Crashing out
Live streaming, cultural appropriation and the sometimes-absurd logic of de-platforming culture unravel in American Artist's first UK commission.
Exploring live streaming, cultural appropriation and the sometimes-absurd logic of de-platforming culture, CRASH OUT is an excerpt from a live stream by @YN_Ben, a prominent gamer. Having returned to his platform after being banned for airing an old clip of a fellow streamer @t3amtracy – a white woman – using racist language, the character recounts his story to his dismissive followers.
As the narrative unfolds, the freedom and playfulness of @YN_Ben’s online persona crumbles, unable to reconcile with his lived experience and social reality as a Black person. The film draws out the hypocrisy of language censorship online, in which policy designed to protect viewers consistently fails, silences and punishes those groups who face the most discrimination. @YN_Ben’s emotionally vulnerable account reflects the double standards prevalent in society at large, where Black anger is framed as aggression whilst real issues of racism and mental health are dismissed.
Throughout the film, @YN_Ben speaks openly about his financial reliance on streaming, highlighting the precarity of careers made in content creation and challenges surrounding the professionalisation of gaming. His candid approach, met by sharp backlash from his followers, complicates idealised notions of ‘online community’ – the viewers’ parasocial relationship with the streamer is both intimate and isolating. Equal parts hopeless and ridiculous, @YN_Ben’s dialogue with the anonymous, monolithic ‘chat’ veers at times into dark comedy. His recirculation of @t3amtracy’s comments, otherwise forgotten amongst his audience, reminds us of the internet’s uneasy power to archive and hold us accountable for our mistakes.
American Artist makes thought experiments that mine the history of technology, race, and knowledge production. Developed whilst in residence at Somerset House Studios in 2025, CRASH OUT and its exploration of the culture of streaming communities continues their ongoing engagement with popular forms of dissemination such as tv news, advertising and social media, and the ways these platforms shape identity, visibility, and power.