Here's the way I see it: If you're going to do a prank, do it well. Did anyone see the film "The Game"? Now that was a good prank...
I'm going to address a few things here. I'm not outraged by Kevin's prank, though perhaps it's because I suspected it was phony from the get-go. There were too many indications that the video was a stunt. That said, the video itself was nicely executed: Convincing enough to make you wonder, at least. A decent prank, to say the least.
The quasi-motto/warning I've posted on my site for a long time has been some variation of: "Don't believe everything you hear..." (Sometimes it's "see", other times it's both "see and hear" -- other times I get silly and post "But believe everything you read!" or something to that effect.) The reason I post this motto/warning is because I've never completely decided whether I wish my blog/site/project to be fully personal truth, or mixed/distorted by fiction. Everything is distorted by perspective -- every "portrayal of truth" out there -- so I guess you could argue that by project is more of the latter, "distorted by fiction". Yet I aim to tell the truth in my own way, though not by stretching the truth to the point of hoax.
That said, I've been tempted to hoax, though I haven't given in to the temptation yet. I don't plan to, either: It's much to easy. It's a cheap way to gather an audience, though it's fun to conceptualize and execute. I have friends who always prank, and it's great fun just coming up with ideas. For years, a friend of mine has wanted to walk into a bank wearing a ski mask. I chuckle thinking about it. (Then, after chuckling a bit, I realize that it's not very original, really, is it?)
Jen, let Kevin know this: He's got some interesting concepts, and he should continue to work them out. Let him know that some people expect certain boundaries, though it's his choice whether to reject them or not. There may be consequences for disrespecting those boundaries -- such as cheapening the value of his art, or losing an audience/group of peers, or far worse -- but he may find his own value in fulfilling these stunts, values which outweigh the consequences. It's his call, ultimately, depending on his goals.
Yet he's got some interesting concepts: I felt his video "The Will" was a great idea, but poorly performed and produced. Still, I applaud the effort. Encourage Kevin to continue with concepts like that, if he is so inclined...
Sincerely,
Harold
Something That Happened:
a story unfolding through audio
On 4/25/06, missbhavens1969 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Stephanie Bryant" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> On 4/24/06, missbhavens1969 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 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.As I recall, there was some confusion about the ficticiousness (is that a word) of CW early
on because they mentioned that "we are not actors".
>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.But this guy didn't approach this as a hoax to fool ANY community. I didn't see any
"PayPal" button for donations in his memory. It was an assigment. I don't think there is any
reason hor him to feel defensive or to feel that he should join this list and explain himself
in any way.
> 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.
> --StephanieAgain. "Stunt". "Prank." These lables are yours. His was probably more like "I want a decent
grade".
Bekah
--
http://missbhavens.blogspot.com
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