ryochiji (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ryochiji) wrote,@ 2008-07-10 10:30:00 |
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in which Ryo gets all fuzzy
Being on vacation is great. I should've done this earlier. Only a week in, and I can already feel some of my earlier cynicism and despair fading. One major catalyst in my recovery has been the latest Where The Hell is Matt video, which I've watched at least 10 times in the last couple of days. In fact, it was the first thing I watched this morning when I opened my laptop.
I think part of what I find so inspiring about the video isn't the video itself (though I do think it's well done and I also love the music), but rather the idea of the video. Some dude had a weird dance he did. He traveled. He danced in places. He made a video of himself dancing in places. The video has been viewed over 6.5 million times in two and a half weeks. Sure, there's a bit more to the story; for instance, this is his 3rd video, he already had a fan-base, he has a corporate sponsor, etc. Nonetheless, it restored my faith in the power of the internet.
Think about it. YouTube is probably one of the most, if not the most, singularly empowering and democratizing tools in the history of art. No other tool I'm aware of has allowed individual expression to be elevated to the cultural level with such ease. All it takes is a good idea, and some relatively accessible pieces of technology. With some luck, you'll reach more people than some multi-million dollar feature films do, and make a deeper, more lasting impact on people than the Mona Lisa (well, at least I wasn't that affected by the Mona Lisa, but maybe it was the bullet-proof glass that killed it).
Granted, most of what's on YouTube could barely considered art. I still find that medium inspiring because, more often than not, it shows the best of humanity. The recent Weezer song, Pork and Beans, describes the spirit quite nicely: I'mma do the things that I wanna do. I ain't got a thing to prove to you. And that's exactly what you see on YouTube: people unashamedly doing the things they wanna do. Singing, dancing, making things, blowing things up. That's what we live for. That's why we have ample food, security, liberties, medicine. Our society exists so we can do the things we want to do.
Anyway, I was reminded that if I'm not doing what I wanna do, then I'm doin it rong. I'ma go shoot guns now.
Being on vacation is great. I should've done this earlier. Only a week in, and I can already feel some of my earlier cynicism and despair fading. One major catalyst in my recovery has been the latest Where The Hell is Matt video, which I've watched at least 10 times in the last couple of days. In fact, it was the first thing I watched this morning when I opened my laptop.
I think part of what I find so inspiring about the video isn't the video itself (though I do think it's well done and I also love the music), but rather the idea of the video. Some dude had a weird dance he did. He traveled. He danced in places. He made a video of himself dancing in places. The video has been viewed over 6.5 million times in two and a half weeks. Sure, there's a bit more to the story; for instance, this is his 3rd video, he already had a fan-base, he has a corporate sponsor, etc. Nonetheless, it restored my faith in the power of the internet.
Think about it. YouTube is probably one of the most, if not the most, singularly empowering and democratizing tools in the history of art. No other tool I'm aware of has allowed individual expression to be elevated to the cultural level with such ease. All it takes is a good idea, and some relatively accessible pieces of technology. With some luck, you'll reach more people than some multi-million dollar feature films do, and make a deeper, more lasting impact on people than the Mona Lisa (well, at least I wasn't that affected by the Mona Lisa, but maybe it was the bullet-proof glass that killed it).
Granted, most of what's on YouTube could barely considered art. I still find that medium inspiring because, more often than not, it shows the best of humanity. The recent Weezer song, Pork and Beans, describes the spirit quite nicely: I'mma do the things that I wanna do. I ain't got a thing to prove to you. And that's exactly what you see on YouTube: people unashamedly doing the things they wanna do. Singing, dancing, making things, blowing things up. That's what we live for. That's why we have ample food, security, liberties, medicine. Our society exists so we can do the things we want to do.
Anyway, I was reminded that if I'm not doing what I wanna do, then I'm doin it rong. I'ma go shoot guns now.
