We all live in public. It's a reality now. Everyday when I log on to facebook, I have the option of reading all about what people are doing. And now with Twitter, people have become more obsessed with a barrage of constantly updated details. We all want to know what our friends are doing, and we also want all of our friends to know what we are doing. One of the most fascinating documentaries I saw at SXSW, We Live in Public, dealt with this whole phenomenon in an interesting way.
In We Live in Public (2009), director Ondi Timoner (of Dig! fame) tells the story of Josh Harris, a former internet pioneer who predicted our current facebook culture back in the late 1990's. Josh hinted back in 1998 and 1999 that millions of people would one day voluntarily expose themselves to the world. The idea sounded incredibly radical at the time, and indeed it was. It took Timoner ten years to make her documentary because, according to the director, technology had to catch up with her subject's vision.
The film was whittled down from 5000 hours of footage (including archival footage) into a 90 minute feature. I could not believe these numbers when I heard them at the Q & A, but they quickly began to make sense after I thought about the film's content (you'll see what I mean when you get around to watching the doc). Regardless of how long it took to edit this film, the editing was time well spent, as the documentary is absolutely terrific. Not only does it take the audience on an incredibly unique and unheard of journey, but it also manages to raise a lot of really interesting questions.
Currently, Obsessed (a studio movie released by Sony) is running a viral marketing campaign (via the movie's website) that allows you to send stalker videos to your friends. The videos might seem invasive at first, but one must realize that facebook is ten times as invasive (or at least as invasive as me make it). We're all exposed now, and we've all been documenting our lives via the internet for years. Whether or not we feel we're being stalked, we are all probably doing a little stalking ourselves. Next time your're on facebook (or twitter, or myspace, etc.), just remember, you're being watched.
P.S.: To check out the creepy stalking application mentioned above, follow the link below:
No comments:
Post a Comment