Don’t Feed The Animals
Wired profiles what it is calling the documentary about the internet generation in a recent web post. The film in question is Me @the Zoo and – while an interesting look at online celebrity – does not, at least to me, seem to live up to the description.
While it’s certainly true that the story of Chris(sy) Crocker makes for a nearly perfect exploration of fifteen minutes of YouTube fame, I’m not so sure that the subject or the circumstances necessarily speak to all those in the same cohort. Case in point: many students at the Commonwealth campuses that I work with – in the same age range – have never posted a video to YouTube before and are downright uncomfortable with their own images being online and in the public. So while it’s true that we have created a fantastic platform for micro celebrity (and further true that many young people are exploiting it), I don’t think it’s fair to say that all internet generation individuals will connect with the Chrissy Crocker story.
As I round out this post that was originally intended to point to a cool documentary about the students that we teach about media I find myself instead somewhat annoyed that Wired has falsely advertised a film that is more a Chris Crocker vehicle. Perhaps smart on Crocker’s part to get involved with the project, but not exactly hard-hitting. However, I’m not at Sundance and haven’t yet seen more than the trailer above so I guess the jury can stay out to lunch for the time being.