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'STUDENTS CLIMBED ONTO TABLETOPS TO INSULT ME.PEOPLE MADE FUN OF MY PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AND MYWEIGHT

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About

Star Wars Kid is the nickname given to Ghyslain Raza, a Canadian teenager who filmed himself fighting against imaginary sentries with a golf-ball retriever, as though it were a double-sided light saber wielded by the antagonist Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I. Over the last decade, it is estimated that the original, unmodified Star Wars Kid video has accumulated over one billion views.

Origin

On November 2nd, 2002, Raza recorded an 8mm movie of himself pretend-fighting with a club in his high school studio, but forgot to take the cassette tape home with him. Unbeknownst to Raza, the footage was eventually discovered by three of his classmates and posted online via Kazaa, a popular P2P file-sharing network, on April 14th, 2003.^[14]

Spread

On April 22nd, 2003, game developer Bryan Dube^[1] blogged the first CGI-edited version of Raza's video, now equipped with a glowing lightsaber and appropriate science fiction sound effects. On April 29th, 2003, blogger Andy Baio^[2] published both the original and CGI-edited versions on his website, naming the video file "Star_Wars_Kid.wmv" (shown below).

In May of 2003, remix videos of Star Wars Kid began surfacing on internet humor sites like Albino Black Sheep ^[3], FARK ^[4] and Newgrounds ^[5], further triggering a new series of parodies, mashups and other CGI-edited videos.

On May 19th, 2003, Star Wars Kid began receiving coverage from major tech-related blogs and forums like Metafilter ^[6], BoingBoing ^[7] and Wired News ^[8].

Legal Battle

On July 16th, 2003, following the mass exposure on Star Wars Kid, Andy Baio and over 400 fans of the video raised $4,334.44 in donations and sent Raza a 30GB iPod, a gift certificate for an electronics store and a "Thank You" letter ^[9]. However, Raza's parents filed a quarter million-dollar harassment lawsuit against the families of his schoolmates for emotional sufferings and psychological damages, raising serious concerns of privacy invasion for the first time in a new age of the Internet.

Ghuslain In return for the countless hours of entertainment you've given us and the hardships you've had toface, please accept this 30 gigabyte iPod for your trouble. A very large gift certificate to FutureShop with the remainder of the Punds is in the mail. Remember, the Internet loves you. May the Porce be with you, always. Sincerely, Andrew Baio, Jish Mukerji, and the 376 donators to the Pund 8 8 P.S. Can you send us a photo oP you with the iPod?

Various Examples

Impact

The Star Wars Kid phenomenon coincided with the adoption of broadband internet subscriptions in the United States which jumped 23% between 2000 and 2003. Having initially circulated prior to the emergence of video-sharing sites like YouTube, the Star Wars Kid phenomenon may be seen as one of the first instances of a massively consumed online video, a forebear to a now robust online video culture supporting a much deeper dimension for regular feedback, mashups and parody. In 2006, the video was estimated to have been viewed over 900 million times by The Viral Factory. ^[10]

Broadband Internet Usage in the United States (Extrapolated by Web Site Optimization, LLC from Nielsen//NetRatings data) 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40,0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Broadband % Poly. (Broadband 96) しっしっ Month (Oct. 1999 Feb. 2006)

Aftermath

By the end of May 2003, the video had received extensive coverage from mainstream news media outlets, including The New York Times.^[11] Unfortunately, Raza was humiliated and finished school in a psychiatric ward.

Excerpt from MSNBC article:

Ghyslain, devastated by his sudden celebrity and the relentless teasing that came with it, dropped out of school and reportedly finished the semester in a psychiatric ward. His parents sued the families of the teenagers responsible for the video’s world premiere, in a suit that maintained, "Ghyslain had to endure, and still endures today, harassment and derision from his high-school mates and the public at large." Also, he "will be under psychiatric care for an indefinite amount of time." It also stated that the stigma could make it difficult for the kid to continue his education, find employment, and might necessitate that he change his name.

Vice Article

On June 1, 2010, the Vice Magazine technology website Motherboard^[12] revealed that Raza is now the president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivières, a society dedicated to the conservation of his hometown, and that he was studying law at McGill University in Montreal.

L’Actualite Interview

On May 8th, 2013, the French-language Quebec magazine L’Actualite published an exclusive interview with Raza, in which he revealed that his experience of viral fame in the early 2000s was “a very dark period,” marked by fallout with his friends in school, harassment from people urging him to commit suicide and therapy sessions.

SANTE VAINCRE LES SON NOUVEAU ALLERGIESCOMBAT ULIAN ASSANGE VACANCES UN SUPER-SENTIER EN GASPESIE STAR WARS KD brise le silenceEXCLUSIEE SURVIVRE A LA CYBER INTIMIDATION A 15 ANS, LE OUEBECOIS GHYSLAIN RAZA EST DEVENU LA PREMIERE VICTIME DINTIMIDATION A L'ÉCHELLE PLANÉTAIRE QUAND UNE VIDEO DE LUI SESTR A SON INSU SUR LE WEB. DOX ANS PLUS TARD, L PARLE EN EXCLUSIVITE A NOTRE JOURNALUSTE.

TH NEXT AUSTERITY MAY BE ZNLO WRECKING THE RECOVERY P38 DOESN'T WORK P2 KINDERGARTEN NEW NACLEAN'S HEDICAL BREAATHROUGH HOW LONG WILDYOU LIVE? The bullied Star Wars Kid breaks his silence P8 PLUS A conversation wih Conrad Black on his new American epic A revolutionary new test could actuialy gine you the answer Scott Feschuk on Google Gass ess

“No matter how hard I tried to ignore people telling me to commit suicide, I couldn’t help but feel worthless, like my life wasn’t worth living.”

Raza, who said he was inspired to come forward by several cyberbullying cases that had pushed their victims to suicide, also urged other victims of harassments to “overcome (their) shame” and find help.

“You’ll survive. You’ll get through it,” he said. “And you’re not alone. You are surrounded by people who love you.”

On the following day, the English edition of the interview was published by the Canadian weekly news magazine Maclean’s.^[13]

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Bryan Dube – Shoalin Monk? You Make The Call / 4-22-2003

^[2] Andy Baio – Finding the Star Wars Kid / 5-13-2003

^[3] Albino Blacksheep – Star Wars Kid Remix / 5-26-2003

^[4] FARK – The Star Wars Kid Enter The Matrix / 5-29-2003

^[5] EbaumsWorld – Star Wars Kid – Attack Of The Clones / 8-10-2003

^[6] Metafilter – Star Wars Kid Suing / 5-30-2003

^[7] BoingBoing – Star Wars Kid Found, Geeks Launch Online Fundraiser / 5-15-2003

^[8] Wired News – Star Wars Kid Gets Bucks from Blogs / 5-19-2003

^[9] Waxy – Finding The Star Wars Kid / 5-13-2003

^[10] BBC News – Star Wars Kid is Top Viral Video / 11-27-2006

^[11] New York Times – Compressed Data; Fame Is No Laughing Matter for the Star Wars Kid / 5-19-2003

^[12] MotherBoard.TV – After Lawsuits and Therapy, Star Wars Kid is Back / 6-01-2010

^[13] Macleans – 10 years later Star Wars Kid speaks out

^[14] The Globe and Mail – Star Wars Kid cuts a deal with his tormentors

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National QUEBEC Return of the 'Star Wars Kid' In an exclusive with L'actualité, Maclean's sister publication, Ghyslain Raza speaks for the first time with Jonathan Trudel about the infamous video TOHUNDREDS OF millions ofInternet users, Q: What do you remember about taping the the young man who sits before me in video? tury-old brick house in his hometownof A: I don't remember much about it. I made Trois-Rivières, Que., is the Star Wars Kid. Yes, the video in November 2002, when I was a that Star Wars Kid. At age 14,when Ghylain member of the school's television club. I'd Raza was a ninth-grader, attending private been working on a Star Wars parody with school at St.Joseph's Seminary, he videotaped other students for a school gala. One even- himselfedlumsily wielding a golf ball retriever, ing,while I was alone in the studio, I practised pretending that it was a light saber. A few the choreography.I used a golfball retriever classmates found his VHS cassette on a shelf, as a light saber. Most 14-year-old boys would atched the video, digitized it and distrib- do something similar in that situation, mayb uted it-without his knowledge or consentmore gracefully, but I was goofing around. I on the Internet file-sharing service Kazaa. left the tape on a shelf in the studio. I didn't The video wentviral. Overnight, the shy teen- think about hiding it. Who would take the ager's world collapsed. Bullying at school and trouble to watch it? on the web forced him to drop out ofschool.Q: When did you find out that it had been That happened 10 years ago. Since then, broadcast? rumours have circulated that Raza was cm A:One day, in the spring of 2003, Icame into mitted to a psychiatric hospital, died in an the studio and saw that someone had saved "IfI were you, I'd kill myself. I read that in accident and committed suicide. "Hundreds animage from my video as a computer desk French, in English and it was probably writ of erroneous reports about me are in the press top. I wondered how it got there. A friend ten in other languages, too. No one would and on the web-says the 25 yearold. The facts told me, "There's a v deo of you making the allow people to say that i a ii. Tel ng are that Raza graduated from law school at rounds. Didn't you know?" Everything went people to commit suicide is a crime. But on McGill University and plans to begin a mas downhill from there. I knew that I was in the Internet, there are no limits.I quickly ter's degree in law there this fall.Over the pasttrouble right away, because, well, it wasn't figured out that there was no point in read decade, he hasdedined hundreds of interview exactly a martial arts masterpiece. At that ing the stuff. It was poison. requests. A few years ago, he agreed to meet me point, the video had been watched mostly inQ:When did you tell your parents? for coffee. Then, a few months ago, he finally Quebec. But that didn't last. U.S. bloggers, A:Ididn't say anything at first. I was embar- agreed to an interview. Why? Raza says he's including Star Wars fans, started to circulate rassed! No kid wants to come home and say, been shaken by the recent spate of high-pro. People added special effects; soon, teDad, Mom, guess what's happening? The file cases of cyberbullying,some ofwhich have video had tens of millions of viewers. Then whole world is laughing at me." At a certain pushed their victims to commit suicide. He things spun completely out of control.point, I didn't have a choice. I told them hopes that speaking out about his experinceQ What were the repercussions at schooleverything. At the beginning, they couldn't will help young victims to weather the storm A: Everything rapidly degenerated. In the understand what was so special about the common room, students climbed onto table video. They soon learned why. Reporters from tops to insult me. Others mocked the video around the world started pestering me. My Q: Why did you stay silent for 10 years? A: Go back to May 2003, to the early weeks by exaggerating it. People made fun of my dad called the school, but the principal and after the video was posted on the web. It was physical appearance and my weight. I was teachers didn't understand.They were reluc on the verge of going viral, when the New labelled the "Star Wars Kid." They didn't tant to get involved. So my father called the York Times decided to run a story about me. mean it as a compliment. It soon became police. There was nothing that they could do. That was the turning point. That's when impossible for me to attend classes. media worldwide decided that I was an inter Q: Wereyou aware o what peoplewere wrir Q: Getaln.yer orantat? national story. Reporters were knocking at ing about you on the Internet? mydoor,calling so often that we had to unplug A: At first, yes. I wasn't deliberately trying situation. We wanted someone to handle the the telephone. I figured that if I started to to find out, but I was a bit curious. What Imedia requests, which were overwhelming. give interviews, I would only make things saw was mean. It was violent. People were There was also the question of my education. worse. My fame was forced on me; I never telling me to commit suicide. I remember Icouldn't go to school anymore. The lawyers They advised us to get a lawyer. A: At first, we just wanted help to manage the them saying: "You're a pox on humanity"; helped us to find a place where I could wri

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