Eugene Lee Yang is known as one of the Try Guys that migrated from Buzzfeed to a stand-alone company last year. Their new channel is much more personal than their Buzzfeed channel ever was, and Yang's new video titled "I'm Gay" speaks to that. The video is a five-minute contemporary dance video and is full of color and emotion. A second video was uploaded following the "I'm Gay" video that follows Yang through the thought process and development of his coming out.
The video doubles as a fundraiser for The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is a crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention organization specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. Prior to coming out, Yang starred in a video from The Try Guys where he volunteered at The Trevor Project headquarters. This cause is close to his heart, and his new video has already raised over $92,000 (as of June 20). The fact that this video is also a fundraiser proves that Yang knows how to use his fame for good by encouraging and supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
Each scene and outfit represents a color of the LGBTQ+ flag
Instagram @eugeneleeyang
There are six scenes in this video, and each one features a specific color scheme. The first scene is red, the second yellow, and so on until the final purple scene. Each scene represents a struggle in Yang's life from family to church to how society views the LGBTQ+ community. The color design for each scene and outfit offers another layer of depth to an already gorgeous video.
Along with pride color symbolism, there is a contrast between black and white throughout the video
Youtube (The Try Guys)
In the 30-minute behind-the-scenes video, Yang describes the black and white clothing worn by the ensemble. Members dressed in black are pro-LGBTQ+ community and offer Eugene comforting pats on the back or loving glances as he passes. The divide is first evident in the Orange scene where black and white are on separate sides of the pews of a church. Members dressed in white are anti LGBTQ+ and beat up Eugene in the Blue scene and even his family is divided between the black and white. At the end of the video, in the Purple scene, Eugene walks gracefully through a fighting crowd clad in black and white.
LGBTQ+ members are featured in the video
Instagram @eugeneleeyang
Yang employed members of the LGBTQ+ community as his background dancers, main cast, and production team. The image above is the end credits and demonstrates how inclusive Yang made this video to include and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
There is a tribute to the Pulse nightclub shooting from 2016
Youtube (The Try Guys)
The Green scene features Eugene in drag and he descends stairs into a nightclub scene full of pride colors, drag queens, and the celebration of pride. In this scene, a man in white (Anti-LGBTQ+) forms his hand into a finger-gun and the partying crowd drops to the ground. This is a tribute to the 49 lives lost in the Pulse Nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016, leaving the LGBTQ+ shocked and heartbroken. In the aftermath of the shooting, the community has come together to fund Orlando Strong, an organization that helps Pulse Survivors and supports the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando.
This video show how Eugene Lee Yang is a role model for all youth, even those who do not identify as LGBTQ+
Youtube (The Try Guys)
This video is Yang putting himself out to the world and allowing himself to be vulnerable by documenting his own personal struggles. He is a genuine person who creates relevant and beautiful content, and we can all take a page out of his book by being our truest selves and helping others do the same.
If you want to donate to The Trevor Project you can do so through the video itself or The Trevor Project website.
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