UNWRAPPING DAVID DOBRIK
Upon entering the video section of David Dobrik’s Youtube channel, you are met with a series of 4 minutes and 21-second vlogs - likely a nod to 420 which has been linked with cannabis culture. Unsurprisingly, each of Dobrik’s bright and colorful vlog covers displays a happy-go-lucky, middle-aged, white man with a huge grin on his face: Dobrik. Given the prominent incorporation of the number 420 into Dobrik’s channel, it makes sense that Dobrik’s channel is full of lighthearted humor and challenges. His videos which are often ridden with explicit language are a compilation of a series of challenges or adventures which were filmed using a phone's camera. By cutting the videos together, Dobrik produces vlogs that give his audience a glimpse into his outrageous and over-the-top lifestyle.
With limited prior knowledge of David Dobrik and his content, choosing what video would be my first glance into his portfolio was simply a toss-up. Ultimately, I decided to choose his most viewed video within the past 6 months, titled “SURPRISING MY FRIENDS!!” which has amassed 11,206,998 views since its release on June 15th, 20201. The vlog begins with a series of interactions between Dobrik, his family, and his friends before he ultimately surprises his friends with a trip to Hawaii. After announcing the “surprise”, the vlog continues to show a series of high-energy, goofy, and raw memories from the trip to Hawaii.
While it is clear that Dobrik’s wealth is what allows a surprise trip to Hawaii, Dobrik does reference his wealth or the luxurious aspects of his life and their trip during the vlog. Instead, Dobrik pokes fun at his friend’s ability to buy a new Ferrari by showing off his new adult-sized wagon- a take on wagon parents often use to mobilize their children. Dobrik’s vlog highlights his contagious laughter, juvenile personality, and the shenanigans of Dobrik and his friends allowing his audience to have a seemingly raw glance into his life. The somewhat choppy nature and lack of flashy editing in Dobrik’s vlog allow the vlog to feel like a natural and raw glimpse into his life. I believe that Dobrick intentionally declines to over-edit his vlog to ensure that his audience feels as though they are getting an intimate glimpse into his life while watching his vlogs and thus, getting to know him on an intimate level.
Dobriks’ video enforces the idea that he is simply a fun-loving, energetic, and loving person who refuses to have his wealth change who he is. However, Dobrik’s decision to document surprising his friends with a trip to Hawaii shows that Dobrik is not ashamed of his money and that he is not afraid to frivolously treat himself and his friends.
Outside of the frequent use of explicit language and the potential dangers attached to some of his videos, Dobrik’s videos are appropriate for most ages to view. I can see Dobrik’s vlogs appealing to people as young as middle schoolers and as old as college students. Because of the juvenile nature of the videos, Dobrik’s vlogs are easy for middle schoolers to laugh along with. Similarly, because Dobrik is relatively young, a lot of his adventures may appeal to college-aged students less because they find his content extremely funny but more so because of their ability to live vicariously through him and his adventures.
Because of content like “SURPRISING MY FRIENDS!!”, which facilitates a sense of intimacy, Dobriks channel has attracted an astounding 18 million subscribers. Dobrik’s subscribers are likely a mix of people who tune in every once and a while and people who religiously watch his videos upon upload. Regardless, Dobrik’s audience largely reflects the issues that Adorno and Horkeinher have with most audiences. Adorno and Horkheimer claim that “the consumers are the workers and employees, the farmers and lower middle class… immovably, they insist on the very ideology which enslaves them” (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1944, p. 6). With every new subscriber and view, Dobrik’s wealth increases. By consistently watching Dobrik’s videos, thus making Dobrik money, Dobrik’s audience is somewhat enslaved by his content.
Similarly, people like myself who do not follow David Dobrik, but have other social media platforms are drawn to his channel via integrated advertising campaigns on other platforms. While we are not subscribers and are not necessarily enslaved by his content in the same way that his subscribers are, for good or for bad, we are watching his videos and increasing his view count, ultimately making Dobrik more money. The strategic use of online ads supports the idea that “media culture is a part of an apparatus of manipulation and social domination” (Kellner, 2007, p. 54). Despite having no interest in David Dobrik or YouTubers, two ad campaigns on other platforms brought me to his channel and resulted in me viewing his vlogs. While my couple views will likely not amount to much in the large picture, when you multiply the number of people who like me unintentionally gave Dobrik views as a result of other media, the number of views and the amount of money Dobrik makes grows exponentially.
All in all, I get the hype surrounding David Dobrik and his vlogs. The combination of his personable nature, goofiness, and his relatively entertaining content are enough to attract viewers of all ages for a variety of reasons. Are Youtube and other media platforms a strap that ultimately enslaves its audience? Yes! However, when you are not studying the impact of popular culture on society, the manipulative nature of media is not necessarily an issue that many notice or are concerned with.
Works Cited
Adorno, T. and Horkheimer, M. (1944). Dialectic of Enlightenment. pp. 1-12
Kellner, D. (2007). Cultural theory: Classical and contemporary positions. (T. Edwards, Ed.). SAGE Publications.
Response from Emma Marks:
ReplyDeleteHi Amber! I thought you did an amazing job on your blog post about David Dobrik and his Youtube channel. I have never been a huge fan of him and his videos, but I am somewhat familiar with him because he is pretty famous. I thought that your point about how viewers are actually doing labor when watching his videos because the views increase his wealth (Adorno and Horkheimer) as well as the idea that ads contribute to “manipulation and social domination” (Kellner) were very smart and relevant. After the topics we discussed in class and read about for last week, I approached this blog post from a different angle. I also wrote about a famous Youtuber, Emma Chamberlain, and after Jeanna’s presentation last week about reality TV, I have thought a lot more about the performative nature of Youtube lifestyle vloggers. You mentioned how Dobrik shows viewers many things in his personal life, and how that creates the illusion of intimacy, and that made me think about how reality TV stars do the same thing. What is interesting though is that reality TV is often seen as less authentic than the content these Youtubers release. That is likely due to the fact that people know there are television networks pulling strings in order to get more views and the participants don’t have much agency, but Youtubers like Dobrik often make their own videos. It appears to the audience that Dobrik and other famous Youtubers have complete control over what they release to the world, and people don’t believe that about reality TV. The reality is though, that these Youtubers could potentially be acting just as much as reality TV stars for their own personal gain, but viewers don’t often think about that and just assume authenticity. Jeanna also talked about emotional labor and emotional camping, and Youtubers participate in these things just like reality TV stars do. Jeanna mentioned that by engaging in emotional camping where reality TV stars pretend to expose everything about themselves, they can keep other things about themselves and their lives private. In the context of David Dobrik’s Youtube channel, this made me think about all of the things he keeps hidden from his large audience while giving the impression that he is exposing everything about himself to us. I also thought about the normalization of surveillance when it comes to Youtubers like David Dobrik, and how seeing him and people like him open themselves up to surveillance encourages us to do the same. So many people try to mimic what vloggers like David Dobrik do, and it is partially due to the fact that surveillance is so normalized and people are convinced that being surveilled is a good thing. Great work with this!
Response by: Gabrielle Caine
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about this topic! The case of David Dobrik is interesting, as he provides little value to the viewer in his videos, but his cult-like following was amassed as a result of his happy and goofy personality that you talk about. This reminds me of Abidin’s work, “Communicative intimacies: influencer and perceived interconnectedness”. If you remember, this work discusses the work of microcelebrities, specifically how they create and maintain mass followings. To do this, they abide by certain rules like providing a closer look into their personal lives. This is true of David Dobrik who consistently posts vlogs of his life and memories with friends. This allows his fan base to feel as if they really “know” him, a clear example of the parasocial relationships that microcelebrities cultivate. Even as you mention, his personality touches even those who are not subscribed to his channel, as he takes viewers through intimate parts of his life, work, and home. This “perceived interconnectedness” as Abidin describes is ultimately what allows Dobrik to maintain his following. Without allowing us a closer look into his daily life, viewers would not be able to have a connection with him personally. Dobrik’s friends also add to this effect as they are all shown with distinct personalities that appear in all of his vlogs. This creates an effect with his viewers as they are able to feel as if they are part of his friend group, truly knowing who each of the “characters” in his videos are. Those were just some of my ideas about the topic, but this was super interesting to read!
While I have only seen a couple of David Dobrik’s vlogs, I can very much attest to his personable and uplifting nature. Because of his constant positive attitude, I definitely agree that his audience feels inclined to continue watching his videos. I think this relates to Abidin’s argument on parasocial relationships as David purposely makes sure to include and document these happy moments. As a result, his fans, or subscribers, feel connected to him and feel as if they know him as a person, more than just through his videos. This is considered a parasocial relationship, as it is completely one sided. I also had no idea about his 4 minute and 21 second vlogs. However, I definitely think this is purposeful as it extends his audience to an older group of people as well as connecting him with those who partake in 420. As you mentioned, while David does not explicitly talk about his wealth, many of his videos are centered around it. He creates content for his YouTube by using his money to do something entertaining. Although Dobrik does not go into detail about the financial aspects of the Hawaii trip, it is clear that the money for this trip comes from him, which originates from his fans. I think David does a good job of separating his wealth from his videos while still using it for content. Specifically, David Dobrik is not considered an obnoxious influencer, rather people look at him as an entertaining and hilarious character.
ReplyDeleteHi Amber, I enjoyed your post! It was particularly interesting to me since I was once a David Dobrik fan and watched almost all of his videos. I agree with you, Dobrik brings a lighthearted, childish energy to his YouTube videos, which is why he is so popular amongst high school and college students. He revolutionized the short vlog, as he could entertain his fans in only four minutes and twenty seconds; many youtubers have tried to follow his lead, but haven’t been nearly as successful as Dobrik. Although he seems to be a goofy guy that means no harm, his videos say otherwise. His content can be put into conversation with Parham’s “TikTok and the evolution of digital blackface” (2020). Dobrik has admitted that his videos are highly scripted, and each scene, or bit, must be reshot several times. These bits often feature his close friends, Heath and Zane, doing and saying outrageous things in forced AAVE, playing sassy, implied Black, women. As Parham claims, this form of digital blackface disguises the racism as a lighthearted joke, but at the end of the day, what’s so funny about Black women? This new form of racism is hidden and brushed off as just a joke, but detrimentally affects African Americans. Further, Dobrik has a massive audience with hundreds of millions of views. Racism may not be his intention, but uploading these videos condones this behavior, and wearing blackness as a joke does not take away its deeply cultural, historical, and political implications. Dobrik got his start from Vine, which was one of the first platforms that normalized racist jokes. His content was problematic then, and it is still problematic now. It’s hard to notice the faults of some of our favorite creators, especially when they are so well loved, but it’s necessary to criticize their wrongdoings to ensure that they are not replicated or normalized.
ReplyDeleteAmber–
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of David Dobrik’s unique presence in the YouTube space and as an influencer was really well done. I appreciated the way you were able to provide a less biased perspective because you don’t engage with his content often/intentionally, especially because I was a fan of Dobrik and the Vlog Squad for years. Your exposition of his impact coupled with his particular place on the internet reminded me of the conversation our class shared about emotional labor and personality performance in relation to Evie Psarras’ article. As you explain, Dobrik and his friends have found their fame through outrageous (and often expensive) content, frequently appearing as though their life is only filled with the highest of highs. But, as someone who used to religiously keep up with the Vlog Squad, I know that this sort of self-presentation was/is draining for everyone involved in Dobrik’s videos, but particularly amongst the female members of his content. Women such as Corinna Kopf, Kristin McAtee, and Erin Gilfoy have made numerous remarks about the way in which they felt like they always needed to be “on” when in the presence of Dobrik’s camera, always ready to maintain the versions of themselves that they had established through his YouTube channel and across other platforms. While this idea isn’t specifically relevant to the content of your blog post, it felt. important to note in light of the serious allegations and subsequent “soft cancellation” Dobrik experienced at the beginning of this year (due partly to the extreme nature of his vlogs.) Thanks for a great read! :)
-Kendall Allen