Why Youtube is Mad at Sam Pepper

WHY YOUTUBE IS MAD AT SAM PEPPER
By Courtney Lockhart


On an unsuspecting Sunday afternoon cruising Youtube and Tumblr,  I saw something that bothered me. However, it was quickly followed by something that gave me hope.

Sam Pepper

Sam Pepper is a Youtube vlogger with over two million subscribers to his channel. He originally reached notoriety as a contestant on Big Brother U.K, however he is better known these days for his questionable prank videos. Past ‘pranks’ have included licking random strangers and trapping women with a lasso as a pick-up manoeuvre.  This weekend Pepper uploaded a video where he proceeded to stuff his sweatshirt with a fake arm and pinch women’s bums with his real hand while they were distracted.  People were quick to point out that this wasn’t a prank- this was assault.  

“We are really tired of people conflating 'offensive' with ‘edgy’." Julie Lalonde, director of Hollaback! Ottawa lamented when asked about this particular brand of humour.  “The idea that harassing women in public is somehow 'new' and 'cutting edge humour' is incredibly misguided. Harassment and sexual assault by strange men against women in public space is far too common for someone to make a profit from such ‘pranks.' It's not about needing to loosen up or not having a sense of humour. We love a good laugh and there is no shortage of amazing Youtube videos out there. Sam Pepper, and others like him, think they are performing edgy humour when in fact, they are perpetuating the same old tired tropes that make every women the punchline. It's tired, it's sexist and it's definitely not funny.”

Via Youtube

Someone posting horrible things on the internet is nothing new. There is a whole section of the population that believes that is in fact the web’s primary purpose. What was different this time is that the protests and outrage on the video didn’t just come from the viewers, but from fellow Youtube creators.

Laci Green, host of Sex +, took to Tumblr with an open letter demanding that Pepper take down the video.  She asked Sam to “Please stop violating women and making them uncomfortable on the street

Laci Green

for views.  Please stop physically restraining them and pressuring them to be sexual when they are uncomfortable.”  The letter was co-signed by over 60 prominent Youtubers including Wil Wheaton, John and Hank Green, Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig and Tyler Oakley. As a direct result of the video, Pepper’s planned appearance at Playlist Live! was cancelled. He’s will no longer appear on the Fine Brothers’ Youtubers React series, and has been banned from the two biggest Youtube gatherings on either side of the atlantic: Vidcon and Summer in the City.  The video was eventually pulled after a massive campaign under the tag #reportsampepper

Seeing the creative powers of YouTube take a stand made me incredibly happy. It proved that this serious issue is being given the consideration it deserves. It is one thing to see an audience up in arms about content but for his peers to do likewise elevates the whole discussion. The Youtube community prides itself on being safe and welcoming to everyone. Sam Pepper harassing and assaulting women put that in jeopardy. 

As for the man himself? This is his only statement so far:  

Courtney Lockhart lives in the west end of Ottawa with her husband and step-cat.  She is polishing her skills to pursue one of her dream careers as either a costume drama character, Torchwood operative or executive assistant to a billionaire vigilante. You can follow her daily mission to DFTBA on Twitter @corastacy.

Pemberley Digital and Interactive Storytelling

PEMBERLEY DIGITAL AND INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING
By Courtney Lockhart

For the past couple of weekends I have indulged in one of the universal vices of the digital age: Binge Watching.  I made my way through approximately 300 episodes of three different series in less than 96 hours and before you ask: yes I did eat, sleep, shower and occasionally leave the house.  It helped that the episodes were less than 15 minutes each.

So what had me so enthralled? Four words: Jane Austen on Youtube.  

It started with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modernized version of Pride and Prejudice told through vlogging and social media.  The transmedia approach means that in addition to Lizzie's point of view, the audience can follow other characters, like trouble wild child Lydia or supportive best friend Charlotte through the story.  There are no one dimensional  characters. Even if there isn't enough time in the videos to flush everyone out, they can keep developing through Twitter and Tumblr.  For example, during the first week of the story when Lizzie and her sisters are being introduced to us on the main channel, over on Twitter you can read along as Bing Lee surprises his sister Caroline and best friend William Darcy with the news that he bought a house called Netherfield.

However, all the cross platform promotion would mean nothing if there wasn't a quality program to go with it. The writing is wonderful and the performances are enthralling.  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

won a 2013 Creative Arts Emmy for Best Original Interactive Program and I have rarely seen a show deserve an award more.

Thanks to DVD sales and an overwhelmingly successful Kickstarter campaign Pemberley Digital, the production team  behind LBD, has created two more equally addictive series. In Welcome to Sanditon  the viewers become a part of the story. Based  on Austen's unfinished manuscript Sanditon, Georgina "Gigi" Darcy moves to a small California beach town to beta test her brother's latest technological marvel. Written story arcs are combined with fan made videos to show a town in the middle of a social civil war. They followed up with their take on Emma called Emma Approved. Emma Woodhouse is a lifestyle guru documenting everything that goes on in her office for the eventual lifetime achievement award she expects to receive- much to the chagrin of her business partner Alex Knightley.

This week Pemberley Digital will premiere it's first non-Austen series. Frankenstein MD starts on PBS Idea Channel August 19th.  Set in a modern university, Victoria Frankenstein  is determined to prove herself through her unorthodox experiments. This will be the first time I will be following a Pemberley production live and I'm pretty excited to play along.

Courtney Lockhart lives in the west end of Ottawa with her husband and step-cat.  She is polishing her skills to pursue one of her dream careers as either a costume drama character, Torchwood operative or executive assistant to a billionaire vigilante. You can follow her daily mission to DFTBA on Twitter @corastacy.

Capital Geek Girls is on YouTube!

by Jordan Danger
Good day, avid geek girl followers!

Today, I'm officially announcing that Capital Geek Girls has a YouTube show. Lacking for better inspiration, it's called "Two Girls Talking". It features....two girls talking. Namely, yours truly (Jordan Danger, Editor of Capital Geek Girls) and MJ Baker, owner of Bake It So! Bakery. We discuss various topics of geekery. Episode 2 playlist is here, and here's just the blooper reel, for those who appreciate such things:

)
I hope you appreciate the homage to Star Wars scene transitions. Fade! Crossfade! Diamond fade!

Episode 1 is up there, too. The sound, lighting, and autofocus are a nightmare. But the content is fun. Here me repeatedly screw up basic information, like who's in the X-Men movie, and whether or not Jude Law is gay. Here's a link to that playlist.

We encourage you to comment in the comments, and subscribe to the channel. To give you an idea of what you're in store for, the working title of the show was, "MJ is Quippy and Jordan Can't Stop Giggling".