'Ten Hours of Princess Leia Walking in NYC' Is the Latest (And Hopefully Last) Catcalling Parody
by Andy NeuenschwanderWhenever something big happens on the Internet, there's a swift and inevitable response from YouTube: an influx of parody videos.
Even in the case of Hollaback's "10 Hours of Walking in NYC" video, which was made to call attention to the issue of catcalling and street harassment of women, there's always some quick fame to be had from putting a parody up on YouTube before the viral luster wears off.
The latest (and hopefully last) parody of the catcalling video is titled "Ten Hours of Princess Leia Walking in NYC," and it's exactly what you'd expect: Princess Leia walking in NYC and getting harassed as only a Star Wars character can.
Where the original video saw a woman being followed for five minutes and weathering all kinds of comments on her appearance, Leia has to deal with unwanted comments like "judge me by my size, do you?" and quips, with the accompanying condescending royal titles, from Han Solo.
There are moments in which Luke Skywalker, as a Stormtrooper, turns around and follows Leia, insisting that he's there to rescue her, and one with Darth Vader offering his own bid for Leia's attention. There's even a reference to the original video with Boba Fett following Leia for minutes on end.
A number of parody videos have already hit YouTube following the Hollaback original, including one from Funny or Die that had a white man walking through NYC and comedically being offered all kinds of free stuff and being harassed for "networking." There has also been an earnest attempt at a re-creation in New Zealand, where the subject found that she was met with no catcalling, in a stark contrast to New York.
Check out the parody video below: