Daxflame and online community

So here's my confession: I have been doing "research" lately for my myth book and other projects by watching YouTube videos-- an inordinate amount of them.

I became addicted with astonishing speed to Olivia Newton-John videos (I know, and I do promise to Get A Life eventually and relate to real women, but she has the best cheekbones). In between I also spent some time with extremely popular videos, ones that have 500,000 or more views. And I found an interesting conundrum and another confirmation about teenage heroes.

Some folk may know about the Lonely Girl phenomenon: an actress posted videos to YouTube, purporting to be a troubled teen. She built up a large following, and when it was revealed it had all been a sham, much James Frey-like hullaballo ensued.

This year the YouTube community was introduced to Daxflame, a self-proclaimed 15-year old carried in astraddle a chugging locomotive of extreme social awkwardness. It would be clear to anyone who works with children or teens that Dax suffers from something like Asperger's Syndrome.

But a whole cottage industry has grown up around Dax as people attempt to determine whether Dax is "real" or "fake"-- that is, an actor or what-you-see-is-what-he-is. In admirable bursts of energy and critical thinking, other teens have posted their takes on this question.

If Dax is really faking his halting speech, stream of consciousness narratives, and bursts of anger and frustration, then I congratulate him on a performance worthy of an Oscar. He does a beautiful job.

I find it much more likely that Dax is "fake" in creating a pen name for himself-- Bernice Juach III (which his mother calls him by in one video)-- but that he is a teen, like many teenage heroes, attempting to find significance and community online because he is shunned and excluded in his own school and real life.

Here is a video (if you want to save time, start it at around 2:20) where Daxflame talks about wanting to be a superhero. My sense is that he would like nothing better than to be a simple friend in a circle of friends.

Apart from all the angst and drama concomitant with adolescence, we do sometimes get some humor, and I loved this video made by Lisa Nova, another controversial YouTube star. She brings together a large number of YouTubers, including Daxflame, in a witty and winning saga about a fiendish plot to take over YouTube through Lisa Nova spam comments. Daxflame is himself-- but clearly acting. If he's a fake, then he's doing his fake self while acting. Quite an achievement.

Here is another one of Dax's portrait painted in chocolate syrup.

And I promise, no more links to Olivia.

Comments

[M Light]

I just can't get away from that Olivia Newton-John song. Not only does it, obviously, come up in reviews of the new Broadway musical of Xanadu (interestingly, the New York Post's reviewer compared the musical to Ishtar), but the song is also mentioned on last week's Chart Attack with Jason Hare (http://jasonhare.com/2007/07/13/chart-attack-40/ )(he doesn't care so much for the song, but he likes to watch her sing it).

[DF]

I know Olivia best in the parody of her by-- I don't remember-- who sang "Have You Never Been Perfect (Far Out and Right On!)" and called herself Olivia Nouveau-Riche. It was very funny. But I have a new appreciation for her today.