Techno Speak Makes My Head Hurt

Maybe it’s just me and the fact that I’ve been perpetually sick (with the cause of my woes now having a more dark and sinister name- “mono”, damn you Epstein Barr virus, damn you to hell!), so my head may just be a little fuzzier than normal, but in reading John Hoem’s Videoblogs as “Collective Documentary”I kept getting snagged by his descriptions of the technical aspects of posting blogs, moblogs and vogs.  After wading through the reading I think I have a descent grasp on his points, but we’ll see come Friday morning’s discussion.

 From what I gathered, Mr. Hoem was describing the ways in which the posted media like video can be altered and expanded upon within a digital Internet environment.  And with each altering the original source would essentially remain unaltered because of how things are set up on the Internet.  With each new addition by a new vogger or blogger a new work comes into being because of all the work put into it from the current and past contributors.  So even if they had not expected to work together to create this output, they essential have created a collective work.

The collective process also goes beyond the work itself and extends into the texts and video made in response to the original.  Even the comments left expressing what the reader or viewer felt about each original material become part of the collective, and then in turn the comments about others comments would also be included leaving the collective to grow endlessly in all directions.  Who knows we are probably in someway already linked to something on the Internet through this fashion, and thus I think we have become part of the creative collective.

The idea of using other’s work, however, can get fuzzy when people start to get very possessive about ownership and copyrights infringement laws.  But it doesn’t seem to have stopped people from being creative with their new interpretations.  Though we have seen the law pop up here and there and make things more difficult for people.  In dealing with art, can that line be crossed without consequence?  Or do artists need to be wary of the material they use in their own creations, lest they be punished for working with that material.  Can we justify copyrights at all anymore?  Do people truly own something once it’s out of their heads and into the world at large?  I think the Internet says no to that question more often than naught.  Which is probably a very good thing for those who create through the collective.

Where Have You Gone Guerrilla Television?

The “Epilogue” from Deirdre Boyle’s Subject to Change: Guerrilla Television Revisited ends on hopeful note; that even though “the future of guerrilla television remains to be seen” there is still a chance for it to survive into the new millenium. Written nearly ten years ago in 1997, the new millenium may have brought unexpected evolutions for “revolutionary alternative to a monolythic system”. In reading about the history of these television evolutions that my generation (post Gen-X, but yet not exactly Gen-Y) took (or still take) for granted as being an established constant of our daily lives, was incredibly revealing.

I feel excited and riled up to take action, I want to carry the torch handed off by guerrilla television even further into the future. But at the same time I can’t help but realize the enormous pressure weighing down on this progress by its heavy-handed opponents. In the “Epilogue” Boyle paints a vivid picture of the sorted history of the development of cable (and cable-access) tv and public tv and the struggle for an alternative voice to be heard and seen among the broadcast and cable giants. This struggle, she informs us has been further complicated by the interventions (interference?) of the government and other political forces.

Although I grew up knowing a little about cable tv, I only have had cable in my household for a small period of time when I was about 4 years old, so the only thing I wanted to watch was Fraggle Rock on Nickelodeon. I wasn’t really interested in the news media or documentaries that may have been on there also at that time. So with cable being something still foreign to me in some respects (like I don’t see it as a necessity as many Americans do, to me it is definitely a luxury or even a novelty at times) I began to think about how public television rates in my mind as offering a balanced spectrum of information and shows.

I think that there is an interesting change occurring in public tv that I can’t recall occurring when I was younger. Although there may be more shows that counter a conservative opinion (for instance “In The Life” the only nationally televised LGBT news magazine) there seems to be more corporate sponsorship popping up as well. It may be seemingly harmless as “Juicy Juice” sponsoring “Maya & Miguel” or “Arthur”. But Masterpiece Theatre in now sponsored by Exxon Mobil. I think this is a disturbing trend that should be investigated further. Guerrilla TV is probably still around but I think it’s being mutated, if we’re lucky maybe it’s just hiding from the public until the environment improves.

Films That Make You Go Hmmm

I believe I had heard of this filmmaker prior to this; but only his name, Zbigniew Rybczynski, was familiar, the work I knew othing about. His film Tango is a masterpiece, that I probably would not have been aware of without the internet. Speaking about the film Rybczynski states: “Thirty-six characters from different stages of life – representations of different times – interact in one room, moving in loops, observed by a static camera. I had to draw and paint about 16.000 cell-mattes, and make several hundred thousand exposures on an optical printer. It took a full seven months, sixteen hours per day, to make the piece. The miracle is that the negative got through the process with only minor damage, and I made less than one hundred mathematical mistakes out of several hundred thousand possibilities. In the final result, there are plenty of flaws, black lines are visible around humans, jitters caused by the instability of film material resulting from film perforation and elasticity of celluloid, changes of colour caused by the fluctuation in colour temperature of the projector bulb and, inevitably, dirt, grain and scratches.” The result of all his efforts is amazing to watch.

**Dislclaimer** This film contains brief nudity and a simulated sex scene.

On the total other end of the spectrum is a documentary called Mindplasma! that I saw last year at a screening of local work. The film follows the life and work of Milwaukee performance artist TJ Richter. You can watch the entire video or just sections of it on the official website. It is so strange and trippy I felt the need to share it with others. It is very cool to watch this documentary by Andrew Rosas because of the local connection also.

**Disclaimer** This video contians graphic language and adult themes.

We’ve Come A Long Way Baby!

So I’m glad I didn’t live through a period of time when women were patronized so blatantly in ways such as this film shows. It is however to remember what we may take for granted now. Also, it helps us to remember that our struggle is not yet complete either.

Also just as an added bonus, this commercial is awesome!

Steel Cage Match-Up: Realism VS. Falsism

Alright folks, I know we will be discussing the “lonelygirl15″ (see my previous post for more info) phenomenon a little more in class later, but this is another thought I had when searching for two other Vlogs to post for this assignment. Do Blogs need, or should they require disclaimers, when they are fictitious in nature? Or should the “buyer beware” when investing time into watching anyone’s Vlog?

One Vlog I found that, although it didn’t have a disclaimer, was obviously a fiction. I didn’t have to be told that ManicalMasquerade was a created character. Here is one of his Vlogs to see for yourself.

On the other end of the spectrum is someone who (appears at least) to be sincere and very “real”. I found this Vlog randomly and liked the fact that I got to see a slice of life from elsewhere in the world. I also liked the fact that he had recorded other events in his life and then edited them into his Vlog. That was really cool, like being transported to England and hanging out and seeing the average day/week of some other culture (albeit the English culture isn’t extremely foreign, so it wasn’t like a culture shock, but it was still very interesting to watch).

Here’s also another Vlog by yonnermark that I found highly amusing. This one focuses more on a single event, rather than many events like the other one, but I still think you’d like to watch this episode also. I mean, how often do you get to see a three wheeled car on fire?!

Death Metal High Jinks!

I came upon this video in the usual web surfing way, huddled around a computer monitor with another friend, as we wasted some of our precious lives away. As she is a fan of all sorts of music, she knew of a video I would probably never have found on my own. A mash-up spoof of the Norwegian black-metal band Immortal.

You can click below to see the original video to compare, in-case you have no idea what a death metal music video usually looks like.

Here also is a quick anecdote she told me about the making of this video. The band shot this on a mountain somewhere in Europe, and if you notice they aren’t wearing very warm clothes. Well, as you could imagine that was not a good idea. The making of the video almost cost them all their lives, since when the shoot finally finished they were suffering from hypothermia. I think they need new agents.

Also I found out some interesting trivia about the band and an unexpected popular computer activity that has developed. Because of the way they pose in their photos, they have become something of photo-shop fodder for many. You know you’ve made it when South Park spoofs you also. So, it just goes to show you the layers of intertextuality of pop culture, and Immortal is not immune to it at all — neither is Benny Hill for that matter!

Variations On A Theme

Well, I know Emily already posted a link to a Don Hertzfeldt video, but luckily for me it wasn’t the one I wanted to post. After someone last year did a report on Mr. Hertzfeldt in an Underground Film Class I took, I searched YouTube for more of his stuff. My favorite (so far) is The Animation Show (Mike Judge was also involved in this creation). I liked it so much I wrote a bit about it on my MySpace Blog this summer, so others out there would enjoy something they might not otherwise get to see (much like we are doing with this assignment).

It’s fairly easy to imitate this simplistic style, but many people lose the essence of his work when they try. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but when the work seems sloppy or regurgitated for the masses in comparison, it’s not very flattering at all. People seem either to focus on the oddness of his characters by making their own very goofy (like with Pop Tarts blatant rip off ads) or they focus on the violence without thought of anything else (like plot or character development, etc…). The latter can be seen through countless numbers of “stickman” animations posted on-line.

Don Hertzfeldt:

Pop Tarts:

Now Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One

Ok, with watching The Cube in class on Friday and finally getting to see MirrorMask tonight (uber awesome btw!) my mind was burning to search a few Sesame Street gems that I love. Now this first one no one else I mention it to seems to remember it. It’s a little cartoon from the early 80’s with the catchiest of songs ever… hey, I mean I remembered it for about 20 years now so it sticks with you. It’s funny though, if you think about what cartoon people do remember the most from this time in Sesame Street history was the Pinball one (“1,2,3,4,5-6,7,8,9,10…11,12!”). That one was all flashy and slick. This one’s a bit more mellow in comparison.

This next one I think some of you may remember, but it rocks anyway so I’m putting it on here.

I went searching high and low but no one seems to have the cartoon of the little girl on the way to the store. Does anyone recall that one? It’s the one where she has to remember what her mama told her to get: “a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and a stick of butter”. Apparantly it was on YouTube but it was removed, no one else seems to have it. Hopefully, it’ll pop up again one of these days. Now I don’t know what category these may fit into (ephemeral maybe?) but I just wanted to post them to show you all.

Like, OMIGOD! Someone On The Internet Lied!

Now you better all sit down for this one… I mean it’s earth shattering news, but someone purposely lied on the internet! I mean what is this world coming to?? Now whodda thunk it? Yes, everybody, “lonelygirl15″ is a FRAUD! **gasp!** What is even more interesting to me though is the fact that this was the main headline on yahoo news today– I mean isn’t there a war going on somewhere? Ya know in that one big desert where the oil is… isn’t that more important?

This may be interesting only in the way its inane frivolty hijacked the media’s attention… but then again that happens all the time. So…. I guess there’s nothing noteworthy about this Vlog afterall. Nothing at all, just business as usual. Ha!

Anyway, check out the yahoo story, and then check out the VLog in question. And when you’ve sufficiently got your fill, PLEASE, for god’s sake, return to your regularily scheduled life. Unlike the people who “felt betrayed”. And you can just go search YouTube for “lonleygirl15″ and “fake” and see for yourself the immense amounts of VLogs people have created in response! If anything it’s an interesting study of reality on the internet and how people create connections to people they’ve never even met (and probably never even communicated with, only watched her Vlogs).

Blind No More

In the article, “The Judgment of Thamus”, Neil Postman asks the reader to ask questions. Was Thamus merely a technology hating old king? Or did he have a valid point we should listen too? The answer seems to be yes, on both accounts. To find no fault with technology is an error of judgment, but to be blind to the possibilities of its benefits would be shortsighted indeed. Postman basically outlines the pros and cons surrounding new technologies. But besides the idea of “every technology is both a burden and blessing” he also weaves in a more crucial idea overall. What happens when people don’t see that the changes technology brings are much more deep seeded that they alter the world views dramatically? And what then occurs if no one is really aware of this affect? He begs us to have our “eyes wide open” when approaching new technologies. He is a cautious technophile, not phobe, who wants us too to be aware that technology offers changes more than just the qualities proclaimed by its inventors. He may be right when he says that the possibility of people simply not caring about the competition between old and new technologies and their influences, especially in this apathetic culture that is America, but can it really be helped if technology is destined never to be contained?

The internet was one example I thought of immediately, when he brought up these ideas. There is a struggle of privatization of the internet, to hinder it and make it safe for the masses. But is that even possible now? Hasn’t it already embarked down a path that we cannot really stop its progress. And if we do put limitations on it, will that help or hurt us even more? Are the limitations proposed from it’s inventors to further control the masses? Is this a last ditch effort to keep the power they gained from its creation? These are all questions that have occurred to me from this reading. You could say my eyes are now opening.