How Two Actors Didn’t Commit Sexism On Vine (Video)

In a world peopled by politically correct types worrying a great deal about everybody’s feelings about everything, satire sometimes gets lost.

In late March, Los Angeles-based Catholic actors Kaiser Johnson and Jennifer Milani dressed up in ’20s garb to shoot a promotional video for an historic property for sale in Coronado, California, near San Diego (that video is at the bottom of this post). While in costume, they decided to shoot some short videos for the Web, using the Vine app, which allows users to create and post clips that are a little over six seconds long.

As long as you’re looking at a Vine, it continues to play over and over, and the app keeps count of those replays, called “loops.” A few days ago, Johnson noticed a sharp uptick in loops, likes (similar to a Facebook like) and comments. As of today, the Vine has nearly 3 million loops, over 26,000 likes and about 1,200 comments.

Before we go further, here it is (roll your cursor over the video and click on the speaker icon in the lower right-hand corner to get sound):

In perusing the comments, Johnson noticed that between a quarter to a third of the commenters didn’t appear to get that the Vine was spoofing sexism and actually thought Johnson and Milani were making a serious statement about the inability of women to read.

And you wonder why we have so many misunderstandings these days.

I checked in with the two by email to see what they thought about all this:

First, some background. Where’d the idea for the Vine come from, and where was it shot?

Jennifer: Kaiser was really into Vining, and said, “Heeeyyy, let’s do some Viiines!”

Kaiser: But I didn’t say it quite like that. And we were in Coronado, at the historic Hansen House. And since we were dressed in 1920s clothes, I thought it would be funny to lampoon our perception of the sexism of the time.

When did you notice the sudden jump in loops and comments?

Kaiser: I pulled up my Vine app a few days ago, and saw that I had tons of notifications… and then I texted both Dave Hauer (who shot the Vine), and [his wife] Jenny, and said, “Hey, look how many views we got!”

Jennifer: Yes. He said pretty much exactly that.

Did the response match your intent in doing the Vine?

Kaiser: Well, we have over 22,000 likes, and almost 5,000 revines, so that matches my intent of making something funny that people like and want to share. There are probably about a dozen people who have left most of the 1,200 or so comments, and they seem clueless as to the joke of the Vine.

Jennifer: No, I thought the Vine would maybe get a few chuckles; instead it’s sparked a gigantic sexism debate. Although, they weren’t really commenting on our video … just sexism in general, so it’s hard for me to have an opinion on that … people will always disagree with each other.

What’s your best guess why or how this happened?

Jennifer: It could be because “Downton Abbey” is pretty popular… and just coming from the #yesallwomen stuff, and equal pay in the news, women’s rights issues are still at the forefront of people’s minds!

Kaiser: Wow, that’s a more in-depth answer than I was thinking… I just figure some popular Viner revined it because they thought it was funny, and then a bunch more people saw it. But it certainly seems to be stimulating conversation!

What has this taught you about doing a popular Vine?

Kaiser: I don’t know … keep it simple? We did two other Vines at the same location and in the same costumes, and they didn’t get near as many views or likes … I think this was simple and a bit of a touchstone.

Jennifer: Just goes to show that you never know what’s going to hit a nerve!

What’s next?

Kaiser: Mostly convincing Jenny and Dave to get on Vine so we can make more! They’re funny folks and we come up with good ideas together!

Jennifer: Yup. Pretty much!

As for the house — properly called the Stephens-Terry Mansion — it’s a three-story Tudor-style home. From the San Diego Union-Tribune, in its 2004 obituary for owner Leo Hansen, a Denmark-born WWII Navy Veteran who died at the age of 97:

The mansion, a three-story Coronado landmark at 711 A Ave., was designed by noted architects William Hebbard and Irving Gill in 1898 for A.P. Stephens. It was purchased in 1915 as a retirement home by Marshall O. Terry, former surgeon general of New York.

Mr. Hansen bought the home at auction in 1950. He raised two families there – his four sons and two nephews and a niece, whom he took in after the death of their parents.

The home, the site of many social functions and historical tours, also became a temporary residence over the years for exchange students and Laotian refugees.

“My uncle had an open-door policy for those in need or for those who called for help,” said John Probasco, a nephew whom Mr. Hansen raised. “But people had to follow his rules.”

One of those rules, for those in his family, was regular church attendance.

A devout Episcopalian, Mr. Hansen was a senior warden and longtime Sunday school teacher at Christ Episcopal Church in Coronado.

“My most poignant memory of him is seeing him by his bed, praying for his family every night,” Probasco said.

And without further ado, here’s the original sales video, featuring the videographer’s toddler daughter: