February 6th, 2010 by
Newbs -
This week’s Interneter is YouTube superstar Lisa “LisaNova” Donovan. She came to prominence in the early days of YouTube when all you had to do was exhibit the smallest modicum of talent to become a giant internet celebrity. Shufflingdead actually began on YouTube about the same time as LisaNova, but lacked effort, talent, and passion. She’s parlayed that lucky start using her incredible promotional talents into a wildly successful career which spans both internet and real life stardom.
The LisaNova channel on YouTube has nearly 400 000 subscribers, and features mildly amusing clips of Lisa parodying celebrities like Sarah Palin and Keira Knightley, and performing skits featuring original characters like “Affirmation Girl.” She also participates in videos on other YouTube channels like TheStation, which increases her visibility and what I imagine to be sprawling personal wealth. The various participants of TheStation channel form a core of YouTube celebrities who like to think they are cool and judge others for their coolness, preventing those who are independent, and thus most cool, from ever achieving success and popularity.
Lisa has garnered such great attention that she even managed a short stint on MADtv but quickly disappeared from the show after four appearances. It’s still more than I’ve managed to achieve in my woeful internet life.
LisaNova, Shufflingdead salutes you for giving us something to be jealous and spiteful of.
February 6th, 2010 by
Newbs -
It’s hard being Sarah Palin. Although she generally represents what social conservatives love: she’s an abortion hating married woman with folksy mannerisms, she has that problematic sticking point of a child with Down’s syndrome. And as we all know, American social conservatives love wallowing in ignorant hate for the disabled and disadvantaged.
Palin still hasn’t quite figured out how to walk the line between pleasing political-correctness hating conservatives and loving her son. Palin recently called on Obama to fire his chief of staff for using what she regards as the “crude and demeaning” term retard, but has refrained from giving a clear reaction to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh using the same word. Limbaugh has railed against those calling for a rebuke of the chief of staff, stating “our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards.”
What I find especially amusing about this story is that it so clearly represents the cognitive dissonance required of social conservatives to maintain positions of vitriolic hate for the disadvantaged of the world when faced with the realities of life. Palin is a conservative who has had to face the question “what if your kid was disabled?” Now imagine Palin and her ilk faced with similar situations in which the term “disabled” is replaced with “poor,” “gay,” “pregnant and endangered by it,” “registered as a sex offender,” “being held without charges,” or “a third striker.”
[source]
February 6th, 2010 by
Newbs -
The People vs. George Lucas is an upcoming crowd sourced documentary which turns to the reams of incensed fanboys and fangirls of the world to tell the story of their love/hate relationships with Mr. Lucas. Filmmakers turned to the internet in 2007 when they set up a website calling for fan contributions, and ultimately received 600 hours of material to work with.
Writer and director Alexandre O. Philippe says that his projected has become “much larger than a documentary” and represents a “very powerful grassroots movement.” The film is a chance for fans to wrestle with their complex attachment to the Star Wars franchise, and how they feel about the prequels and special edition re-edits. Philippe describes his film as exploring the ways in with new and old media interact. The documentary appears to be a chance to reflect upon an internet era in which fans claim ownership of their favourite pieces of media.
Personally, I’m pretty mellow on the subject. Episode I’s monumental suckage is truly amusing and provides plenty of entertainment specifically because of it. Episode III has an ending that’s just awesome. I don’t think the franchise is ruined at all, and if I ever met Lucas, the first thing I would do is pet his mysterious neck pouch. What’s he got in there?
→ Continue reading The People vs. George Lucas: crowd sourced documentary
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