What is keeping net addicts glued to the social networking sites when they aren’t stalking of their friend’s photo albums? Accepting game requests? Naah! Besides the regular ‘likes’, ‘lols’ and the comments, it’s various short films, funny animated reviews of movies, video-based social films and comedies that have many hooked. So how good are they that one cannot help but like and share? Most of these groups define themselves as Video newsgroups.
The most recent share that will crack you up is the one titled ‘Are you aChutiya’ on StoryPick. The short video makes a mockery of the things all of us say and make fools of ourselves without realising. For instance, in the video we see how an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi desi ) says good popcorn is only available in America, or how a mother, while looking for matches for her son comments, ‘degree-vegree thik hai, roti bana legi na ?’ The video is a straight shot at how it is supposed to be, rather than how it is.
Available on StoryPick, the makers of the site who describe themselves as ‘the storytellers’, say they believe stories are powerful and “can be used to inspire, thrill, entertain and educate. So we craft and handpick beautiful stories relevant to the Indian audience.”.
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These short videos aren’t always about humour or pun. Some of the message-driven videos on various sites are also educative, while a few are good enough for children to watch.
On the fun side of it, the most widely visited links these days are the ones that dissect the popular movies of the late 1990s and early 2000. A great watch, the comments that go with the clips almost match with what runs or ran in one’s mind as one watches the movies now. On world wide web for a couple of years now, some of these sites take a direct dig at politicians, news readers and actors as well. And yes, they really make you go PMPL (piss my pants laughing).
A few months back, mocking the fairness cream market, ‘
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Woven into beautiful stories, the videos come with many messages hidden into one and are presented with a voice over and background music. “Some of the videos are commissioned and it takes a while before they are published online and picked up by net users,” says Karan Talwar of BG.
Some of the videos are common to more than one of the video sites (Storypick and Scoopwhoop) like the ones which are created with a social message on safety. In one, the Transgenders say ‘Your car doesn’t have an oxygen mask.’ In that video, the creators made transgenders resemble air hostesses and made them play a similar role — pass on safety information.
Clearly these video newsgroups aren’t just about spreading the giggles and joy and talking about road safety. Some videos published on these sites talk of social responsibility, respect for women, discussing the life of a guide dog, the need for eye donation by humans and much more.