I hate this tasteless viral video of kids re-enacting “Scarface,” because to me, it epitomizes our culture’s need “to be seen at all costs” and it promotes the use of children for adult humor, entertainment and exploitation in a gut-level offensive manner.
I have no problem with vulgar humor for adults, but when we are teaching young children (7- to 10-year-olds) to say things like “motherfudger” and have a young girl referencing things such as “coke” while wearing a seductive blonde wig, something has gone a little whacked.
I appeared on CNN’s “Prime News” with the director of this short film, which was hyped up and put on YouTube as an actual kids’ play at an elementary school. This had the media in an uproar before they found out it was a hoax.
What bothered me the most was that this was a successful and talented artist (who has done such videos as “Poker Face” for Lady Gaga) actually saying that he and his wife were surprised that the video was receiving such negative press. What?! Really?! C’mon — how would you not anticipate that, when to any thinking person, the video was so obviously done to promote you and your film company? I don’t mind self-promotion (I do it proudly all the time), but not on the backs of little kids, and I certainly wouldn’t deny it.
My biggest concern with these types of viral videos involving children is what I have coined “The Richard Heene Effect.” Heene showed what can happen when parents exploit their own children to gain media attention in the hopes of a monetary future in the realm of reality television. These sorts of tasteless and irresponsible viral videos only promote our society’s narcissistic culture at the emotional expense of children.
What do you think?