Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 1

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy: Prop 8 The Musical and Political Satire Online

Renee M. Powers

COMS 650, Section 2 Dr. Semati May 5, 2011

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 2 Introduction This fall marks the forty-second anniversary of the Internet. Since its inception, the United States has seen its citizens use the World Wide Web to build empires, make billions of dollars, run for President, and speak for the small issues, too. Many have praised the impact computer-mediated communication has had on democracy and citizenship, though some are ultimately skeptical. Nonetheless, the Internet allows small groups the space to speak freely, regardless of the size of their audiences. The viral video Prop 8 The Musical, written by March Shaiman, is an example of a special interest group that has utilized the Internet to gain momentum on a political issue. The fight for LGBTQ rights is not the first grassroots movement to utilize the Internet in such a way. Warner (2007) discusses the culture jamming website Adbusters and its relation to subverting corporate power. Adbusters uses the Internet to organize boycotts and petitions around morally questionable corporate practices. Similarly, this paper will discuss the ways in which March Shaimans Prop 8 The Musical utilized the Internet to subvert those in power in California and, more generally, it will discuss the impact computer-mediated technology has had on social movements in a democracy. Prop 8 The Musical is a viral video that has reached over 5.3 million views since its release in 2008. Viral videos are one example of the Internet meme, a term borrowed from Richard Dawkins (1989) to describe quickly replicating cultural ideas that spread among people, like a virus. Internet memes require specific qualities that allow them to spread, including fidelity, fecundity, and longevity, all of

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 3 which will be applied to Prop 8 The Musical. I will then apply this Internet meme to a discussion of globalization and citizenship. The success of Prop 8 The Musical relies on its use of satire. Satire lends itself to democracy in that it allows oppressed voices to speak out against those in power, yet does so in a safe environment. Furthermore, it cultivates civic engagement and encourages good-natured fun at the expense of powerful figures. Jones (2010) asserts that, in an era of political entertainment and convoluted media messages, audiences desire more meaningful representations and interpretations of traditional news coverage. It is in this milieu that satire thrives. Computermediated technology provides a safe harbor for these messages to flourish carefully and spread rapidly. This is only possible in a democracy that prides itself on citizens right to free speech. This paper will first explore the culture that fueled the use of a viral video protest. It will also provide an explanation of Marc Shaimans star-studded Prop 8 The Musical and the memetic characteristics of viral videos more generally. I will use this video as a vehicle to facilitate a discussion on democracy in its relation to the Internet as well as the roles viral videos and satire play in democracy.

Proposition 8 and the beginnings of a satirical viral video Gay marriage has been a controversial matter in California for a number of years. The legal issues started in 2004 when San Francisco began administering marriage licenses to gay couples without state approval. These marriages were considered void in a matter of months but the California Supreme Court overturned

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 4 that ruling in May of 2008, awarding gay couples the constitutional right to marry (Egelko, 2008). This fueled the contentious debate and led to the inclusion of Proposition 8, the elimination of those marriage rights, to the ballots in the upcoming November 2008 election. Proposition 8 was approved on November 4, 2008 and same sex marriage was no longer recognized in the state of California (Egan & Sherrill, 2009). Soon after the November election, Hollywood took action. Many celebrities attended protests in Los Angeles including Drew Barrymore, Kelly Osbourne, and Pete Wentz (ExtraTV, 2009). But some stars were even more creative. According to an interview with Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times (2008), after hearing that the musical director of the California Musical Theatre donated to the Yes-on-Prop 8 campaign, notable composer Marc Shaiman was inspired to create Prop 8 -- The Musical. Shaiman is known for composing the music for the Academy Awards and has worked on scores for countless films such as When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and Hairspray (Marc Shaiman, 2011). Shaiman wrote the three-minute musical in one day and recruited celebrity friends to take a part in it, including Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, and Jack Black as Jesus ,who filmed the video in a single day (Associated Press, 2008). Adam Shankman, famous for Hairspray and So You Think You Can Dance?, served as director (Adam Shankman, 2011). At the suggestion of the websites founder Adam McKay, the musical was distributed via FunnyOrDie.com. FunnyOrDie.com is a video-sharing website utilized by many celebrities as an alternative creative outlet, known for exclusive

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 5 short videos such as Presidential Reunion featuring Saturday Night Lives best Presidential impersonations and Undercover Karaoke with Jewel. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell created the website in 2007 with the The Landlord as its first viral video. The Landlord featured McKays 2-year-old daughter with a foul mouth and gained instant notoriety. In 2008, HBO acquired a small part of FunnyOrDie.com, which included Judd Apatow and Chris Henchy in its list of producers at that point, and commissioned 10 hours of programming (Littleton, 2008). According to Itzkoff (2008), Prop 8 -- The Musical received more than 1.2 million hits on the day it was released. It has been shared internationally, even receiving a large Danish audience in particular (Unruly Media, 2011). The video is filmed as though it is a high school musical with some actors even embodying the stage fright that young actors may feel. The video begins with two groups of people who represent both sides of the gay marriage argument. On stage left, a group of actors dressed in bright colors, flowing skirts, peace signs, and stereotypical campy workout gear (reminiscent of Richard Simmons) sing of hope in the new forthcoming Obama administration. The song begins with the lyrics, A brand new bright Obama day. What a time to be black, a girl, or gay. Their enthusiasm is quickly muffled by John C. Reilly and Allison Janney dressed in black. They sing, Look, nobodys watching. Its time to spread some hate and put it in the Constitution Proposition 8. Men and women in stuffy black suits (including Craig Robinson in a Catholic priest collar) join Reilly and Janney to satirize the position of conservatives in California by warning the audience of the gays agenda to teach kids about sodomy.

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 6 The video continues with anger on both sides, riddled with gay stereotypes (Make our clothes and fix our hair!) only to be interrupted by Jesus played by Jack Black. He points out inconsistencies in the conservatives use of the Bible to limit marriage rights to heterosexual couples. For instance, Black acknowledges that the Bible does say homosexuality is an abomination (or, as Jenifer Lewis cries, Obamanation) but the Bible also says eating shellfish is an abomination. Black ends his cameo with a plea to choose love instead of hate and indicates that Proposition 8 is a violation of the separation of church and state. As Jack Black exits the stage, Neil Patrick Harris (billed in the credits as A Very Smart Fellow) arrives to provide a rationalization of why gay marriage would be beneficial to the country. He reasons that gay marriage will bolster the wedding industry and even the divorce industry, essentially fixing the downtrodden economy. This logic changes the minds of the conservatives in the video and all unite in a line to sing, Gay marriages will save the economy! as American flags are waved in the background. (Interestingly, the suggestion that gay marriage is good for the economy has been studied and proven in Sears and Badgett, 2008, ultimately increasing revenue in California by over $63 million.) Prop 8 The Musical ends with a black screen that reads: To find out more about Prop 8 and what you can do to support equal rights for gay and lesbian couples go to jointheimpact.com. Join the Impact is a non-profit organization that grew out of the passage of Proposition 8. According to its website, just a week after the election, Join the Impact organized 300 international protests (2008). It strives to achieve marriage equality for the LGBTQ community. Its website is a hub for

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 7 information about marriage equality, events to support the mission, and ways to donate. It also provides a space to connect with individual cities across the nation to spread its mission.

Democracy and the Internet There are two ends of the spectrum when it comes to the academic argument on democracy and the Internet. On one hand, Al Gore, among others, has lauded computer mediated communication as a new Athenian age of democracy (as cited in Nederman, Jones, & Fitzgerald, 1998), insinuating that the Internet will hail democratic salvation. On the other end of the spectrum, Morrisett worries misuse of the Internet will have detrimental effects on democracy: Manipulation may be substituted for education and advertising for careful information gathering; debate and deliberation may be overridden by the adrenaline of an immediate reaction; and minority opinions and objections can be lost in the voice of a crowd (2003). However, it is Nederman et al. (1998) who mediate the territory between these two polarized opinions. The scholars contend that computer-mediated communication, or CMC, can be beneficial for interest groups in particular: CMC yields on (although by no means the only or indispensable) avenue for social movements to develop cohesion and mutually articulate and refine their identities (p. 18). Unlike Gores predictions, the Internet is not the savior to democracy he had hoped, but it can supplement democracy, particularly for special interest groups. Social movements such as this one for marriage equality thrive online. Van Laer and Van Aelst (2009) contend that this happens for two reasons. First, the

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 8 Internet makes it easier and quicker for activists to reach out to their constituency. Bennett (2003) expands on this aspect of activism: When networks are not decisively controlled by particular organization centers, they embody the Internets potential as a relatively open public sphere in which the ideas and plans of protest can be exchanged with relative ease, speed, and global scopeall without having to depend on mass media channels for information or (at least, to some extent) for recognition. As discussed earlier, Prop 8 The Musical served as a vehicle to bring awareness to the issue of marriage equality and also pointed supporters worldwide in the direction of the website for Join the Impact. They did this without having to rely wholly on traditional media channels, though the video did receive mainstream media attention. Van Laer and Van Aelsts second point is that the age of the Internet provides countless tools that were once unthinkable, which also break down the walls that were once proverbially in place. This includes social networking sites, e-mail communication, and mobile networking capabilities. In this case, March Shaimans Prop 8 The Musical relies on a well-established comedy website and the rapid sharing qualities afforded to viral videos. The positive connection between social movements and democracy is debated in academia. However, for the purpose of this paper, Tillys (2003) theory of social movements and democracy will suffice. Tilly contends that social movements sit on a quadrant that depends on democratic claims and democratic consequences. For instance, womens suffrage had democratic claims and

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 9 ultimately led to democratic consequences. However, anarchy has democratic claims but leads to anti-democratic consequences. I contend that the right of same sex marriage follows the same pattern as womens suffrage. It has democratic claims that ultimately will lead to democratic consequences. However, this movement needs social networking in order to gain momentum. This is precisely why Prop 8 -- The Musical is necessary. Prop 8 The Musical is a viral video, which Burgess (2008) describes as such: The term viral video has emerged to describe the phenomenon in which video clips become highly popular through rapid, user-led distribution via the Internet. Viral videos are a type of Internet meme, a term borrowed from Dawkins (1989). Other famous (or infamous) memes include the dancing hamster, Obama Girl, and Rick Rolling. Dawkins identifies three features of memes: fidelity, fecundity, and longevity. Knobel and Lankshear (2007) use these three characteristics in application to Internet memes and viral videos. They contend that a viral videos quality and memorability is its fidelity. Prop 8 The Musical is incredibly memorable thanks to all of the familiar celebrity faces involved. Furthermore, the quality of performance, writing, and filming is superb. Fecundity refers to the rate in which a meme spreads. The success of its fecundity relies on humor, intertextuality, and anomalous juxtaposition. Prop 8 The Musical is indeed humorous through its use of satire. It is intertextual in its use of celebrities. Furthermore, the video utilizes anomalous juxtaposition in its depiction of notably left-leaning celebrities portraying staunchly conservative protesters (or, in the case of Allison Janney, notably left-leaning characters like The West Wings C.J. Cregg

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 10 portraying conservative protesters). Finally, longevity is how long the memes popularity lasts. In the era of Internet sensations, Prop 8 The Musical achieved much traditional media coverage over the course of several weeks and even months, which is a sufficient amount of time. In fact, the gay marriage debate is still a hotbutton issue in the United States. Though Proposition 8 is specific to California, the issue the video addresses is national. Prop 8 The Musical will likely be applicable until gay marriage is legalized nationwide. Viral videos rely on voluntary and rapid sharing. Jenkins (2007) uses the term spreadable media to discuss the success of viral videos. He writes, Spreadable content is designed to be circulated by grassroots intermediaries who pass it along to their friends or circulate it through larger communities (whether a fandom or a brand tribe). It is this peer-to-peer sharing that contributes to a videos ultimate success. If a video has spreadable qualities, that is, Dawkins three characteristics of memes, it is more likely to reach more actively engaged viewers. However, viral videos rely on the many-to-many distribution approach. Bennett (2003) simplifies it as such: The transmission model for viral or swarm communication is not the old two-step flow from elites to group members but, rather, a networked, distributed flow in which the communication format (the meme), the communication technology (personal digital media), and the social contact (network) travel in chaotic yet patterned ways. Adamson (2009) contends that messages achieve popularity word-of-mouth and are passed along peer-to-peer as opposed to brand-to-consumer. These messages

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 11 are more likely to be watched and, consequently, the video always has an active audience. The number of views a video has (in the case of Prop 8 The Musical, that number is over 5.3 million views) reflects the number of actively engaged eyes that watched the video with intention as opposed to the passive viewing of other advertisements, such as commercials on television. Contributing to the spreadable qualities of a video is the lack of control the distributing company has over the content. FunnyOrDie.com no longer controlled the distribution of Prop 8 The Musical thanks to high volume linking via social networking sites as well as the media coverage the video received. In fact, it received international recognition. Bennett (2003) would contend that Prop 8 The Musical contributes to global citizenship in an era of media globalization, which aids in the transformative power of the videos message. Bennett writes, Communication in distributed networks becomes potentially transformative when networks spill outside of the control of established organizations. Therefore, Prop 8 The Musical viral properties made the message even more powerful. FunnOrDie.com and Marc Shaiman can owe this to the decentralized and selfgoverning nature of the Internet itself. The video has spilled outside the confines of FunnyOrDie.com, outside of California, and even outside of the United States. The Internet allows the video to contest power and become transformative which is achieved through the very nature of sharing and its spreadable, memetic characteristics. The mission of the video does not simply stop with the end of the video. After the final notes of the song, Prop 8 The Musical provides a web address for the

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 12 organization Join the Impact so its viewers can find out how they can support marriage equality on both small and large-scale levels. This is an example of computer-mediated technologys ability to disseminate information, drum up support, and incite conversationall components of what Nederman, Jones, and Fitzgerald (1998) consider the most politically promising dimensions of the Net. This relates back to Bennetts forecast of the transformative power of the Internet. In an ungoverned environment, even the smallest voices can be heard, contributing to the inherent democratic ideals of the Internet. Messages that are articulated well (perhaps, through a popular video featuring A-list actors) can thrive online. Moreover, the production and distribution costs of the video was most likely relatively low, especially compared to full-length films that are more familiar to some of the celebrities involved, which reflects how easily a small group of constituents with an important message can reach wide audiences and gain awareness for such issues through the Internet. We can see that this video exemplifies Jones (2010) description of information as a means of democracy being presented in an entertaining way, which fulfills an audiences need for pleasure. Or, as Freedman (2009) puts it, We surely dont need to question the value of any activity that provides so much amusing, provocative, and informative pleasure. Audiences yearn for meaningful and engaging content, something that keeps their attention and makes them feel a part of something bigger. Creating and spreading viral videos is an example of how citizens engage in politics and make it accessible to the masses. Jones contends that this era of participatory media empowers a nations citizens to speak up and speak

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 13 out. We are no longer simply audiences, we are content producers, utilizing the tools of the Internet to spread transformative messages.

Satire and Democracy If democracy allows everyone the right to exercise their voices, the connection to satire is that satire allows those with the smallest voices to take goodnatured punches at those in power. The genius of satire is its use of humor as a weapon, skillfully pointed in the direction of those who have dangerous religious, political, moral, or social standards (Cuddon, 1991). Satire is a critical tool that critiques social issues, providing hope and laughter as rewards for those who get the joke, and allows media and the arts to be the beacon. Furthermore, satire features comedy to expose inconsistencies and discredit those in power, holding them accountable for their actions. The success of political satire is clear in television programs such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a recipient of numerous Emmy awards. Although satire nurtures civic culture and lauds respectful debate, it is not an innocent art form. Often satire has aggressive undertones that challenge more powerful narratives: Political satirists have provided us in profusion with a buoyant, often brilliant, art that, by debunking pomposity and hypocrisy with the irreverent power of wit, provides a vital counterbalance to the arrogance of power and the tyranny of unquestioned authority (Freedman, 2009). News media allow for only one narrative of an issue, the privileged one, and serves as the unquestioned authority. Satire is useful in a democracy in order to lend voice to the

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 14 less powerful narrative. Prop 8 The Musical utilizes satire to simplify the argument surrounding the same-sex marriage debate in California. Jones (2010) describes this simplification best: The power of satire as a tool with which to scrutinize its comedic subjects allowed the comedian to strip the encounter bare and offer up the essence of the situation instead. In doing so, Marc Shaiman and the actors in the video provide a new way of considering the gay marriage debate: they take gay marriage to its logical conclusion. Gay marriage would mean more weddings and more money spent on the wedding industry. It would even contribute to the divorce economy (as Neil Patrick Harris sings, Think of all the tattoo removing!) The video argues that legalizing gay marriage will fix the poor economy, an issue about which conservatives in the United States are passionate. Furthermore, satire transforms the aggressive act of ridicule into something more socially acceptable by rendering it ridiculous. For example, in Prop 8 The Musical, we see the conservative argument rendered ridiculous in Jack Blacks cameo. He points out inconsistencies in the Bible that modern Christians ignore, such as selling ones daughter into slavery or avoiding shellfish, yet they adhere to the Bibles insistence that man shall not lie with another man. Satire works the best when it is authentic. Though used for partisan politics, it is inherently non-partisan because it simply critiques those in power. In the case of Marc Shaimans Prop 8 The Musical, the fight for gay rights is a liberal movement. However, at the center, the debate is about oppressed citizens without the same rights as other citizens. In California, those in power did not feel it necessary to extend marriage rights to the oppressed LGBTQ community. Though it

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 15 may seem to some that Prop 8 The Musical was used as a partisan maneuver, the marriage debate is essentially a civil rights debate, and therefore is intrinsically nonpartisan. Freedman (2009) argues that anyone and anything can be a target for satire: Satire, after all, is no respecter of orthodox views, whether conservative, liberal, or radical. Clearly, the satire at play in this video is authentic or it would not have been as genuinely successful. It has been established that satire contributes to democracy but, conversely, it is democracy that contributes to satire. This is a two-way street. Freedman writes, A natural place for this book to begin is democracy, for there exists more political satire in democracies than any other system. For one thing, there is so much to ridicule in democracies. Freedman continues his argument with the idea that democracy is simply laughable as a political system. Jones (2010) would agree, as he believes political satire is so prevalent because it is so easy to poke fun at politicians and our government. The system as a whole is, in fact, very funny when examined. At its core, satire engages the citizen in a way that straight information does not. It provides critical analysis otherwise lacking. Traditional media sites such as newspapers and television news have control over what information they disseminate, putting them in power. Satire, or more specifically, satire online provides an escape from that power. It provides a legitimate alternative narrative to traditional news media while still raising critical consciousness. Furthermore, satire makes aggression socially acceptable. Without satire, such aggression might have detrimental consequences.

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 16

Conclusion It is clear that the Internet can be utilized as a town square in order to gather support for causes contributing to participation in democracy. Nederman et al. (1998) write that computer-mediated communication opens up clear opportunities for the creation of public spaces in which discourse may be enhanced in a manner consonant with what theorists have terms discursive or deliberative democracy. This can be further applied to viral videos such as Prop 8 The Musical. Prior to the age of the Internet, media messages were dominated through television and newspapers, a literal mass media. The post-network era brought with it usercentered participatory media, shattering the tenets of mass media and laying a foundation that disseminates information many-to-many as opposed to one-tomany. This allows more voices to be heard and encourages more participation, making it an inherently democratic process. Additionally, satire contributes to civic engagement and political idealism. Or, as Colletta (2009) writes, Satire is therefore a hopeful genre; it suggests progress and the betterment of society, and it suggests that the arts can light the path of progress. Though often aggressive, satire, at its core, is disseminated with good intentions. Poking fun at those in power is ultimately subversive in political satire, allowing its audience to recognize the inconsistencies in politics and traditional news medias coverage of politics. In a post-network age when citizens are skeptical of journalism and journalists, many look outside of the system to satirical comedy for honesty and biting commentary.

Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 17 Furthermore, in regards to satires place in a democratic society, Freedman (2009) writes: The final case for political satire is even more important. It is an expression of free speech, of peaceful dissent, and thus a bellwether of the extent of openness in a society. Among the several tests by which we measure the extent of individual freedom, the right to ridicule must be included. It is clear that democracy lends itself to be satirized and, conversely, satire is a welcomed key to democracy. Only in a democracy can all citizens feel safe in speaking up. In conclusion, like satirical television news programs, Prop 8 The Musical can provide entry points to political engagement and allow for the performance of citizenship (Jones, 2010) for many reasons: the medium of the Internet allows for greater reach in distribution as well as more targeted audiences, memetic properties of the video allow for intentional viewing, and the use of satire allows for a subversive critique of those in power. All of these can only exist in a democratic setting and therefore contribute to democracy.

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Gay Marriages Will Save the Economy 21 Van Laer, J. & Van Aelst, P. (2009). Cyber-protest and civil society: the Internet and action repertoires of social movements. In Y. Jewkes & M. Yar (eds.) Handbook on Internet crime. (230-254). Portland, OR: Universia Press. Warner, J. (2007). Political culture jamming: The dissident humor of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Popular communication, 5, 17-36.