Portfolio #5

Part 1:

Jaboukie Young-White communicates his identity through sarcastic tweets and memes. There are fewer memes on Instagram since that platform calls for a different type of interaction with other users (ie picture-esque photos and filters). However, he continues to let his personality shine through with witty captions.

Young-White participates in self-branding by exclaiming his identity. For example, he openly tweets about his homosexuality. But given that he is a political correspondent for The Daily Show, he also will be seen tweeting about candidates. However, he tweets about these two identities in comedic ways. Such as using reaction pictures or videos to add humor.

Before Young-White landed the position at Comedy Central, he was already establishing himself as a rising comedian and often tweeted in the same format that he does today. However, after coming out on live television he is more free about discussing his sexuality and those around him. Therefore, his identity allowed him to be more creative with his jokes online.

For context, this was a meme that was circulating Twitter from an episode of ‘Iyanla: Save My Life’. In this video, Iyanla says “Does that sound like something you want?”, to which the young woman replies, “Yes.”. Then Iyanla finishes with, “Well, let me tell you, you’ll never get it.”

Part 2:

I think that this week’s theme incorporates my keyword of ‘participation’. By what you participate in will determine what your brand will become. For example, if one engages in pop culture, they will self-brand themselves as one who is invested in entertainment media. Or, if someone participates in pro-Trump memes by liking, reposting, or sharing them, they will most likely be branded as a Trump supporter and a Republican. But, all of these cases are not reflective of a given person. For example, when people retweet tweets they do not always mean that they are in agreement. Sometimes, retweets mean “I’m showing all of my followers how foolish you sound”. But, someone who is unfamiliar with another’s ideals will brand them as ignorant as well.