almost absurd in and of itself-why use the plural when there was a single perpetrator, why imply that there are literally hundreds of rapes happening in Lincoln Park when the evidence suggested only one attempted rape had occurred? Add to that Dodson’s unique diction (“snatchin’” being my personal favorite) and the naturally rhythmic delivery of his diatribe, and you are left with an unintentionally humorous outburst of emotion.
It also does not help that the story is presented in the typical formulaic progression of local news stories, which can often fail to capture the gravity of a situation when seeking to present things in a particularly sterile, homogenized fashion. The juxtaposition of this uniform style with the candor and bravado of Dodson’s response cannot but raise the level of absurdity.
Rest assured that most persons who enjoy the various manifestations of this song do so because of the creativity of the artists or the fascinating, and at times amusing, evolution of internet memes which often take the mundane to the realm of the surreal. Remember that correlation does not imply causation, i.e. just because the news story is about an attempted rape, and there are those that find one aspect of the reporting of that story humorous does not mean those same persons find attempted rape, or sexual assault in any form, humorous.
Also, I think the pop-punk version is my favorite so far.
I actually am listening to this on repeat, I think the whole thing is one of those situations that’s hysterically wrong…it just blew up in everyone’s face and now it’s a phenomenon.
Major props, this is a good cover.
so why would you want to help it along. rape is NEVER amusing.
This issue continues to come up, and it is answered well in other forums, but for Paul’s sake I will revisit. The fascination with this song and any iteration thereof has to do with the demeanor and eccentricity of the originator of the statement: Antoine Dodson.
If you have seen the original news story, then you have to agree that in his moment of television notoriety Dodson lets his desire for justice get the better of his ability to articulate much cohesive or cogent thought. The sentiment that one needs to hide their entire family because the ubiquitous “they” are “rapin’ everybody out here” is almost absurd in and of itself-why use the plural when there was a single perpetrator, why imply that there are literally hundreds of rapes happening in Lincoln Park when the evidence suggested only one attempted rape had occurred? Add to that Dodson’s unique diction (“snatchin’” being my personal favorite) and the naturally rhythmic delivery of his diatribe, and you are left with an unintentionally humorous outburst of emotion.
It also does not help that the story is presented in the typical formulaic progression of local news stories, which can often fail to capture the gravity of a situation when seeking to present things in a particularly sterile, homogenized fashion. The juxtaposition of this uniform style with the candor and bravado of Dodson’s response cannot but raise the level of absurdity.
Rest assured that most persons who enjoy the various manifestations of this song do so because of the creativity of the artists or the fascinating, and at times amusing, evolution of internet memes which often take the mundane to the realm of the surreal. Remember that correlation does not imply causation, i.e. just because the news story is about an attempted rape, and there are those that find one aspect of the reporting of that story humorous does not mean those same persons find attempted rape, or sexual assault in any form, humorous.
Also, I think the pop-punk version is my favorite so far.
Drew,
Thanks for an erudite explanation of this quite comic situation.
I actually am listening to this on repeat, I think the whole thing is one of those situations that’s hysterically wrong…it just blew up in everyone’s face and now it’s a phenomenon.
Major props, this is a good cover.