Last Sunday, hundreds of San Diego State students gathered in front of Hepner Hall to perform their version of the Harlem Shake.
The Internet phenomenon has quickly become a social media craze that is trending through various platforms and is currently dominating the cyber world. A multitude of parodies have been uploaded onto YouTube many with millions of views worldwide. The video sensation went viral earlier this month.
For those of you who don’t know, the Harlem Shake is a dance performed to DJ Baauer’s techno track, “Harlem Shake.” People record and upload videos of themselves dressed in outrageous costumes and dancing as wildly as humanly possible. The track is approximately 30 seconds long and is a compilation of Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time,” undulating synth, harsh snares, a mechanical bassline and samples of growling lions. When the song starts, one person—usually wearing some type of helmet or mask—begins dancing while the others around the dancer obliviously continue their normal tasks. After about 15 seconds, the phrase, “Con los terroristas,” is uttered and in the following clip, absolute mayhem breaks loose as the others engage in unusual dance moves.
The event took place at 2 p.m. last Sunday and brought more than 300 SDSU students together.
People wore the most bizarre costumes, including a pepperoni pizza, a chicken suit, a bottle of beer, a giraffe, Santa Claus, a penguin and a banana. Much discussion has also been revolving around the mysterious elderly woman who nonchalantly made her way in front of the crowd during the filming of the Harlem Shake.
So, how did SDSU manage to gather so many students together to create a video of such proportion? SDSU communication senior Hallie Jacobs is to thank. The 21-year-old initiated a Facebook page, which reached more than 2,500 people in less than a month.
Jacobs was excited at the prospect of bringing the Harlem Shake to SDSU.
“I started the page because I knew SDSU would produce an epic version,” Jacobs said. “A bunch of other schools did it and we’re a big school full of rad people so I figured why not? I made a page because I knew if someone organized an event, people would come and it would be a success. You just need someone to initiate it, I guess.”
There has been a lot of chatter circulating about the “SDSU’s Harlem Shake Official” video. While many people loved it, some students complained about the outcome.
“Sorry to be that guy, but the whole point of the video is that only one person is in costume during the set up and nobody is paying attention, then the base drops and costumes appear,” one Facebooker commented on the “SDSU Harlem Shake!” page. “We kinda totally blew it with everybody standing looking at the camera.”
Others also addressed the event’s lack of organization.
Jacobs commented on the planning of the event, saying, “The only thing I would change is the amount of people filming. I agreed with one person to have one official videographer, but a bunch of people showed up and filmed their own versions so it got a little confusing.”
As an aspiring sports editor, Jacobs said the Harlem Shake didn’t change her social status, but it definitely impacted it.
“People recognized me on my walk to class which was really amusing,” Jacobs said. “I had so much fun and made some new friends so I’m chalking that up to a win.”
So maybe all 950 people who said they were going didn’t show, and maybe the organization could have been a little better, but overall, the final video turned out great.
The video, which was uploaded on Feb. 17, currently has more than 25,000 views. Viewers can find the video on youtube.
