Harlem Shaking Tunisia

I was watching Fareed Zakharia on GPS last Sunday, and he ended the program with a bit on the way the recent “Harlem shake” fad is impacting Egypt and Tunisia, calling it a “potent symbol of protest, revolt and defiance”. While it has no connection with Harlem or the original Harlem shake, this version, recorded by a Brooklyn DJ last spring, has taken on a significance of its own in Tunisia, prompting government action.

Tunisian students posted their own version of the shake online, provoking a violent backlash by conservative Muslims, including the Minister of Education who condemned the videos. It has become a symbol igniting the battle between secularists and Islamists as they determine how the post-revolutionary country will move forward. (source)

This phenomenon, driven by the youth and social media in the country, is reflective of the way social media was used to push forward the revolutionary political movement the country experienced a couple years ago, gaining international attention. This speaks to our class discussion on the central role media play in shaping discourses.

Although no one is certain how long this fad will last, it does raise questions concerning American culture and how it is decontextualized once it crosses borders and new meaning is attached to it.