It all began last week, when reporter Elizabeth Gentle of WAFF-TV in Huntsville, Ala., aired a story about a woman named Kelly Dodson who was almost raped in her bedroom by a home invader. The video included an interview with her, but it was her brother Antoine Dodson, who interrupted the assault, who stood out in the story.
Dodson addresses the camera directly with a mixture of anger, defiance and flamboyance.
“Well, obviously, we have a rapist in Lincoln Park,” he says. “He’s climbing in your windows, he’s snatching your people up, trying to rape them, so you need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband, because they’re raping everybody out here.”
The video quickly became a runaway online hit. But is this Internet meme really about race, music, comedy, celebrity or a delicate mix of all of the above? And for Antoine Dodson, how would he respond to his new-found fame?
WAFF-TV received angry calls and e-mails from members of the public who felt the story perpetuated stereotypes about African Americans. The station, however, stood by its decision to air the piece.“Some have contacted our newsroom saying that interviews with people like Antoine reflect poorly on the community. To that I say censoring people like Antoine is far worse,” explained WAFF reporter Elizabeth Gentle in a follow-up story.
But the tone of the meme changed drastically as people began to create parodies of the video a few days later. These parodies hit critical mass when the duo known as the Gregory Brothers, who produce the popular YouTube channel AutoTune The News (ATTN), put their own spin on the video. In their version, they AutoTuned Dodson’s voice to sound like he’s singing an R&B song.
Full story: The YouTube ‘Bed Intruder’ Meme: A Perfect Storm of Race, Music, Comedy And Celebrity – NPR