Rodesky 1

Jeremy Rodesky

Nate Hellmers

English 201

23 March 2020

Jody Rosen: The Origins and Meaning of a Meaningless Viral Hit Summary

Jody Rosen’s “ The Origins and Meanings of a Meaningless Viral Hit” talks about how a

realy stupid harmless song with no exact know origin can develop and transform in such a way

that allows everyone to find a meaning to the song. In January “Baby Shark” climbed to No. 32

on the Billboard Hot 100.The songs origin is believed to originate from American summer

camps from decades past or even Steven Spielbergs’s “Jaws” however, the exact origin may

never be known. Recently, Pinkfong released multiple videos accompanying the song allowing

the media to develop and transform through different platforms.

“Baby Shark” was able to transform between folk and pop while exemplifying 21st

century culture that is based on memes just as much as music. “Baby Shark” is a really appealing

stupid song that tells a simple narritive with simple lyrics. The song is infantile however, it is

actually a gory adult song that has been sanitized to appear as a kids’ song. “Baby Shark” depicts

a happy nuclear family with an easy to learn dance and for some it may offer an escape from

21st-century life.

Works Cited
 Rodesky 2

Rosen, Jody. “The Origins and Meaning of a Meaningless Viral Hit.” 25 Songs that Matter

Right Now. New York Times Magazine. March 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/07/magazine/top-songs.html#/pinkfong.

Accessed on 23 March 2019.