Hi Friends,
I just made this video two days ago. I am really into the concept, but not sure where to go with it... or how far there is to go. The idea to make it came from a heart-wrenching experience watching the Planet Earth series and my love/hate relationship with the mighty Rush Limbaugh (AM radio God and Master of the Universe). I am looking for feedback about the effectiveness of the video, whether or not Rush and the doc. narrator interfere with eachother and to hear about it from my fellow Pizza Heads. I am also looking for advice on whether or not what I'm doing will have legal consequences.
Maybe there's a way to manipulate the video, without taking quality away from it, that makes stealing it okay? I don't know. Negativland fans?
Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!
2 comments:
There should be no legal problems. It might get taken down from YouTube if you make it too obvious you took it from "Planet Earth'" but it wouldn't be righteous.
I like the idea, but I think you should mix it up a little bit more - Limbaugh doesn't come in early enuf to have it be clearly IDed as a re-mix. Also, the slow voice is good, but the low-volume voice is just frustrating. I think the whole thing could be edited down to a few short minutes.
I think what I am missing here is your love-hate relationship with Limbaugh - that's what is most interesting to me because it is so different from my way of thinking. I have a hate-hate relationship with Limbaugh, which is pretty uninteresting. I want to see more of the love so I am challenged more. As it is, the only think I see is a contrast between the truths shown in "Planet Earth" and the lies told by Limbaugh. That seems a little redundant to me, as it is obvious that any person who clearly understands the message of this show is already going to think Limbaugh is a fascist asshole. But obviously some people really love him, and if you can understand this, then you obviously are a more open and empathetic person than I am. My solution to the problem of neocon crytofascists is that we have to rub them out, but I have heard the viewpoint that peaceable solutions to political problems are more effective solutions, so your kind of understanding may help us - this is what this video has potential to do if you take the love-hate position. But I do disagree with you. I think that Gandhi and King and Lennon and all the rest of those peaceniks have been promoted by the media in cahoots with the government to discourage the masses from articulating violent revolution. If I have misunderstood your motivation and you are dead set against Limbaugh as I am then the juxtaposition of these two elements, no matter how effectively done, can only be kitch unless it includes critical new information or a plan of action.
I usually find that political art is very difficult - most of it is pretty kitchy. The best of it shows a new way of analysing a situation that highlights a problem that was previously invisible (whereas kitch shows a problem that was previously visible) or somehow incorporates political action into the work itself - such as apartment art in Beijing in the 80s - whereas kitch calls for action in a vague way (there is very little art that calls for action in a concrete way - that is usually seen as just being pure politics). I don't hate kitch, it can be fun and "cool," but it's hardly ever great art. Again, good political art is very difficult indeed.
I think one of the hallmarks of great art is that it doesn't meet any demand for usefulness. It may create a new use category, and later appear useful, but it is usually pretty spontaneous. That's why a lot of great art is spontaneous - it is hard to plan for something that you don't knw you need. Like Rumsfeld said - there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns. Making art usually deals with the second.
In my own art I am trying to devise systems of communication and visual representation that will fullfill a gap in our society. The problem is that I don't know where exactly this gap is, let alone how to fill it. That's cause it is an unknown unknown. That's why experimentation is essential.
Anyway, of course this comment has now gone off topic entirely, and you shouldn't think that much of this BS is relevant.
I am glad to see that you are making this kind of appropriated, remixed political video. I am looking fwd to seeing more, especially if you go back into this video and change it around. Seeing art in different states of production always floats my boat. Don't let my bad attitude piss you off in an unproductive way.
Cheers...
Thanks, Farley. The more I watch it the more I feel like it needs to cut or "Rush" to the chase sooner. Thanks for explaining kitch too. It was sticking in my craw to keep hearing that term, and its derivatives without knowing what it means. The love for Rush angle is going to be a hard one to play up, but believe it or not many, many folks love him and have expressed that love in public and impressive ways. For example, there is a huge Rush mural in his home town in Missouri. Regardless of his remarkable horribleness, he has accomplished quite a bunch. Enough to make your skin crawl. Crazy. I'll keep plugging away with all this in mind and keep you posted.
Later!
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