Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Switchboard >

Gestating a HyperMediaMeme

19:30 / 20.06.01

Spining out of the Media Activism thred, the desire to "subvert" Mass Media has brought about the question . . .

What can be Done?

Well here's the place where we can find out.

pooling the collective resourses of this underground should not only yeild an emmence amount of creative potential, but grant us the opportunity to apply alot of critical theory.

What makes a given "media product" succeed?

Take for example The Blair Witch, South Park, The Invisibles.

Each achieve a measure of success in their various media nitches. Low Budget, Fearce Social Satire, Hyper meme desemination.

What would you like to see?

What would you like to say?

how can this be done?

When?

ynh

19:41 / 20.06.01

quote:Originally posted by PATricky:

What makes a given "media product" succeed?

Take for example The Blair Witch, South Park, The Invisibles.

In each of the given examples, fantastic advertising budgets are responsible for the unlitmate success of the artifact.

The Blair Witch: Perhaps the most disgusting, and yet still romanticized, example of manufactured credibility. The only film in history whose promotional budget was tweny times its production cost, and still generated more than a 200% profit.

South Park: A reactionalry tract that continually ridicules the left and humanist positions. Just because they say "pigfucker" doesn't make them subversive. Again, widespread popularity due to the mobilization of a media empire.

The Invisibles: Global success largely due to retooling the series to appeal to an American audience. Support for the author by the largest media conglomerate in existence for years of loyal service.

I would like to see something unlike any of those.

23:17 / 20.06.01

Do you want to reach a mass audience? If you do, the price shall be your soul. There is no subverting the dominant paradigm, or beating them at "their own game".

Life is the game, media is their method. I am a firefighter by trade, and I'm here to tell you, you fight fire with water.

23:26 / 20.06.01

After reading the old thread again, I guess my feeling isn't that taking on the Media is unfeasible, merely a bad idea.

There is a large contingent out there that digs current media. Why should it be taken away from them? It's not that they can't be convinced that media is poison; they've heard the arguments and they disagree.

That said, I am down with collaborative projects like film and fiction (not TV, personally) even if it is your goal to use them to subvert Media. I think there are other goals that are more to the point, but I see no reason why the pessimists like myself can't work with the optimists.

deletia

07:00 / 21.06.01

At the risk of sounding snarky, the Invsibles *didn't* succeed, except in the sense that it succeeded in getting Grant Morrison a better-paid job in the same ghetto.

15:51 / 21.06.01

Well . . I would disagree in that the Invisibles succeeded in inspiring this very board/site.

How many members are here?
How many hit's does this site recieve?

What determine's success?

I'm not interested in "pulling down" he mass media. Where there is the possibility of "creating" something there is the possibility of creating something more than what's already been done. Perhap's I AM an optimist for believing "people" would be interested in ideas offers to "them."
How ever wasn't it ANN RAND how tlaked about creativity being a Selfish act?

So let's be selfish and create something "WE" would want to see, hear, experience.

Sure an advertising budget's help is valuable. Are "we" too holy to be soiled by those means.

As for the "selling one's soul" er . . . a little us/them-ish I think.
What if we pulled a Constentine manuver and sold it to multiple interested parties?
Or how about selling it, but arranging to buy it back at a discount later?

Are we content to simply rail about how the "game" is being played by their rules & they are winning . . . but stay on the side line all the while?

What's there to be done?

17:25 / 21.06.01

I'm with you PAT Tricky.

My only problem is that I've got a few creative irons in the fire right now and I don't want to inadvertantly create some conflicts of interest with myself.

Hmm. Just brainstorming now mind you...Maybe a video project. I used to work in post-production and I currently don't have anything going in that media right now. As for content... I'll think on it.

Anybody else got any thoughts/ideas?

reidcourchie

21:39 / 25.06.01

I am bang up for this. Nice thread.

Instead of puting forward ideas of exclusivity of activism life style versus mainstream media, why don't we give it a go and see what happens.

I would suggest that animation would be a good medium to work with as I have seen some very good results (and I don't know about you but I like my eye candy and so it would seem do very many others) with computer based animation that can be done on a very low budget.

As for actual ideas I'll throw both of these completely unoriginal ideas into the mix.

Bill Hicks did a monologue at the end of one of his performances regarding how all the world is a ride. This segued in to people wanting you to be afraid basically so they could make money from your fear. To me this has always been a very important statement. A film with that idea as a background appeals to me, also I think it's a general enough idea that a lot of us could get behind (I can see that statement going horribly wrong.)

Also I love the idea of space (again borrowed (well blatently stolen actually) from Burroughs and Hicks) as a new metanarritive.

My feeling is we have the personell on Barbelith to pull something like this off. Am I right?

17:01 / 26.06.01

Even if we don't it would be fun to try.

Theme parks and their rides as a societal prison could be interesting.

How many people even realize they're on a ride?

ynh

17:30 / 14.07.01

If you do want to do something, I think you should focus the story on say, a single welfare-mother or an illegal immigrant making a better life for hir kids working for minimum wage at a burrito joint... or an intersex rights activist. Do an invisibles thing like that. Focus on the people systematically shit on for stupid reasons and empower them as characters in those situations... try to have them succeed on alternative terms, not like getting married or going to work for MTV. Think communes, cults... Have one start a new magical martial art, or get a degree on loans and then declare bankruptcy and go into social casework (or better yet, flee the country)...

Getting worked up about supposedly rebellious pop is my job, if you feel like forgiving my aggressive tendencies.

13:35 / 15.07.01

How do you go about getting a project like that organised over the internet. So many people, opinions, to coordinate- how could it result in a cohesive whole? Alternatively its strength could be its chaotic ambiguity. Either way there needs to be SOME KIND OF STRUCTURE. Who's baby is this? Who's going to take the fucking reins? If life is just a ride then make sure you get on!!!!!!

reidcourchie

06:49 / 16.07.01

Stricly speaking it would need a hierarchy. I'll get my coat.

No seriously, PATricky's mentioned this on threads in the past and started this one. I would say it's his show.

Now waht do you want? What do you need? And how can I help?

16:35 / 16.07.01

for the record, I second [YNH]'s ideas as a good starting direction.

22:10 / 17.07.01

WELL . . .

I almost forgot about this thred, yeah I think something small and easily produced would be a great starting point.

Flash animation anyone?

I like the idea of the life as ride...

Though I'm also thinking about "educational" type of messages... you know sort of de-bunking the prevailant propoganda...

Anyone remember that whole e-mail thing between that guy & the Nike corp. ???
Imagine an animated version of that thing.

or how about a visual breakdown on the revised Arsnec in water levels....

or the whole GMO thing

Anyway . .. I keep imagining something ammusing & entertaining but still ends up leaving a bit of info upon the viewer.

Check this place out.