(Sub)Culture Features

Inside the sunny confines of a three-bedroom ranch in Palm Springs, California, there’s a camera aimed at porn star Christina Carter. Actually, it’s aimed at her toes, which she’s using to clutch a couple of burning matches. She’ll later get bopped on the head with a toy bat and toplessly …

YouTube in 2007 was the Wild West of freak comedy. Offbeat humor, celebrated through cheaply produced and easily distributed clips, dominated the young video-hosting platform, founded two years prior. Catchy songs about shoe shopping and trippy animations starring sleepy unicorns were elevated to the “Featured Videos” section of the site, …