Twitter, Conan, and Alternative Distribution

It’s funny how the internet works. As soon as I finished Tryon’s book, I opened a Word document to begin my blog response. For once, I didn’t have any clue as to what I would respond to. Great book, but nothing inspired me outright in this set of readings. I thought, “I could write about my friend’s group organized live-tweeting of the first season of Buffy,” or “I could write about that funny Jaws trailer I just found.” But I wasn’t sold on any idea.

As I stared at a blank Word document, a friend of mine tweeted:

Curious, I did what anyone might do in this situation. I Googled. A quick search brings up a number of relevant hits, including bloggers' reviews, news stories, and articles regarding the film's unique distribution. YouTube provides clips and interviews with Conan and the director, Rodman Flender.



As an incredibly devout fan of Conan O’Brien, I was hooked. There's no doubt that his attention to the Millennials' use of social media has fostered my admiration, as well as the admiration of Team Coco (a nice example of fan culture). Furthermore, according to Hollywood Reporter: "In a unique multiparty, multiplatform arrangement. . . Conan O'Brien Can't Stop will be distributed by AT&T, Abramorama and Magnolia Home Entertainment." For me, this means I'll be able to watch the film via AT&T U-Verse and I could not be more geeked about that prospect. I am a media savvy Millennial as well as a fan, and I know I'm not the only one. Conan is practically putting this film into my hands. Thanks, Coco.

What a perfect example of everything Tryon discusses. Here is an independent documentary that has not been distributed en masse but saw a premiere at SXSW and is reaching potential audiences word-of-mouth via Twitter, blogs, and YouTube. It is as though everything I had just read came to fruition as the result of a single tweet.

The IMAX Experience

I’m a Millennial and I don’t like going to the movies. I am the stereotype that worries film scholars.

The difference between me and other potential movie-goers is that I’m not a cinephile. Generally, I don’t even like movies. I love television, but films take up too much time and concentration. That is why, when I do make plans to go to a movie theatre, I prefer blockbusters. In fact, the last films I’ve seen in the theatres were either Pixar (because I do love some Pixar magic) or huge blockbusters (Iron Man, Transformers, etc).

Furthermore, I prefer to spend a couple more dollars to see these blockbusters on the IMAX. If I’m going to commit the time to be entertained, I want the explosions to be outrageously good. On special effects, Tryon writes, “…these effects are invariably marketed in terms of their novelty, their ability to present unprecedented experiences for audiences, an assertion that seems specifically designed to lure audiences back into movie theatres” (40). As Tryon suggests, I am the demographic that goes specifically for special effects. I don’t necessarily need a great story; I can see those on my own television. I want spectacle.

On the otherhand, specifically speaking of IMAX films, Tryon argues this spectacle creates a sense of hypermediacy, or the notion that an audience is aware of the spectacle’s spectacularity. Though I may be aware of the movie magic involved in creating an IMAX film, I find it more immersive than a traditional viewing. I believe Millennials have grown up inundated with advanced technology and immersed in images. I would argue my generation is less accepting of traditional film as fully immersive. In fact, nothing bores me more than an older, less bombastic film, such as Citizen Kane. I can appreciate it as an artifact, but it is not entertaining. I, like my generation, prefer the IMAX experience to truly overwhelm my senses and force me to forget everything else around me. In fact, that’s exactly how Millennials need to be entertained in an era of media saturation.

Week Six: SecondLife, like high school but worse

Meet Petunia Pinion. I created her in early 2007 for my Communication & New Media course. Petunia was created in representation of, as Filiciak states, “a longed-for chance of expressing ourselves beyond physical limitations” (as quoted in Brookey & Cannon, pg. 149). Physical limitations constrain my ability to have purple skin, wings, or even purple hair (without the pricey process of bleaching and dyeing). Petunia represents me: her hair and skin represent my love affair with the color purple. Her tie-dyed shirt and bare feet represent my affinity for hippie culture. Her bright, defined eyes are testament to the fact that I believe eyes are our clue to whether or not we can trust someone. Her toile skirt is in homage to my obsession with toile fabric dating back to early episodes of “Trading Spaces.” She wears a bracelet because I love bracelet but find them cumbersome in real life. And her wings inspire me to fly (though, Petunia doesn’t need wings to fly). In other words, Petunia represents everything about me that I cannot—she is the liberated Renee.

For my senior comprehensive project in undergrad, I chose to do an autoethnographic analysis of hegemonic hypersexuality in SecondLife. I was less a participant and more of an observer. However, I found Petunia garnered too much attention to be a fly on the wall. In any social space, Petunia regularly received remarks about her appearance, and occasionally others would chat about “the purple fairy” as though she weren’t even there.

I knew she wouldn’t do for my study.

Meet Sheri Merryman, a name inspired by Sherry Turkle. She’s about as bland and uninteresting an avatar can be. She was my eyes and ears into the hegemonic representations of avatars in SecondLife. Rarely did anyone speak to her. I was disappointed to shelve Petunia for the sake of the study, but her appearance was too engaging, lending credence to the fact that women’s bodies are on display to be remarked on and spoken about. Non-hegemonic representations of identity are disciplined, reminding me of high school.