This 8th Grade Musical Skit, Which Includes A Tribute To 9/11, Is Just Bonkers
When Ben Sinclair, the co-creator and star of the HBO series "High Maintenance" was asked by Vulture about a YouTube playlist he had curated from his friends' recommendations, one of the videos on the list was this, a 2014 homecoming musical skit performed by eighth-graders from a school in Florida.
The original video has, unfortunately, been taken down, but here's the first half of the skit:
And the reason why this is such an internet gem? Well, the theme of the skit was "the 2000s," and to say that there is quite a mishmash of tones would be an understatement. Embedded in the middle of the skit is a very surreal tribute to 9/11, with the most surreal part being that it ends with a declaration that "America bounced back stronger, freer, more creative than ever" and celebrates that "bouncing back" by showing products and companies like the iPod, Xbox, Facebook and, somewhat mystifyingly, Wii and Nintendo DS, both of which come from Nintendo, a Japanese conglomerate.
A short part of the skit has been lopped off from the Twitter video — in the original video, two kids dressed as firefighters comfort the two girls that are meant to symbolize the fallen Twin Towers before the stage lights are cut and the message of America recovering after 9/11 is played to the audience. What follows after is, in contrast to the skit you see here, incredibly buoyant and there are many dance routines set to music such as "Who Let the Dogs Out" and "Boyfriend" that are centered around depictions of school life. If it weren't for the 9/11 part, the whole thing could have just been passed off as a fairly well-executed piece of middle school theater, instead of this very bonkers relic of 2014 internet.
The skit took 2nd place in the homecoming talent show. We're not sure what that says about the other competitors.
[Via Brett Davis]
