President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)
Encyclopedia
"President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)" is Iman Crosson
's spoof
video posted to the YouTube
video sharing website, including a spoof of U.S. President
Barack Obama
's May 1, 2011 speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden
. The video is the basis of a rap music
single
.
The video was produced by actor-impressionist and dancer Iman Crosson
and posted on YouTube
three days after Obama's speech. Crosson's video includes a spoken explanatory introduction followed by a spoof
of Obama's speech. The spoof includes comedic dancing, and presents the speech in rap music
form, sometimes covering topics from Obama's speech with references to contemporary meme
s.
Popular and critical reaction focused on the video's humor and on Crosson's impersonation. Additionally, CBS News
' Bailey Johnson said that Crosson's version of the speech "seems to perfectly capture the national mood," and Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" stated that Crosson's satirical interpretation "cuts through the usual diplomatic platitudes and delivers - what seems to be - a more honest ... account of what happened." CQ Roll Call
Daily Briefing Editor David Hawkings remarked that the video "skewered the president’s 'no drama' affect and at the same time captured the mood of the country in the days after the Abbottobad raid."
's May 1, 2011 speech from the East Room of the White House
announcing the death of Osama bin Laden
, actor, impressionist, dancer and Internet personality Iman Crosson
posted a YouTube video "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)" that was a spoof
of Obama's speech.
In the video, the East Room spoof followed a spoken-word introduction by Crosson, impersonating Barack Obama sitting at a desk, explaining that the rest of the video was an "alternative speech" that had not been chosen for broadcast, replaced by the "traditional speech" that Obama in fact delivered. In character with the spoof, TVGuide.com quipped, "originally, this diss track was supposed to be the nail in Osama's coffin." CBS News
' Bailey Johnson echoed that Crosson's version was "an earlier draft of the speech - a draft very different from the one that aired."
The spoof was delivered in rap
and included comedic dancing in an East Room-appearing backdrop, with The Huffington Post
saying the video was "works in almost every meme
from the last month." The video not only included topics relating to bin Laden's killing, but referenced Internet culture including contemporary meme
s such as Charlie Sheen
's "Duh, Winning", Rebecca Black
, Antoine Dodson
, ENJ vs. Niks, as well as snuggies, Donald Trump
, and Google Earth
.
One commentator described the video as what Obama's speech--"in all likelihood the most pimp moment of his first two-and-a-half years in the White House"--"would have looked and sounded like had the man gone swag with it," characterizing Crosson's performance as a "rhymed flow over a booming, Lex Luger
-esque beat." New York
magazine's Amanda Dobbins referred humorously to Crosson's dancing of the Dougie
as a "bonus: the official Obama Family Dance." The Post-Standard affiliate Syracuse.com's Geoff Herbert described "the witty parody rap" as "a fierce rap with lots of swag."
Crosson ended his speech with "Oh that’ll be two terms please, thank you," referring to Obama's possible 2012 re-election in view of his increased popularity following the success of the bin Laden mission.
CBS News
' Bailey Johnson contrasted Crosson's rap and dancing performance with Obama's "model of confidence, restraint, and calm authority," further stating that Crosson's version of the speech "seems to perfectly capture the national mood." The San Francisco Chronicle
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham quoted Johnson and added that the video "exactly expresses what you and I both know Barack wanted to say after the Navy Seal Team 6 got to their objective." Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" remarked that Crosson's satirical interpretation "cuts through the usual diplomatic platitudes and delivers - what seems to be - a more honest and rhythmically tuned account of what happened." CQ Roll Call
Daily Briefing Editor David Hawkings remarked that the video "skewered the president’s 'no drama' affect and at the same time captured the mood of the country in the days after the Abbottobad raid."
The video was viewed at least 233,837 times in its first 24 hours, and accelerated in its second 24 hours to achieve its millionth view about 50 hours after being posted, and its two millionth view about 92 hours after being posted.
Before the end of its second 24 hours after being posted, YouTube had reported Crosson's video as being its fifth most viewed video across all categories.
At the end of its third 24 hours after being posted, YouTube reported Crosson's video as being the Comedy category's #1 most "Popular Around the Web," (which YouTube defines as "Videos with the most views when embedded on other websites").
On its sixth day, the video was shown on the front page of the Funny or Die
comedy video website.
By the end of its sixth day, the video had received over 2.5 million views and Crosson's "Alphacat" YouTube channel had received over 20,000 new subscribers.
When the video received its three millionth view on its ninth day, it had received over 20,000 comments, and its "Like/Dislike" ratio was 51.
Three months after the video was posted, Matt Wilstein of The Huffington Post
.com named the it among the top five Obama impressions
.
Media attention included features from such news outlets and political commentators as
CBS News
's Bailey Johnson,
The Huffington Post
including Matt Wilstein,
Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post,"
MSNBC
's "The Last Word" staff,
Sean Hannity
,
New York
magazine's Amanda Dobbins,
The San Francisco Chronicle
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham,
The Atlantic 's Chris Good, and
The Post-Standard affiliate Syracuse.com's Geoff Herbert,
recognition from comedy video websites such as Funny or Die
,
in addition to mentions in a variety of pop, cultural and celebrity websites such as TV Guide
.
Within a day of the video's posting on YouTube, Excite (Italy) reported that L'imitatore numero uno del Presidente degli Stati Uniti (the number one impersonator of the President of the United States) had turned Obama's speech into rap
. The same day, Obama's "comedic doppelganger
" was said to have "spit hot fire" ... "with one of his best Obama impressions to date, ... his lyrics (being) pretty tight, especially coupled with his on-point presidential delivery and hitting his Dougie
." CBS News
's Bailey Johnson concluded that Crosson was "one of the best presidential impersonators working today." Calling Crosson "master of the interweb airwaves," Infotainment News remarked of the video, "yeah, it’s a meme
, and the interweb will be full of them soon enough, but this is done with good clean humor." NonAmos.com remarked that "It's difficult to strike a perfect balance between political satire and complete poor taste. But ... actor and impressionist Iman Crosson gets it right." "Alphacat is a legitimate genius for making this video spoof... Alphacat’s touch up on the speech is much more than a comedic approach, it’s a mass collection of all 2011 meme
s, from Rebecca Black
’s Friday, Charlie Sheen
’s winning, to Dougies’ Dougie
, it’s an endless troupe of hilarity.
On the second day after the video's posting on YouTube, The Huffington Post
said that the video was "fast becoming a viral hit," and that Crosson "doesn't stop at getting the look and sound of the president down, he has created an impression that is almost a parallel worlds version of the man; one who raps or sings his way through every major event while maintaining his signature calm, collectedness.". MSNBC
's "The Last Word" linked to the video, remarking that "comedian Iman Crosson does a pretty spot-on impression of our Commander-in-Chief. He's also not half bad at writing political rhymes." TheRoot called it an "hilarious video" from "the man best known for his Obama impersonations during the 2008 elections." Fanpage Italia (Italy) called it "one of the most anticipated and successful parodies by... one of the most popular political Internet Webstars." Crosson's impression of Obama was called "spot-on ... absolutely nailing the hand gestures and uh, vocal, uh, tics of our nation’s 44th president."
On the third day, New York
magazine's Amanda Dobbins called Crosson "he of the spot-on YouTube Obama impersonations," saying "he really goes in" during the video Il Quotidiano Italiano (The Italian Daily (Newspaper)) wrote that Crosson was "punctual as always" in his production of the video so quickly after the news event it was spoofing. "Alphacat, one of the most popular political Internet Webstars... has not missed an opportunity to mount a parody ad hoc for this historic event." The Moderate Voice expressed that "there have been some great spoofs of Obama in the past and this impersonator, Alphacat has been responsible for a good chunk of them. This new video has to be one of his best yet."
Ten days after the video was posted, Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" named Crosson's video "Internet Video of the Week," remarking "we found a clip of a talented Obama impersonator putting all his acting, singing and dancing skills to work."
More than a month after the video was posted, The San Francisco Chronicle
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham commented on the spoof video and its related behind-the-scenes video, calling the spoof video "a work of genius."
Video views were possible through various other websites that had shorter commentaries, but embedded Crosson's video:
The Atlantic 's Chris Good ("President Obama's leading rap impersonator supplies an alternate we-killed-bin-laden announcement"),
WJVL
Radio (Wisconsin; "Funny Friday" video for May 6, 2011),
the facebook
page of Ashton Kutcher
("lol"),
New England Sports Network
's DirtyWaterTV ("...clever nuances. Very funny."),
Power 98.3 FM website ("HILARIOUS... too funny"),
Glow Radio (FusionRadio.ca; "He goes in!"),
Booker
Rising.com ("this version of his speech would've been much better LOL"),
The Hollywood Grind ("totally believable"),
Jack & Jill Politics ("The Hip Hop/Pimp Walk musical version that black people secretly wish had happened...(SPOOF)"),
Electronic Urban Reports "ThisNthat" (Iman Crosson delivers Obama's "real victory speech"),
political commentator Sean Hannity
(linked under "Faves"),
rapper Funkmaster Flex
("BY FAR the most officially funny skit I’ve seen on the topic"),
Radio 104.7 KISS FM ("Iman Crosson... does a pretty spot-on Obama"), and
Mario Armstrong
(interview; "incredible spoof").
Iman Crosson
Iman Crosson is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S...
's spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
video posted to the YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video sharing website, including a spoof of U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's May 1, 2011 speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
. The video is the basis of a rap music
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
.
The video was produced by actor-impressionist and dancer Iman Crosson
Iman Crosson
Iman Crosson is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S...
and posted on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
three days after Obama's speech. Crosson's video includes a spoken explanatory introduction followed by a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Obama's speech. The spoof includes comedic dancing, and presents the speech in rap music
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
form, sometimes covering topics from Obama's speech with references to contemporary meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s.
Popular and critical reaction focused on the video's humor and on Crosson's impersonation. Additionally, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
' Bailey Johnson said that Crosson's version of the speech "seems to perfectly capture the national mood," and Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" stated that Crosson's satirical interpretation "cuts through the usual diplomatic platitudes and delivers - what seems to be - a more honest ... account of what happened." CQ Roll Call
Roll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
Daily Briefing Editor David Hawkings remarked that the video "skewered the president’s 'no drama' affect and at the same time captured the mood of the country in the days after the Abbottobad raid."
Content
Three days after Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's May 1, 2011 speech from the East Room of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
announcing the death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
, actor, impressionist, dancer and Internet personality Iman Crosson
Iman Crosson
Iman Crosson is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S...
posted a YouTube video "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)" that was a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Obama's speech.
In the video, the East Room spoof followed a spoken-word introduction by Crosson, impersonating Barack Obama sitting at a desk, explaining that the rest of the video was an "alternative speech" that had not been chosen for broadcast, replaced by the "traditional speech" that Obama in fact delivered. In character with the spoof, TVGuide.com quipped, "originally, this diss track was supposed to be the nail in Osama's coffin." CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
' Bailey Johnson echoed that Crosson's version was "an earlier draft of the speech - a draft very different from the one that aired."
The spoof was delivered in rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and included comedic dancing in an East Room-appearing backdrop, with The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
saying the video was "works in almost every meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
from the last month." The video not only included topics relating to bin Laden's killing, but referenced Internet culture including contemporary meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s such as Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
's "Duh, Winning", Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced...
, Antoine Dodson
Antoine Dodson
Kevin Antoine Dodson is an 'accidental singer', actor, and former resident of the Lincoln Park housing project in Huntsville, Alabama, whose interview on local television news became an Internet sensation and resulted in an Auto-Tuned song by The Gregory Brothers that "has sold thousands of copies...
, ENJ vs. Niks, as well as snuggies, Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
, and Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
.
One commentator described the video as what Obama's speech--"in all likelihood the most pimp moment of his first two-and-a-half years in the White House"--"would have looked and sounded like had the man gone swag with it," characterizing Crosson's performance as a "rhymed flow over a booming, Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
-esque beat." New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine's Amanda Dobbins referred humorously to Crosson's dancing of the Dougie
Teach Me How to Dougie
"Teach Me How to Dougie" is a song recorded by American hip hop group Cali Swag District. The track was produced by Runway Star for Cali Swag District's debut studio album, The Kickback . The song was written by Chanti Glee, Charon Childs, and Corey Fowler...
as a "bonus: the official Obama Family Dance." The Post-Standard affiliate Syracuse.com's Geoff Herbert described "the witty parody rap" as "a fierce rap with lots of swag."
Crosson ended his speech with "Oh that’ll be two terms please, thank you," referring to Obama's possible 2012 re-election in view of his increased popularity following the success of the bin Laden mission.
CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
' Bailey Johnson contrasted Crosson's rap and dancing performance with Obama's "model of confidence, restraint, and calm authority," further stating that Crosson's version of the speech "seems to perfectly capture the national mood." The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham quoted Johnson and added that the video "exactly expresses what you and I both know Barack wanted to say after the Navy Seal Team 6 got to their objective." Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" remarked that Crosson's satirical interpretation "cuts through the usual diplomatic platitudes and delivers - what seems to be - a more honest and rhythmically tuned account of what happened." CQ Roll Call
Roll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
Daily Briefing Editor David Hawkings remarked that the video "skewered the president’s 'no drama' affect and at the same time captured the mood of the country in the days after the Abbottobad raid."
Viral video--statistics and distinctions
The media soon responded to the video as "a viral hit".The video was viewed at least 233,837 times in its first 24 hours, and accelerated in its second 24 hours to achieve its millionth view about 50 hours after being posted, and its two millionth view about 92 hours after being posted.
Before the end of its second 24 hours after being posted, YouTube had reported Crosson's video as being its fifth most viewed video across all categories.
At the end of its third 24 hours after being posted, YouTube reported Crosson's video as being the Comedy category's #1 most "Popular Around the Web," (which YouTube defines as "Videos with the most views when embedded on other websites").
On its sixth day, the video was shown on the front page of the Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
comedy video website.
By the end of its sixth day, the video had received over 2.5 million views and Crosson's "Alphacat" YouTube channel had received over 20,000 new subscribers.
When the video received its three millionth view on its ninth day, it had received over 20,000 comments, and its "Like/Dislike" ratio was 51.
Three months after the video was posted, Matt Wilstein of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.com named the it among the top five Obama impressions
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
.
Media coverage and popular response
The video received substantial media attention within days, with the video's views-per-day actually increasing over the course of its first three days.Media attention included features from such news outlets and political commentators as
CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
's Bailey Johnson,
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
including Matt Wilstein,
Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post,"
MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's "The Last Word" staff,
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
,
New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine's Amanda Dobbins,
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham,
The Atlantic 's Chris Good, and
The Post-Standard affiliate Syracuse.com's Geoff Herbert,
recognition from comedy video websites such as Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
,
in addition to mentions in a variety of pop, cultural and celebrity websites such as TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
.
Within a day of the video's posting on YouTube, Excite (Italy) reported that L'imitatore numero uno del Presidente degli Stati Uniti (the number one impersonator of the President of the United States) had turned Obama's speech into rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
. The same day, Obama's "comedic doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
" was said to have "spit hot fire" ... "with one of his best Obama impressions to date, ... his lyrics (being) pretty tight, especially coupled with his on-point presidential delivery and hitting his Dougie
Teach Me How to Dougie
"Teach Me How to Dougie" is a song recorded by American hip hop group Cali Swag District. The track was produced by Runway Star for Cali Swag District's debut studio album, The Kickback . The song was written by Chanti Glee, Charon Childs, and Corey Fowler...
." CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
's Bailey Johnson concluded that Crosson was "one of the best presidential impersonators working today." Calling Crosson "master of the interweb airwaves," Infotainment News remarked of the video, "yeah, it’s a meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
, and the interweb will be full of them soon enough, but this is done with good clean humor." NonAmos.com remarked that "It's difficult to strike a perfect balance between political satire and complete poor taste. But ... actor and impressionist Iman Crosson gets it right." "Alphacat is a legitimate genius for making this video spoof... Alphacat’s touch up on the speech is much more than a comedic approach, it’s a mass collection of all 2011 meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s, from Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced...
’s Friday, Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
’s winning, to Dougies’ Dougie
Teach Me How to Dougie
"Teach Me How to Dougie" is a song recorded by American hip hop group Cali Swag District. The track was produced by Runway Star for Cali Swag District's debut studio album, The Kickback . The song was written by Chanti Glee, Charon Childs, and Corey Fowler...
, it’s an endless troupe of hilarity.
On the second day after the video's posting on YouTube, The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
said that the video was "fast becoming a viral hit," and that Crosson "doesn't stop at getting the look and sound of the president down, he has created an impression that is almost a parallel worlds version of the man; one who raps or sings his way through every major event while maintaining his signature calm, collectedness.". MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's "The Last Word" linked to the video, remarking that "comedian Iman Crosson does a pretty spot-on impression of our Commander-in-Chief. He's also not half bad at writing political rhymes." TheRoot called it an "hilarious video" from "the man best known for his Obama impersonations during the 2008 elections." Fanpage Italia (Italy) called it "one of the most anticipated and successful parodies by... one of the most popular political Internet Webstars." Crosson's impression of Obama was called "spot-on ... absolutely nailing the hand gestures and uh, vocal, uh, tics of our nation’s 44th president."
On the third day, New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine's Amanda Dobbins called Crosson "he of the spot-on YouTube Obama impersonations," saying "he really goes in" during the video Il Quotidiano Italiano (The Italian Daily (Newspaper)) wrote that Crosson was "punctual as always" in his production of the video so quickly after the news event it was spoofing. "Alphacat, one of the most popular political Internet Webstars... has not missed an opportunity to mount a parody ad hoc for this historic event." The Moderate Voice expressed that "there have been some great spoofs of Obama in the past and this impersonator, Alphacat has been responsible for a good chunk of them. This new video has to be one of his best yet."
Ten days after the video was posted, Al Jazeera 's "Listening Post" named Crosson's video "Internet Video of the Week," remarking "we found a clip of a talented Obama impersonator putting all his acting, singing and dancing skills to work."
More than a month after the video was posted, The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
's "City Brights" contributor Zennie Abraham commented on the spoof video and its related behind-the-scenes video, calling the spoof video "a work of genius."
Video views were possible through various other websites that had shorter commentaries, but embedded Crosson's video:
The Atlantic 's Chris Good ("President Obama's leading rap impersonator supplies an alternate we-killed-bin-laden announcement"),
WJVL
WJVL
WJVL is a radio station licensed to Janesville, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Madison, Wisconsin, to the Rockford, Illinois, area. The station is owned by Bliss Communications and plays "Pure Country." Top 40 country mixed in with country golds....
Radio (Wisconsin; "Funny Friday" video for May 6, 2011),
the facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page of Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
("lol"),
New England Sports Network
New England Sports Network
The New England Sports Network, or NESN [NESS-en], is a regional cable television network that covers the six New England states except Fairfield County, Connecticut and Southbury, Connecticut, a town in New Haven County, Connecticut which is covered by New York City sports networks...
's DirtyWaterTV ("...clever nuances. Very funny."),
Power 98.3 FM website ("HILARIOUS... too funny"),
Glow Radio (FusionRadio.ca; "He goes in!"),
Booker
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
Rising.com ("this version of his speech would've been much better LOL"),
The Hollywood Grind ("totally believable"),
Jack & Jill Politics ("The Hip Hop/Pimp Walk musical version that black people secretly wish had happened...(SPOOF)"),
Electronic Urban Reports "ThisNthat" (Iman Crosson delivers Obama's "real victory speech"),
political commentator Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
(linked under "Faves"),
rapper Funkmaster Flex
Funkmaster Flex
Aston George Taylor, Jr. better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and host of the hit MTV show Funk Flex Full Throttle....
("BY FAR the most officially funny skit I’ve seen on the topic"),
Radio 104.7 KISS FM ("Iman Crosson... does a pretty spot-on Obama"), and
Mario Armstrong
Mario Armstrong
Mario Armstrong is a radio and television talk show host, focusing in the areas of technology and digital lifestyle. His radio program, The Mario Armstrong Show, is hosted on XM/Sirius radio, and syndicated on radio. He is a regular contributor to CNN, and NPR's Morning Edition...
(interview; "incredible spoof").
See also
- Iman CrossonIman CrossonIman Crosson is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S...
- Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
- ParodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
(includes "spoof") - Chroma keyChroma keyChroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
(includes "green screen" compositing) - YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Social impact of YouTubeSocial impact of YouTubeYouTube, by providing a video hosting service, has been involved with popularizing Internet trends in popular culture. Its users represent of society and it is part of a set of social networking sites that people and organizations often maintain a presence on. YouTube has created some internet...
- Death of Osama bin LadenDeath of Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
- United States Navy SEALsUnited States Navy SEALsThe United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
- East Room (White House)
External links
- The subject YouTube video "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)" (WebCite archive) posted on May 4, 2011 to YouTube channel "Alphacat".
- Official video "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden" showing the actual (non-spoof) May 1, 2011 speech by President Obama, posted to YouTube channel "whitehouse" on May 1, 2011 (WebCite archive).
- Whitehouse.gov transcript of Barack Obama's speech of May 1, 2011 (WebCite archive) announcing the death of Osama bin LadenDeath of Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
.
- Iman CrossonIman CrossonIman Crosson is an American actor, impressionist, dancer and singer known on various Internet websites under the pseudonym "Alphacat" and is known for his impersonations of U.S...
's "Alphacat" YouTube channel