> > There is an assumed "contract" between the blogger and the audience
> > that what's there is in some way or another real. This is especially
> > true in video, which is easy to manipulate but seems so real.
>
> Contract? What assumed contract? There is no contract. There is no contract whether it is
> video, text or photos. This is the internet. There can be no assumptions. I WISH there was
> an assumed contract between a blogger and their audience. I like to *think* that I have
> created such a space where what little audience I have feels that what I present is honest
> and real, but there's no way as an audience member that *I* assume that the blogger/
> vlogger I'm viewing has done the same. I don't think this makes me someone who lacks
> trust, I think this makes me a conscientous consumer. I take what I see at face value and if
> it ellicits an emotional response--then that's what it does. I rather hope that it does.
I said real, not truthful, factual, or non-fiction, because I think
something like Chasing Windmills, while explicitly fictional, hits at
truths and is real in its way. Perhaps because it is honest about
being fiction.
The "contract" between a blogger and audience is no more nor less than
that between any two people-- it's a social contract that, by an
large, you and I won't try to deceive each other. Not legally binding,
but socially binding. I inherently want to believe that what people
report as having happened to them, when they report it in a diary-like
format, is true. If they indicate it's non-factual, then I assume that
there's a core to the idea that somehow speaks to them, or that it's
the product of some source of creativity.
"Look, I don't think a "sense of community" would stop someone from
posting the kind of
material that this guy posted. In fact, if it had instead been someone
from this list,
someone "we" all "knew" who posted this, and called it an
"experiment" or called it--look
out!-- "art" there would be a lot less outcry about it. It may have
even gotten heaped with
praise and called "innovative". This wasn't BS: this was an assignment."
I think this was BS. My point was not that Kevin would have hesitated
to do this because of a sense of community or sense of belonging
(though given what Jen has said about how her students don't perceive
their audience, perhaps he would have). My point is that he didn't
have some lesson to learn by posting it, unless he has never ever been
in an online community before-- these stupid hoaxes crop up
frequently, in one place or another. And when it WAS someone from this
list last year, a lot of people (myself included) cried foul. And yes,
a lot of people cried "art," too, but my personal opinion of "it was
art" ranks that excuse somewhere around "it was a joke."
Anyway, I again want to thank Jen for dispelling this FAST, because it
makes a huge difference in how much impact it has on perceptions of
Kevin and his work. Of course, Kevin's been invited to join this list,
and he may be hesitant or defensive about doing so. Hopefully, he
won't take all this talk too personally-- after all, the student we're
talking about right now is no more real to us than the boy we saw die
on film. The Internet is the great dehumanizer, isn't it?
Here's what Kevin has going for him in terms of this community:
1) He doesn't seem to have set out to deceive anyone except the
hapless visitors to his vlog. He didn't promo the video here or hype
his death movie.
2) Jen posted QUICKLY to dispel the idea of his death, so the
speculation did not get out of hand.
3) We've all been young and foolish. Or old and foolish. In any case,
should he decide to join this community, I doubt he's going to get
cold-shouldered just because of this particular stunt (see item #1 for
the main reason why).
4) His production values of his work are decent, and we can all
appreciate well-edited videos.
5) A sizeable handful of people respect him more for this stupid prank
because they think of it as "art," than they would have if he'd just
posted a video showing his real life.
--Stephanie
--
Stephanie Bryant
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blogs, vlogs, and audioblogs at:
http://www.mortaine.com/blogs
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