Damn Daniel: Blog Post #2
Let’s talk about Daniel.
There is something about this meme that gets me dying of laughing every time. I know it’s dumb. I know it’s not that genius or intellectual or riveting. But I swear, every single daaaaamn time, it gets me laughing.
That is the first and last time I will attempt a Damn Daniel joke in my blog post.
Since this meme has provided me lots of laughs, I thought it would be interesting to find out it’s history. According to Know Your Meme, the video was uploaded by Josh Holz on Twitter on February 15, 2016, the voice of the video. It would have probably originally been posted to his own personal Snapchat, since the text on the videos are the ~Snapchat text~ but that wouldn’t have gone viral if it was private. It went viral after being retweeted by fake WorldStarHipHop accounts. And then it just kind of went in all different directions. People were putting up white Vans on eBay saying they were the ‘Damn Daniels White Vans’. Vine users were making remakes (rip Vine). Then they got invited to Ellen, as is the next move at the peak of most internet-famous people.
(All info is from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/damn-daniel, bless these people and the hard work they do finding out how things spread).
I can’t really remember when I first saw it, but I’m pretty sure I saw it on my newsfeed on Facebook. I didn’t really think much of it, until I watched it twice. The first time, I was like, ‘What is this?’ and the second time was when I started laughing. I think it took me a minute to find it funny.
Which brings me to why this meme went viral. I don’t think this meme is inherently artistic or carefully crafted in anyway. It’s two teenage boys, at school, goofing off with Snapchat. It has this innocent quality to it. There’s nothing outrageous or horrifying about it. It’s just high schoolers being high schoolers. I remember in high school having inside jokes with my friends. This felt like we were all part of the inside joke. It was so authentic, it felt like you were there, hanging out with them. It wasn’t flashy, or over produced. It was just simple.
If the video was anybody else beside the two boys, who knows if it would have had the same impact. If it was a different voice or a different Daniel — what if it wasn’t Damn Daniel, but instead Damn Dan? Or Damn Danny? (I’m having a mild existential crisis). It was the unique combination of these elements; the boys, their clothes, their handsome good looks, their goofiness, the beauty of their school (I’m quite jealous). All of these elements played a part in the success of the meme. I don’t think it relied on solely one element; you can’t pick out one part of the meme and say ‘That’s it, that’s what made it viral’. I think it’s part pure luck and part authenticity- the fact that they probably were just doing what they always do, that made it so popular and compelling.
The meme did have some side effects for the boys, apparently Josh, the one who posted the video, was hacked and had a swatting prank played upon him (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/damn-daniel-how-the-latest-meme-shows-the-dark-side-of-going-viral-a6909421.html). It also led to more exposure for the two of them though, including that way overproduced LG ad which we watched in class, which seems like the opposite of the vibe of the original video.
Like most memes, there’s an expiration date. Damn Daniel has faded now, although both boys are verified on Twitter and I’m pretty sure one of them is a model now. But for a good while, it provided me (and many others with laughs). And maybe that’s the point of meme, to be a temporary distraction from tough stuff. But once the laughter subsides, it’s time to go back to reality.
