I decided to try something a little different today, and instead of commenting on art, writing, and good will toward men, I thought I might talk a little about current events. Bear with me, this could get hairy...
Social media is an incredible tool, connecting us instantly to our favorite celebrities, job recruiters, high school sweethearts, and complete and total strangers. I'm sure I missed a few in there, but suffice it to say, with the pervasiveness of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, etc., now more than ever the internet can create or destroy more quickly than ever before. But social media can also be an incredible source of misinformation. And with the speed at which the internet moves, it can be difficult to sift through all the hoaxes and lies swimming about, and even more difficult if your goal is to correct them.
Take for instance, the case of Spike Lee retweeting the address he believed to be of one Mr. George Zimmerman earlier this year, except...it was the wrong address. Nevermind the inherently insidious and retaliatory nature of tweeting anybody's home address to some quarter million followers (essentially, the world) and then having others retweet the wrong address, but correcting these mistakes or bits of misinformation is now often nigh-impossible once they've been immortalized on the internet.
Of course, this is not to blame the internet itself. The internet is just the mechanism by which we communicate ubiquitously nowadays. Forget waiting until 6pm or 11pm for your local newscast -- get all those details now with click of a button (or the flick of a finger for all you tablet-users). Better yet, become the source yourself, and send in tips and pictures and iReports to the news agencies. That's the information-sharing of today. For old fogies like me who can actually still remember the first time she went online with this new fangledy service called America On-Line, it sometimes takes some adjusting.
After all, there is power in this sword we wield, and the internet is often a force for good -- where people can find a cause worth fighting for or make one of their own. A place where like-minded individuals sync up, form grassroots efforts, and embark on selfless conquests for the betterment of society... or for money. Whatever. There are many amazing stories no one perhaps would ever have heard of were it not for the magic of the Interwebs, some consequential to our world at large, some less so -- like the story of the ten year-old girl who was bullied for taking a Star Wars lunchbox to school and the incredible outpouring of support that came roaring in from people around the world.
But when the internet is against you, it can seem like an unstoppable force.
Consider the case of the Kickstarter project of Anita Sarkeesian, a self-described "feminist pop culture media critic," who was recently the target of one such internet slash-and-burn campaign all from proposing to create a Tropes vs. Women in Video Games project. For any fans of gaming, you've likely noticed certain characteristics that seem to regularly be ascribed to female characters. Whether it's the damsel-in-distress, or the femme fatale, or the sexy window-dressing, many of these images are so prevalent in gaming that they've become stereotypes, i.e., "tropes," within the medium. Ms. Sarkeesian's project sought to shine a light on these recurrent character types and examine the impact these portrayals of female characters had on our culture and society as a whole. Sounds like a daunting, albeit worthwhile endeavor, right? Well, not to everybody.
For proposing her project, Ms. Sarkeesian came face-to-face with the ire of the internet hate machine, which succeeded in covering her blog and YouTube page with vial, hate-filled commentary, viciously vandalizing her Wikipedia page, and attempting to shut down her project. The goal was to silence her before she'd even spoken, and this is unfortunately the worst of the internet -- where the language of shorthand and inbred memes is readily employed to denigrate and intimidate. The internet gives a voice to heroes and villains alike.
Thankfully, an even greater internet force threw its support behind the Tropes vs. Women In Games kickstarter, and Sarkeesian was able to raise funding for her project which far exceeded her original ask. So good won out this time it seems. This, of course, doesn't silence the trolls who began the campaign against the project in the first place, but perhaps it does identify who is truly the vocal minority. But it's both the benefit and the consequence of the 24/7 world we live in. It's technology with power to create, destroy, divide, unite, intimidate, or reward -- all at the speed of now.
Ill Doctrine: All These Sexist Gamer Dudes Are Some Shook Ones from ANIMALNewYork.com on Vimeo
Social media is an incredible tool, connecting us instantly to our favorite celebrities, job recruiters, high school sweethearts, and complete and total strangers. I'm sure I missed a few in there, but suffice it to say, with the pervasiveness of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, etc., now more than ever the internet can create or destroy more quickly than ever before. But social media can also be an incredible source of misinformation. And with the speed at which the internet moves, it can be difficult to sift through all the hoaxes and lies swimming about, and even more difficult if your goal is to correct them.
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| Events happen in real time. |
Take for instance, the case of Spike Lee retweeting the address he believed to be of one Mr. George Zimmerman earlier this year, except...it was the wrong address. Nevermind the inherently insidious and retaliatory nature of tweeting anybody's home address to some quarter million followers (essentially, the world) and then having others retweet the wrong address, but correcting these mistakes or bits of misinformation is now often nigh-impossible once they've been immortalized on the internet.
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| The internet is forever. |
After all, there is power in this sword we wield, and the internet is often a force for good -- where people can find a cause worth fighting for or make one of their own. A place where like-minded individuals sync up, form grassroots efforts, and embark on selfless conquests for the betterment of society... or for money. Whatever. There are many amazing stories no one perhaps would ever have heard of were it not for the magic of the Interwebs, some consequential to our world at large, some less so -- like the story of the ten year-old girl who was bullied for taking a Star Wars lunchbox to school and the incredible outpouring of support that came roaring in from people around the world.
But when the internet is against you, it can seem like an unstoppable force.
Consider the case of the Kickstarter project of Anita Sarkeesian, a self-described "feminist pop culture media critic," who was recently the target of one such internet slash-and-burn campaign all from proposing to create a Tropes vs. Women in Video Games project. For any fans of gaming, you've likely noticed certain characteristics that seem to regularly be ascribed to female characters. Whether it's the damsel-in-distress, or the femme fatale, or the sexy window-dressing, many of these images are so prevalent in gaming that they've become stereotypes, i.e., "tropes," within the medium. Ms. Sarkeesian's project sought to shine a light on these recurrent character types and examine the impact these portrayals of female characters had on our culture and society as a whole. Sounds like a daunting, albeit worthwhile endeavor, right? Well, not to everybody.
For proposing her project, Ms. Sarkeesian came face-to-face with the ire of the internet hate machine, which succeeded in covering her blog and YouTube page with vial, hate-filled commentary, viciously vandalizing her Wikipedia page, and attempting to shut down her project. The goal was to silence her before she'd even spoken, and this is unfortunately the worst of the internet -- where the language of shorthand and inbred memes is readily employed to denigrate and intimidate. The internet gives a voice to heroes and villains alike.
Thankfully, an even greater internet force threw its support behind the Tropes vs. Women In Games kickstarter, and Sarkeesian was able to raise funding for her project which far exceeded her original ask. So good won out this time it seems. This, of course, doesn't silence the trolls who began the campaign against the project in the first place, but perhaps it does identify who is truly the vocal minority. But it's both the benefit and the consequence of the 24/7 world we live in. It's technology with power to create, destroy, divide, unite, intimidate, or reward -- all at the speed of now.
Ill Doctrine: All These Sexist Gamer Dudes Are Some Shook Ones from ANIMALNewYork.com on Vimeo
