Before the account got deleted off youtube, a 7 part video project between me and some friends had received between 4,000 and 8,000 viewings (depending on the part, some proving to be more popular then others.) The fact we decided to remake Todd Browning’s “Freaks” was not the reason the account got yanked, but might serve to explain some of the attention it received. However, none the less, our project (appropriately) entitled “Freaks Remake” does exemplify some of the potential for D.I.Yers to get their work seen by a larger audience online, as well as exhibits the greater potential for autonomy through the internet. The ability to self govern is increasing and it has it pros, and perhaps some cons, in respects to things which require a sacrifice of individual actualization.
Getting the project together and organized was a lot easier with the help of the internet. A Google search quickly provided the script and the enormous cast was easily filled through social blogging sites. If there was something everyone needed to know, a blog post quickly informed all those involved. Had we spent more time researching “continuity style editing” online, a lot of aesthetic short comings could have been negotiated as well. However, perhaps failing to meet with Hollywood’s standard was part of our statement. The project was a blatant mimicry of the mainstream, and for everyone that took part; poorly reproducing a big budget movie was a lot of fun, as well as a exercise in the potential of digital technology to facilitate autonomy.
Browning’s “Freaks” exemplifies the limitations of the past: film production is expensive. Its high costs limited those who could participate in it, perhaps, also serving to explain why a movie which (extensively) exploits people with physical deformities could ever be made. With increasingly easier access to digital technology and information, greater opportunities for people to become informed, capable of participating, and less likely to be exploited are made (Benkler,130.) For “Freaks Remake”, technology like digital cameras and the internet lifted some of the restraints typically put on people producing movies. Our ability to come together and actualize ourselves autonomously enabled the project to happen, but ultimately, could also be seen as a factor in the project’s status as “incomplete” as well.
The bulk of the cast was committed to the project, but the not everyone’s independent choices lead back to the group. Last minute cancellations and failures to show up to set (for reasons such as “partying too hard” the night before) eventually brought things to a halt. The freedom from external restraints which made the production possible could also (abstractly) be viewed as what ended it. Of course, the limitations of autonomy are not directly a product of tools like digital technology and the internet. However, one cannot help but wonder the full implications living with tools which promote self determination. As people become increasing capable self governing, what types of culture will be produced? How will one’s sense of autonomy affect one’s sense of duty to something “outside” of their themselves? Is there an answer to this question which isn’t wrapped up in subjectivity?
November 1, 2008 at 2:36 am |
Do you know why your account was closed? Or, does it remain a mystery?
I think your question, “How will one’s sense of autonomy affect one’s sense of duty to something ‘outside’ of their themselves?” may be the most important one you ask. I am not sure of the answer, but I wonder it all the same. What do you see as a sense of duty, for example…?
November 2, 2008 at 4:48 am |
I’m pretty sure it was a clip from “Wonder Showzen” i uploaded for a friend of mine. I mean, i knew the show wasn’t allowed up on the site, so i didn’t label it as having any association with the series, so… yeah, guess it was just a lucky catch for ‘em to find it? Either way, 3 strikes and you’re out.
In the case of this account, the 1st strike was for having copyrighted music in a video, the 2nd was over “explicit” content. However, as far as content goes… what passes is left to the discretion of those who review it. I’ve uploaded the same video that’s been booted twice again since, and both times its been deemed a-ok for youtube.
Mm, as for the question of a sense of duty… well, i guess that words usage depends on the scenario its applied to. In the case of Freaks Remake, duty would be something like showing up to set hung-over (even though it sucks, but hey, y’committed so what cha’ gonna do?) However, on a much larger scale, i guess its worth thinking about autonomy in relation to things we -are- a part of at all times, like our country for example. How will autonomy affect things like nationalism, or a sense of duty to a country? (Its effects might serve to explain why joining the army is becoming less popular…)
But yeah, i don’t think its a question i can quite answer either.
November 11, 2008 at 4:30 am |
Im not sure if this relates but I think people should more time doing more things for themselves, and less time trying to find something they feel duty to, I say volunteer at home, Im starting to see volunteering in a less positive light, hold on to your time, spend some of it on yourself, your life, your family. Im going to start a non profit called Victims of Volunteering, yep save all those who are being used as a slave class, working for hours for no financial compensation.
November 11, 2008 at 11:26 am |
I think your point totally relates. I mean, if people are able to self actualize, then the way they define “themselves” and even “doing something for themselves” will have to considered as well. I guess i associate “doing something for myself” as being a selfish type act (like not sharing the remote?), where realistically, it should probably be viewed in an altruistic sense as well. I mean, volunteering is pleasurable, assuming the people doing it aren’t being exploited >_o … which hopefully doesn’t occur -too- often?