Catfish Analysis

The documentary Catfish is an eye-opening documentary about the “sketchy” side of Web 2.0.  It all started when a photographer, Nev, received a painting of one of his photographs that had recently made it into a major newspaper.  Nev quickly formed an in-depth relationship with the Chicago-based family of where the painting had come from and especially with who he thought was a very attractive sister of the painter.  It was soon apparent that Nev was developing strong feelings for her but eventually began to develop suspicions about how genuine this girl really was. 

The turning point was when Nev noticed that Megan had been lying to him about songs that she told him were sung by her.  Since Nev and his friends were already away from his home in New York, they decided to pay this family a visit.  As their suspicions had led them to believe, Megan was not a real person.  Neither was her “genius painter” sister Abby who supposedly painted the pictures that were sent to Nev.  In fact, everything that Nev thought he knew about this family and particularly Megan, turned about to be completely bogus.  The only person that they had found when arriving at the house was the mother, Angela, who was responsible for Megan’s identity, which she had stolen from an aspiring model, as well as many other fake Facebook profiles that she had generated in order to build the legitimacy of these characters. 

            Although the reaction one would expect from one who has viewed this documentary would be of fear of the Web 2.0 and disgust at how someone such as Angela could be so deceiving.   However, to even my own surprise I was able to see the sorry side of the story.  This was mainly because after Nev had discovered the lies, he wanted to see where this woman was coming from.  Nev soon learned that Anegla lived a simple, lonely life that required her constant attention to two very disabled children of her husbands.  Angela used her fake identities as a means of escape from her depressing life.  Furthermore, I could not help but feel bad at the sight of this women’s hopeless attraction to Nev, which she once had communicated through “Megan.”  Nevertheless, I still could not help but feel disgusted at how someone could formulate so many lies and steal people’s identities.  I would not know what I would do in Megan’s case.  Imagine finding out that someone had been using your identity to have a relationship with a stranger across the country?  In Nev’s case, he learned a lesson to be more careful about what he trusts on the Internet. 

            At the same time, although I feel that Web 2.0 could be considered “sketchy,” the average person with common sense would not quickly trust someone who had contacted them over the Internet.  As society is becoming more accustomed to Web 2.0, there is an increasing general awareness of the dangers that it holds.  People tend to be more skeptical of information that they find and are becoming better and better at seeking out credible sources.  Nev easily formed this relationship with little credible evidence that these people existed.  Additionally, the fact that Nev was able to form such a intense relationships with people that he has only met through Facebook tells me something about his character. 

            This documentary was extremely relevant to most of the coursework we had been studying concerning Web 2.0 and democratized media.  The most apparent and major issue it makes an example of is how democratized media and identity are not credible on the Internet.  There are not any gatekeepers to mediate this information and verify it.  This is why it is crucial that one must use discretion when using Web 2.0.  Catfish is a prime example of issues that anti-democratized media theorists such as Andrew Keen are concerned about.  David Ruskkoff would also admit that this Catfish raises valid points in concerns of Web 2.0, but would also highlight the benefits that could have been easily overlooked.  Catfish also exemplifies how Web 2.0 can be a key connection tool for people.  Facebook allowed for Nev to feel as if he actually had known these people.  The documentary could even relate to Marshall McLuhan's concept of a "global village."  Although Nev lived in New York and Angela lived in Chicago, the mediums such as the Internet and cell phones enables them to be connected at all times and simulate almost a "real life" relationship.  

Exit Through the Giftshop

After watching Exit Through the Gift Shop I was able to gain a new perspective about the way in which street art is derived and gains public recognition.  Prior to watching this, I never gave much thought about street art, the artists themselves, or the impact it has on the public.  The first half of the documentary shed light on the true artistic side to street art and the hard work that some artists put into their work as well as their drive to gain recognition.  All of the artists featured in the first half of the documentary are true to their work and it is clear that they strive for originality.  However, the second half of the film was discouraging to this type of work.  Essentially, the way I perceived it was that someone told a videographer, Thierry Guetta, that he should be a street artist, and then Guetta came to the realization that this would be a window of opportunity to make a great deal of money.  Guetta wasted no time in jumping right through this window.  At once, Guetta posted huge images of himself all over Los Angeles and in effect, became an overnight street artist. 

Moreover, I did not see any of Guetta’s, or “Mister Brainwash’s,” work to be original whatsoever.  Not only did his work resemble slightly altered versions of Andy Warhol’s art, but also it was not even slightly altered by the Mast Brainwasher himself.  Mister Brainwash hired graphic designers and an entire staff that he dictated whatever idea came to his mind and then they brought the ideas to life.  This is not art.  Any individual can hire a graphic designer and dictate ideas to them and then sell it for money.  On the other hand, legendary street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairy convey their own styles to the public as a form of self-expression.  The public is able to distinguish these pieces of art without them even being tagged with the artists name because the creation was consistent with that artist’s unique style.  Banksy’s famous rat figure as well as his one of a kind telephone booth depicted in Exit Through the Gift Shop are just two examples of the original art that Mister Brainwash simply could not grasp. 

The most irritating part about Mister Brainwash’s overnight fame is that he made out like a bandit for selling his “art.”  Not only was his artwork unrightfully priced, but Mister Brainwash went to the extreme of selling his portrait of Madonna for $200,000 dollars.  Some may wonder, “why would people spend such absurd amounts of money on an artist who does not have any credibility?”  Well, this is due largely to the influence of the media on today’s society.  The Los Angeles media learned of Mister Brainwash’s art show and presented the show to be an event that any art enthusiast should be attending.  The reason street art rookies such as Thierry Guetta do not achieve the same success in other countries is mainly because of the unique trust and infatuation that the American society holds with the media.  Today, many Americans turn to the media when they need to find information instead of doing legitimate research.  In turn, Mister Brainwash’s art show had a huge turn out and people were crazy about his work.  I am forced to question if people would be just as crazy about his art if the media had not given it any attention.  The most probable answer is most likely not.  If Mister Brainwash had tried to pull off his art show twenty years ago, it would not have turned out nearly the same way.  Today, society is connected to the media and online media in particular instantly. 

Another factor that stuck out was that Banksy would not reveal himself or even his voice.  This says something about him as an artist.  He is more dedicated to producing original art and expressing his images than gaining recognition as a public figure.  In contrast, Mister Brainwash appears to have intentions that are quite the opposite.  His first piece of street art that he mass-produced all over the city of Los Angeles was an image of himself with a video camera.  Mister Brainwash sought to make a name for himself as quick as possible.  

            Furthermore, Mister Brainwash did not only deceive the public with his work, but deceived all of his “mentor” street artists as well.  Thierry Guetta began his interest in street art as an unexplained need to videotape world famous street artists with no real intention of making a documentary.  Now it seems that Mister Brainwash had a hidden agenda all along.  He learned from the best and even earned the trust of the renowned street artist Banksy.  Banksy, who had evident trust issues, taught Guetta the ropes of street art.  Guetta cultivated everything he was taught by the street artists he observed and incorporated this knowledge into a formula for success and fame.  Throughout the film, I could not help but wonder how Guetta was able to leave behind his family for long periods of time without any intentions of making money to support them.  In the documentary, Guetta states that he deluded the street artists by telling them he was going to turn his footage into a documentary, but in reality had no real intention of doing so.  This does not add up.  How was Guetta able to support his family?  Moreover, what kind of husband and father leaves their family to take footage of street artists without any moneymaking motives?

            Exit Through the Gift Shop showed a close resemblance to something one would find on a reality television show about an aspiring street artist.   The documentary focused mainly on the lives of street artists and provided insight to the motions that they go through daily.  I felt like I was watching something that could be called True Life: I Am a Street Artist.  MTV’s Made draws a more fitting relation.   In this reality television show, people are turned into something that is the exact opposite of themselves in a remarkably short time span.  This is achieved by coaching from an expert in that field; in Thierry Guetta’s case, Banksy plays the role of the “Made coach.”

            I think that the street art movement is a creative form of self-expression, however, I also see it as vandalism and therefore illegitimate.  Our culture’s enthusiasm for street art and willingness to pay excessive amounts of money for this type of art is naive at best.  The fact that the work is illegal seems to have an empowering effect on it and specifically it’s customer base.  The illegality of the art seems to put more value on the artist’s creations and gives the art a “rare” essence. 

            At the core of Exit Through the Gift Shop, I was able to observe different facets of today’s culture.  The most prevalent was that medium as the message is a dominant underlying factor in today’s culture.  Exit Through the Gift Shop exposes the power of the medium as the message in two ways.  The first and most apparent is through the street art itself and the way the public interprets this illegal form of creativity.  In the documentary, the public did not seem disturbed by what some may call vandalism.  They appeared accepting of the street art as a common and acceptable form of self-expression and even recognize the art as a design belonging to particular artists.  The second way in which medium as the message was brought to light was the influence the media had on the public and how it was directly proportional to the success of Mister Brainwash.  

Grade Report

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Keen/Rushkoff

1.  Keen defines democratized media as user-generated content on the Internet.  His main issues with this trend are generally that user-generated content is not reliable and it undermines professionals.  Another point Keen made was that he feels democratized media is inhibiting our societies creative minds and essentially "dumbing us down."   Keen feels that democratized media is the worst thing to happen to the Internet because the sources of information cannot be trusted.  "Disintermediation" is the cause of this problem because there is no one to check the information to make sure that it is legitimate.

2. Keen and Rushkoff have differing views on Web 2.0 and some are similar.  For the most part, Rushkoff believes Web 2.0 is beneficial and helping our society advance.  He sees the side of Web 2.0 that in fact enables creativity rather than inhibit it.  However, Rushkoff does admit there are some problems with Web 2.0 dealing more with legitimacy of information.  Keen on the other hand, is completely against Web 2.0.  Keen feels that Web 2.0 is the downfall of our society and ultimately making people less creative.  I definitely agree more with Rushkoff''s view than Keens.  I think that user-generated content has made our society more creative than ever before and enables us to do things that mankind has never experienced.  Additionally, I do see problems with legitimacy of information, but I do not see it as a problem because there are ways to tell if things are accurate.  Furthermore, Web 2.0 makes information quick and at hand which I think makes society smarter.

Comments

My main post was a response to Mike Hsu's blog: http://hsumedialit.blogspot.com/2011/02/web-20-and-digital-nation-essay.html?showComment=1299178093089#c980728557655885436

I also commented on Jessica Francia's blog: http://jessicafrancia.blogspot.com/2011/03/whither-individual.html?showComment=1299167276726#c2326496349490929534

and Nicole Trapani's: http://nicoletrapanimedialit.blogspot.com/2011/02/whithering-individual.html?showComment=1299178678940#c4978958944022386171

Whithering the Individual

        Over recent years, groups and social network websites have revolutionized the way our society communicates and interacts on many different levels.  Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have become major aspects of everyday life and without a doubt expand our identities and self-expression in ways that were previously impossible.
          I disagree with the notion that these social websites have forced us to conform to “cookie cutter” profiles.  I believe that without regulation and order, a social website would limit the users it draws in and would ultimately hinder our societies newfound connectedness through a singular medium.  The basic fundamental layouts help make these websites quick and easy to use.  This is one of the contributing factors to Facebook’s favorability over the once top social network, MySpace.  As a result of the efficient balance between personal space and “cookie cutter” profiles that social networking sites have created, I would say that society is beginning to move towards a “collective organism” of “hyper people.”   

Facebook is popular among all types of people within a society whether it be college students, parents, businesses, and even the elderly.   My grandma for example, who can barely navigate her way through a classic flip phone, is now an avid user of Facebook.  I think that Facebook allows us to expand our identities more than ever before.  Users have the ability to “like” almost anything and in turn, Facebook provides advertisements that relate to the things that one “likes.”   Additionally, Facebook uses social software and enables users to express their identity through status updates, photos, video postings, and a personal information section of the profile.  YouTube has enabled our society to generate a mass collaboration of not only user-generated content but has created a means of sharing content for personal, educational, and business use.  Twitter allows people to express their thoughts and actions as well as view updates from people and entities of interest. 

Although Facebook users can see other people’s profiles and make comments, loss of personal space and reflection is not a factor.  In fact, I would say there is more reflection on the web than ever before and it is only becoming more popular through mediums such as Blogger, Twitter, and Facebook.

The documentary Digital Nation by Douglas Rushkoff and Rachel Dretzin brought different aspects of today’s computer culture to light.  One example in particular, Bubbie the grandma who has her own online cooking show, truly exemplifies how the web does not limit creativity but enhances it.  Bubbie is 83 years old and has become an Internet sensation just like many other people who post user-generated content.  This goes to show how the new digital age is opening new doors of opportunity for the average person.
The game World of Warcraft was another thing that Digital Nation explored.  World of Warcraft has drawn attention because players have become completely immersed in the game and are often unable to use it in moderation.  It has become a topic of concern because players are developing addictions to the game and in many cases it has resulted in a loss of social life, interest in education or anything else besides the game for that matter.  Digital Nation also discusses the game Second Life.  People that virtually create a new life online use mediums such as Second Life which poses addicting habits for the people who are seeking an escape.

However, I feel that this is a separate part of the “Web 2.0” and it cannot be judged on the same level as social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  These games that create new realities can allow for identity expansion in ways that one would not necessarily expect.  Some businesses, for example, use Second Life to organize meetings without having to make people travel out of the comfort of their own homes.  Moreover, some people use Second Life to meet others or look for romance.  On the other hand, users can take advantage of the new reality to create a false identity that does not accurately reflect who they are.  This is why one must use discretion when using these types of mediums.

            Conclusively, the Internet has become a place to explore and express ourselves through mediums that allow society to connect and instantly generate content.  Technological innovation combined with new forms of creativity have constructed a unique environment for individuality and virtual identity.  Web 2.0 has changed the way we communicate, learn, and entertain as a whole.  Therefore, I disagree with the notion that Web 2.0 is “whithering” the individual because I believe that it does the complete opposite.  Web 2.0 allows people to reflect who they are and expand their interests in networks that are becoming more advanced and catered to the user by the day.