GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS

By: Silje Falun

In November 2005, South Park aired an episode called “Ginger Kids”. This was an episode about “Gingervitis”, a made-up disease about people with red hair. Eric Cartman, a character in South Park, claimed that “gingers have no soul”. This is where this phrase comes from. On January 14^th, 2010, an 18-year-old guy with the YouTube name “CopperCab”, uploaded a video on YouTube titled “GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS!!”. In this video, he expressed his frustration with red-headed discrimination”:

He talks about how it is like to have red hair. He looks into the camera and tells us that he is tired of being called a ginger.

In less than a month, the video had 3,1 million views and over 600 response videos! The original YouTube video has now 26,8 millions views, about two years after it was uploaded. According to Google Insights, this is the interest about “GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS!!” over time and place.

 I think that the reason why this video has become so famous is because “CopperCab” is really angry with the people who laugh at other people with red hair. He looks weird, and talks even weirder. He uses strange noises, and a lot of facial expressions. He screams, curses and looks threatening into the camera. It is funny to look at an unsecure teenager, being so angry and using a weird body language. When you look at the YouTube video, you don’t laugh with him, you simply laugh at him.

This video made many people want to make a response video. South Park made Eric Cartman, the character that made fun of “gingers”, a ginger himself. Eric Cartman made the exact same video as “CopperCab” on a South Park episode:

People have dressed up as “gingers”, and made a parody of “CopperCab”. Example, 

and other pretend to be his brother, 

and his parents

There have also been made pictures and other memes about “GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS!!”: