This is a (so far) barely-viral but pretty funny video mocking the NBA's "Where Amazing Happens" commercials. These consist of dramatic, slow-motion black and white footage of one "amazing" play. Pathos-ridden piano music encompasses the soundtrack.
The video takes a stance against the hyperbolic, overblown drama of the original commercials. (For a good example, check out the treatment they gave Tayshaun Prince's famous blocked shot here.) By injecting the absurd "Teen Wolf" clips into the original dramatic form, the videomaker is satirically undercutting the annoying (if not oppressive) presence of the original commercials.
The genre is simply satire. One could even go so far as to argue that the "Where Amazing Happens" commercials have spawned a whole genre of videos by themselves. Some take a more critical approach than my "Teen Wolf" example: There is this one which mocks the controversial officiating that, for many basketball fans and sports columnists, has marred the NBA Playoffs this year. There are dozens of other examples that take the NBA commercials as an example: "Teen Wolf" stands apart, though, for being thoughtfully put together and probably the funniest so far.
The audience consists, primarily, of anyone who has seen one of the many commercials the NBA has put out under the "Where Amazing Happens" slogan. NBA basketball fans are the most obvious group, but non-fans can certainly appreciate the humor if they've seen the commercials. Bloggers consist of an important audience (they fuel the "viral" machine) and indeed I first came across "Teen Wolf" on Deadspin.com, probably the most read and most famous sports blog on the Internet.
Satire has its limits: It's position can only ever be oppositional, and even then it can never mount a very strong opposition seeing how it is inevitably tied to the original source it is mocking. That said, the "Teen Wolf" video succeeds admirably in using sarcasm and humor to take the wind out of the NBA's overblown sails. One hesitates to emphasize anything social or political at stake here, but certainly we can commend the populist uprising against hubristic sports marketing. And it's fun.
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Teen Wolf Appeals
ReplyDeleteEthos: This videomaker's ethos spring from his penchant for NBA satire (a feeling many in the YouTube and NBA communities alike apparently share) as well as a light touch. This latter is important: While so many videos come off as bitter or preachy, "Teen Wolf" is presented as a matter of fact event: It's deadpan, and it is hilarious. So it doesn't make any LOUD appeals, and is the stronger for it.
Pathos: The pathos at work here are really interesting. On the one hand, of course, the video is entirely absurd in comparison to the original NBA videos. For one thing, it is a fiction: For another, it's totally a wolf playing basketball. But by using the same music, the same black and white treatment, and the same slow motion, the "Teen Wolf" video actually becomes dramatic: It pulls at your heartstrings at the same time that you are laughing at it.
Logos: The ethos here are primarily aesthetic: from the black and white footage, to the slow-motion, to the soundtrack, everything about this video except it's content seems an exact replica of the original commercials. Oh, and speaking of logos, the NBA one is placed at the end just like in the originals.