Everybody Is A Star

Video holds the special distinction of being the only medium that can present the moving, material world as neither a representation nor a facsimile, but as it actually appears––a trait which, if used artlessly, is also to its detriment as a specifically creative instrument. Do we really want art to mimic our lives so closely? The contemporary consensus asserts that we do, and the proof is in the reality TV pudding.

The gap between video used in art and video used in mass media, primarily in how each is perceived, grows greater every day––the former presents alternate versions of reality or even complete abstractions, often in the form of cultural critiques, like this film by Paul McCarthy, and the latter increasingly seeks to prove that the fiction before us can be our reality, as evidenced, where else, but on America’s Got Talent.

Voyeurism and the need to empathize with the performers have effectively replaced the need for escapism, though as trends ebb and flow, probably not permanently. It is certainly no new phenomenon for us to enjoy the spectacle of human joy and suffering, but we seem to relish it more than ever these days.

Eighteenth century French philosopher Denis Diderot coined the term Fourth Wall, to signify the imaginary wall that separates actors on a stage (or television, or movie screen) from their audience, and it has remained impenetrable on any large scale until only recently.  Programs that mimic our lives, albeit superficial, dumbed-down versions of them, have become the dominant form of entertainment on network TV. Sure, we still have escapist serial dramas and comedies, but they are rapidly being outnumbered by shows that portray people losing weight, eating bugs, swapping wives, living with strangers, and getting makeovers in order to win the fifteen minutes of fame Warhol predicted they’d get. With the exponential growth of technology has emerged a strangely democratic platform allowing anyone with a computer and little more than a cell phone (though the gap distinguishing the two narrows every second) to make their own movie that then has the potential, thanks to outlets like YouTube and MySpace, to reach millions of viewers.  Amid all the Gossip Girl recaps and the occasional news headline, anyone can become prime water cooler fodder.  Just make a video of yourself doing something impressive, disgusting, comedic, or humiliating, and you’re an overnight sensation.

Further evidence that the Fourth Wall has effectively been breached can be found in the numerous viral videos featuring famous people acting out: Tom Cruise jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch, Seinfeld’s Michael Richards on a racist rant, Paris Hilton’s sex video, Sarah Palin’s embarrassing interviews, the list goes on.  The more times these images are viewed, the more they become ingrained in our psyches as true representations of these celebrity icons, meaning that any one of us can have a direct influence on public perceptions of public figures.  To say it’s revolutionary is not an overstatement.  The recent Presidential election is a prime example of how dominant forms of media must now contend with the new citizen-run media.  Could Barack Obama have had such a cultural impact without grass roots movements to saturate the internet with videos of his inspiring speeches?  Perhaps not.

If we choose to look through an artistic lens, we’ll find the virtual world rather free of formally aesthetic considerations.  Aside from on a handful of sites, such as the excellent UBU Web, video artists are wary of putting their work online because of copyright and misrepresentation issues, so what we are left with is people in front of their computers in their pajamas under bad lighting, talking at us.  Informative about the cultural pulse, yes, artistic no.  That said, these amateur pieces are all about immediacy––relevant for a short time only and likely to be forgotten in the years to come.  Video artworks, on the other hand, are presumably more universal in their relevance, and intended to last.  Whether the open mic ethos of the internet could ever rise to this level remains to be seen.

And I’ll leave you with the wise words of Britney Spears, from her newest single Circus: “There’s only two types of people in the world.  The ones that entertain and the ones that observe”.