Nicole Arbour is a Youtube personality that has found herself in headlines on more than one occasion. Famously, her video titled “Dear Fat People,” garnished viral media attention, responses from fellow Youtubers who were angered and disgusted, and from millions of views, comments, and shares on the video. Upon looking it up, I learned that Nicole Arbour actually had many videos that were titled “Dear ___.” One video titled “Dear Black People,” is a video in which Nicole tackles the subject of race. A lot of the video is centered on pointing out the ways (she believes) that there is hypocrisy in the mainstream statements surrounding what is racist/culturally appropriative. In order to protect herself from criticism, Arbour collabs the video with another Youtuber, one who happens to be a black woman by the name of Latoya. The semiotics at play in Nicole’s video, are mostly signifiers that are often used in discussions of race in the media. The idea that your proximity to a black person can justify your viewpoints as a white person. The idea that racism is a two-way street, one where white people can be equally victimized in an accident. And the idea that white opinions on race are helpful or productive in understand the way that racism and white supremacy function as systems. Nicole Arbour’s video reinforces these signifiers, while also attempting to bring a “fresh take” on racism to Youtube, obviously in an attempt to go viral.
