“Hey, have you seen that video? The one about how UR sucks?” You may recognize this line as one of the most recent conversation starters around campus. If your response is “yes,” then you’ve seen – and most likely have been amused – by the video online that satirizes the more negative aspects of UR. If your answer to this question is “no,” then you need to come out of whatever hole you’ve been hiding in. By now, everyone should know that I am referring to that online flash video – a creation of senior Tyler Graham, which has been circulating around campus from person to person through IMs, e-mails, suggestive links on profiles and word of mouth.
Offspring’s punk music playing in the background as the theme song emits a feeling of rebellion right from the start of the video. The video goes through a series of scenes showcasing some of the daily occurrences which students have unfortunately become accustomed to. Some of the more common themes that emerge include the frequent distribution of parking tickets, the unpleasant effects of campus food and the dubious presence of security on campus. The stick figures and geometric objects in the video are basic, yet Graham assuredly proves that the simplicity does not deter him from giving clear and comical examples that all UR students recognize and have probably experienced in some way.
The making of this video wasn’t exactly a fluid process for Graham. Starting it sometime during this semester and working on it every once in a while, he did not finish until right after spring break. “I made it mostly out of boredom and because I had learned how to make these flash movies and because the school had a lot of things to make a little movie about,” Graham said.
When asked about the ensuing success of the video, Graham admits that he didn’t even realize people outside of his fraternity had seen it. He didn’t become aware of the video’s popularity until he heard someone talking about it to their friends in the Pit. “It turned out that not only had people seen it, but also had posted it on collegehumor.com and other sites,” Graham said. “In fact, because the movie featured Dean Burns, I was really hoping it wouldn’t gain that much popularity at all. I wasn’t really afraid that the university would come crashing down on me, or that a security officer would shoot me, but I was a little nervous that one of the deans would find a creative way to punish me.” So far Graham has not faced any penalties for the creation of his video.
As to whether or not there could be a sequel to the Evil UR video in the future, Graham’s response was, “Sure, what the hell. Once I have some more time to waste, I’ll probably find myself in front of my computer once again.”
