YOU TUBE part.1 - The "Prosumer"

During the week spent discussing Youtube i found sticking to the genertaion of potential survey questions tough as the phenomenon of viewing, producing and uploading videos proved far more conducive to a discussion about the evolution of fan to filmmaker, and what constitutes a quality production on the site. Having given it some more thought in relation to my two favorite mediums of film and comics it occurred to me that the gerenration of remakes, parody and post-modern pastiche fuels sites such as Youtube. With its digital toolbox anyone can dub over their favorite film clips or dress up and renact, reinterpret favorite scenes etc purely out of earnest fandom or to add to the mythologies of their favorite shows/characters in various instances. Here is a high budget example of those inspired by the Dark Knight (www.tinyurl.com/batman200)

In a moment of revelation or late to the party realisation i came to the conclusion that nearly all the major genre wunderkinds of the day (see JJ Abrams or Geoff Johns) began as fans within their particularly select mediums. Technically we all carry some degree of fandom but these men represent the pinnacle somewhat in terms of the audience they can reach by way of the quality of their work. It made me think back to filmamkers who earned their way up through vision but also pastiche and playing on existing properties in order to forward their personal visions. Tim Burton began as an animator at Disney before having his singular vision accepted into the mainstream. His quirky style infusing the early Batman films with a personal flourish all his own.

James Carmeron on Piranha 2 worked as a special effects tehincian before taking the directorial reigns but was no doubt a fan of the genre form as his subsequent films have gone on to prove. This years revamped Piranha 3d was a reworking with nods to JAWS and the original films. Alexandre Aja putting his own gore tinged spin on a fracnhise he grew up with, like he had done previously with The Hill Have Eyes remake and the adaptation of japanese horror tale MIRRORS. These are big budget examples and when brought back to the short form viral type we have Robot Chicken. A mash up of star wars parody using action figures of every kind and again a cast of voice actors who grew up with the mythology and have done a good enough job to become part of the accepted Star Wars universe.

The concern comes from what the next generation will embrace when all that is popular is parody and mashed together forms of previous incarnations. I still go to the store to read new Batman stories from new creators every week but my real joy comes form experiencing books like CASANOVA (bottom) and SCARLET (top).

As while they are the culmination of their creator's aristic influences into imperatives they have the spirit of an attempt to move the form forward, the creator as fan and producer of new indulgences melded holds a strong sense of hope. The enjoyment of Youtube for me comes in the discovery of creators like this, and while i enjoy the parodies they never resonate with the same artisitc hum as the the attempts which take the sum of their parts infused with something new. Though had YOUTUBE existed back when all these aforementioned artists and creators existed would it have been their platform of choice en route to greater things? and when will we see a Hollywood director born of the YOUTUBE, anyone-can-produce phenomenon?

More soon - YOU TUBE part2 - art vs noise and EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP