Thursday, March 20, 2014

PressPausePlay

After viewing the documentary, PressPausePlay (2011), directed by David Dworsky and Victor Kohler, I have come to my personal opinion that this film is pro democratization. Democratization is the idea that everyone believes they are an artist and have equal access and distribution of their art, which is exactly what this documentary presents to the audience. Seth Godin, an author and entrepreneur  explains, "People don’t become artists because they want to become rich. They become artists because they have an idea to share. Or an emotion to share" (Dworsky and Kohler). It is true that technology has become far more advanced in today's society than it was ten years ago but this isn't necessarily a negative outcome. Not only does the advance in technology make it easier for people to communicate, but it allows for exchange of culture and art. Relating to mass art Moby, a musician, explains, "50 years ago, people didn’t make things. People would go to photography exhibitions. They would go to record fairs. They would watch movies. Now everyone is a photographer. Everyone is a musician. Anyone can make a film"(Dworsky and Kohler). Because of the immense uprising in the use of technology and media, this marks the era of a new elite culture. Today's society is very intelligent yet very immersed in their forms of art and releasing it out in to the world. It was argued that so many artists in the world would even the playing field leading to one tremendous society of mediocre artists, however that is false. With the ability to express oneself in countless ways through film, photography, music, etc., it has allowed for people to channel the sense of freedom through creativity making them all unique citizens worth appreciating in a diverse way.
There was a lot of controversy throughout the documentary about how technology can steal away the true meaning of creativity and attention from the lives of society, yet there is an art in itself of the new way people are able to communicate currently. Moby says, "I think that the world of online communication of blogging and tweeting... I do it because I like communicating and I think some musicians do it because they have managers and handlers who tell them that's the way of staying relevant in this world. At the end of the day, as long as people make music that affects others emotionally, then I think things will be ok" (Dworsky and Kohler). Before the skyrocket in advances of technology, the stress put on artists to make themselves known in the world of media and to keep themselves there was colossal. At that point, making art wasn't about expressing themselves or doing it for the love of creation, but for making money and staying afloat. Nowadays, through social and mass media, the audience promotes artists of all kinds for free without even realizing it. Lena Dunham, filmmaker, writer and producer, says, "Suddenly I understood that this is a different world and that it's possible for anyone to make a movie now and that to me, that was the thing that gave me the confidence because I don't like waiting around for people to get me permission to do things, I've never liked that" (Dworsky and Kohler). It is true that it takes permission, interviews, auditions, etc in order to even be considered for one person's art to be distributed for the world to appreciate. As more and more of society began to find their talents in the new ways technology provides us to open up, interviews and auditions don't matter anymore. Independent films are being made along with music and so much more. Before it was Hollywood and select "bigshot" music studios and galleries that controlled what the world would watch, listen to, and enjoy, but today the world controls that. Everyone has an equal chance to show themselves off to the world and the world is inviting in all the inspiration in. In conclusion, I would say that Walter Benjamin's "Age of art in mechanical reproduction" where everyone thinks their an artist benefits democratization as it builds a new tomorrow where everyone can escape in to their own form of creativity and self expression.

Bibliography
  • "My Top 6 Quotes from PRESS. PAUSE. PLAY |." My Top 6 Quotes from PRESS. PAUSE. PLAY |. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
  • "PressPausePlay." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
  • "PressPausePlay: On Creativity in the Digital Age." Contour Magazine RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
  • "PressPausePlay - Moby Interview." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
  • "PressPausePlay - Lena Dunham Interview." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

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