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McDonald
Eden McDonald

Prof. Adrienne Cassel

Eng. Com 1202

31 January 2021

SUMMARY OF "THE ORIGINS AND MEANING OF A MEANINGLESS VIRAL HIT" BY

JODY ROSEN

The origins of this meaningless yet catchy sing along has origins that are obscure.

Common beliefs are that this viral sensation was born out of a folk song that began in American

summer camps around 1975. That was the year the blockbuster hit movie “Jaws” made its debut

in theaters. The original versions were not kid friendly and even bordered on the macabre. The

birthplace of “Baby Shark” may never be known but its recent past is clear.

In November 2015, a South Korean brand, Pinkfong, released a version that was fresh

and hyped up. The following year they released a second clip “Baby Shark Dance” that caused a

viral trend and contributed to numerous offshoots. This drove pop recording to unlikely statures.

“Baby Shark” was a folk song, that became a pop song, only to become a folk song again, and

exemplifies the enduring demand of senseless melodies. We get sucked into the childish

harmonies and we are singing Doo doo doo doo doo doo all day long in our heads.

“Baby Shark” by comparison, seems structured in a way to please the parents. It affirms

the ideal nuclear family and has a happy ending. It is stretch of the imagination to suggest that

“Baby Shark” is music for adults but does offer an escape from all the annoyances of 2019. We

needed a break for all the tumultuous hip-hop-varied pop with all its bummer tunes. “Baby

Shark” a meaningless, one hit wonder, that saved us all from the mundane.
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McDonald
Works Cited

Abebe, Nitsuh. “Introduction.”  25 Songs that Matter Right Now. New York Times

Magazine. March 2019.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/08/magazine/25-

songs-future-of-music.html. Accessed on 22 Jan, 2021