Culture

What Is The Helen Keller Dance?

by candice.tsuei | August 20, 2009 at 09:22 am

1388 views | 0 Recommendations | 4 comments

Even if you are familiar with Helen Keller, it would probably still be hard to imagine what the "Helen Keller Dance" looks like.

The "Helen Keller Dance" refers to the chorus in the electronic music group 3OH!3's new single "Don't Trust Me," which has been played 84 million times on MySpace as of today. In the song, Sean Foreman raps, "Shush girl, shut your lips. do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips." The couplet has fueled much controversy regarding its reference to the iconic deaf-blind author and activist.

3OH!3 is an duo from Boulder, CO, where the area code is 303. Founded in 2004, 3OH!3's music style includes jokey raps and indie electronica beats. They will be joining the 15th annual Vans Warped Tour, a festival focusing on punk bands and extreme sports, which kicks off today at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA.

"The reason why we wrote that line was to catch people's ears and to create a different lyric," Foreman says. "We weren't trying to be offensive. Actually, this concert promoter we met knows Helen Keller's granddaughter. She said she was offended by it at first. But I think she came around to it. She understands the implication of it.

A few accusations of misogyny have also been leveled at 3OH!3, which also includes programmer-producer Nathaniel Motte. Foreman says a few questionable lyrics were a result of the duo unleashing their ire at their ex-girlfriends after difficult breakups.

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Browser (not verified)

at 15:45 on August 21st, 2009

Interesting reference to Helen Keller's granddaughter. I'm pretty sure Helen Keller never married and never had children or grandchildren.

Some girl (not verified)

at 12:51 on August 23rd, 2009

The original answer stated that she married a man called James Keller. Despite the unlikelihood of her finding a man with the exact same last name, this answer is disputed by relatives of Helen's. At this site, her great-grandniece says that Helen was once engaged in her 30s, but the marriage never happened. ---- WikiAnswers.com

Some girl (not verified)

at 12:47 on August 23rd, 2009

I wasn't offended by it, I'm open minded and I think outside the box. I thought it was a fun addition to the song. Music needs to be attention-grabbing these days. I think this song is a great dance song!!!

Jumakae (not verified)

at 18:27 on September 14th, 2009

This is ridiculous. Helen Keller was not only blind and mute, but she played an extremely active role for women's rights, disability issues, labor unions, racism, and almost any issue you can think of. She was a passionate socialist who wanted to free the oppression that America's capitalism has imposed on the lowest classes - but you never hear that one, do you? She was at the front line of protests and REFUSED to be silent, to the point where she even learned how to speak in front of large crowds to get her messages across. I am appalled by this band and its ignorance, and I think for the band members to speak for Helen Keller's granddaughter is just another form of patriarchy - another way of silencing women. Read more about Helen Keller's activism here: www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/17_01/Kell171.shtml