My New Haircut

About

My New Haircut is a comedy skit about a stereotypical Guido known as "the Broski" and his night out on the town with a group of friends. Since its YouTube debut in June 2007, the video has inspired an extensive collection of parodies featuring alternative monologues and references to other social and racial stereotypes or subcultures.

Origin

The original video was created by Brett Tietjen and uploaded via YouTube channel mca1018^[5] on June 10th, 2007. Set to Corey Hart’s 1984 hit single “Sunglasses at Night”^[1] as background music, the skit mainly consists of the Broski's boastful monologues while grooming himself in preparation for a night of barhopping. Some of the highlights include his monologue about his haircut, a heavily gelled blowout^[6] also known as a Temple Fade^[7] or Brooklyn Fade, and cut scenes of himself primping in front of a mirror, lifting at the gym and yelling "Jagerbombs" at a bar.

Before the original video was removed in December 2011, it had gained more than 31 million views.^[8] On December 16th, 2011, the video was reuploaded by YouTuber MrBroskiTV^[9], where it has accumulated more than a million views as of September 2012.

Spread

The day after the video was shared on YouTube, it was re uploaded to MySpace.^[9] The next month, it was also shared on CollegeHumor^[10] and I Am Bored.^[11] On October 3rd, 2007, one of the first parody videos titled “My New Shape Up” was uploaded by YouTuber RiCanSuaVe79, who stars in the video to discuss his Shape-Up^[12] haircut, or a close cut around the hairline.

As of September 2012, Tietjen maintains a Facebook page^[13], a YouTube account^[14], two Twitter accounts^[15][16], a Tumblr^[17] and an Instagram^[18] under the guise of the Broski. Additionally, MyNewHaircut.com^[19] was established in November 2011 to collect all of Tietjen's videos and social network postings. Despite having an official Facebook page^[13], an older fan page^[20] has gained more than 5000 likes.

Controversy

In January 2008, digital remix artist Joe Sabia^[22] posted a video titled "The Truth Behind My New Haircut" to YouTube. He claimed that "My New Haircut" was a blatant rip off of an essay titled "Look At My Striped Shirt"^[24] written by Mike Polk for the now-defunct website Phat Phree on March 18th, 2005. A live performance by Polk's sketch comedy group Last Call Cleveland was uploaded^[23] to YouTube on August 31st, 2006. The monologue shares many of the same phrases as "My New Haircut," included references to "Jagerbombs," "Skanks" and calling people "Chief." Though there is no evidence Polk himself ever sought out credit for the idea, the situation was covered by the New York Times Magazine blog^[4] on January 31st, 2008.

Notable Examples

As of September 2012, there are 700 results for "My New Haircut parody" on YouTube.^[2]

Portrayal In Film

In March 2010, producer Scott Mednick, known for his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live action reboot films, purchased the rights^[3] to make a "My New Haircut" movie. However, nothing came of this venture. In January 2012, Tietjen launched a Kickstarter^[21] campaign to raise funds for making a "My New Haircut" themed webseries about the character's journey to Hollywood and attempt to turn his video into a movie. He recieve $1945 in pledges, falling short of the $20,000 goal.

Sequel: The Return of the Broski

On August 5th, 2011, a sequel to the original video was released. As of September 2012, this video only has slightly more than 218,000 views.

Search Interest

External References