Left Shark

2015

Date: 1 February 2015 · Place: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona · Figures: Katy Perry, headliner · Bryan Gaw, Left Shark performer · Scott Myrick, Right Shark performer · Tags: Halftime, Gif, Reaction 01. Improv in the Costume Katy Perry performs Teenage Dream at Super Bowl XLIX on 1 February 2015. Two backup dancers in plush shark suits flank her. Stage left, Bryan Gaw improvises through choreography Scott Myrick on the right executes precisely. Twitter screenshots and GIFs Gaw's freelance flapping within minutes. Left Shark becomes the universal avatar for confident incompetence. The NFL's Twitter joins. 02. Cease and Desist Versus the Public Domain Perry's lawyers send a cease-and-desist on 4 February 2015 to a sculptor 3D-printing Left Shark figurines. The lawyer Christopher Sprigman publishes a public response arguing the costume is not copyrightable. The dispute becomes a Cardozo Law Review case study. Perry eventually licenses Left Shark merchandise herself. The shark and the dress, twenty-five days apart, define the new genre of single-image mass attention events. Sources • NFL broadcast, Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, 1 February 2015 • Christopher Sprigman, 'Katy Perry, Left Shark, and the Public Domain', Volokh Conspiracy, 5 February 2015 • KnowYourMeme entry, 'Left Shark'