Where Is The Star Wars Kid Now & Why Did He Make That Viral Video?
The internet had a Wild West vibe in the early 2000s. People were still figuring out what to do with this technology, and culture was already changing as a result. The word "meme" has existed since the 1970s, but it took on new meaning in the digital age with people sharing collective moments and consciousnesses. Early internet stars were seemingly random, like a little boy coming down from laughing gas after visiting the dentist. And, of course, there was the Star Wars kid.
You've likely seen one of the first viral videos at one point of a teenager playing around with a makeshift lightsaber in a nondescript room. The clip blew up, amassing millions of views. Other people remixed the video, and it was referenced in the likes of "Arrested Development" and "South Park." At the time it came out, many people made fun of the kid, whose real name is Ghyslain Raza. In recent years, he's spoken about what it was like to be an internet celebrity of sorts and how it impacted him at just 14 years old.
Raza was even the subject of a documentary called "Star Wars Kid: The Rise of the Digital Shadows," as reported by CBC. He answers the question, "Why did Star Wars kid make the video?" And it was basically him messing around with friends. They wanted to film parodies of popular movies, like "Star Wars," and in one take, Raza decided to let loose and just went wild with a golf ball retriever as though he were a Jedi. He didn't intend for others to see it, but several months after shooting it, the video was discovered by some classmates, who converted it into a digital file and uploaded it onto the internet.
Ghyslain Raza has since been outspoken about online bullying
While meme culture has changed significantly over the years, one thing that's remained the same is the internet harassing and bullying people for seemingly nothing. It took some time for the video to catch on, but once it was picked up by traditional media like The New York Times and bloggers, it caught fire. Ghyslain Raza's life was forever changed, and with so much attention placed on Raza's family and school, he was actually asked not to return to classes the following year due to the perceived negative attention.
And many people were especially cruel online. In one of his first interviews post-Star Wars kid, Raza spoke to Maclean's about dealing with hurtful comments, "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 even filed a lawsuit against several classmates who had roles in posting the video without his consent. In 2006, they settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Fortunately, Raza has moved on from the incident. He later graduated from McGill's law school, and as part of the documentary he filmed, he went back to his old school and spoke with students about the idea of a digital shadow. With the internet, everyone effectively has a second life, and if you're not careful, that other life can spread into the real world. Raza has an extreme example of this happening, but it's critical for people online to be aware of what they're posting and not to post private videos of others without their consent.
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