WINNEBAGO MAN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Ultimately,
we should care about the people behind our favorite YouTube videos. If they
represent a character that who things that hurt himself or make a fool out of
himself, even if it is accidental, I think that it is okay (within reason) for
the viewer to see the humor in it. This is true especially for those who post
the video on their own behalf. If they can look at themselves and enjoy what
they are watching and confidently decide to publicize it, we are more-so
laughing with them - not at them! Jack's story has not changed my opinion,
overall. I don't always think we, as a culture, are only interested in the
humiliation of others, but sometimes we definitely laugh when the situation is
a non-laughing matter. No one should ever humiliate an unwilling victim,
weather it is or is not media-involved.
During
the tape, Jack acts angry and frustrated, but his ruthless language is what
makes it funny. Weather it is the light he would like to be seen in or not, I
think he should have had a right to comment on whether or not he wanted the
footage to be released in the first place. I am glad he ends up relatively
happy with the overall situation and refers to the Found Footage Festival
audience as "his people". I believe what he says, but I feel he often
changes his mind on the circumstances of the video depending on the benefits he
gets from it.
I
am surprised that so many people wished for Winnebago Man to still be very
angry, because I would think that some people would find it rather enlightening
and interesting to view him in a new perspective. This proves that we just see
some of our celebrities as crazy and perhaps self-absorbed, and consistent in
whatever emotion they are often shown with. Sometimes we do not always remember
that they are still human and experience various feelings every day, just like
the rest of us.
In
my opinion, Jacks opinion changed because he has realized that there are cons
and pros to come from every experience, including the video and documentary.
A
quotation from one of the fans is, "The Internet is like a modern day freak
show. Except you don't have to pay a nickel to see it." This is a good
analogy because it is a positive point of view to recognize and appreciate what
you see on the Internet, and it costs next to nothing. However, the Internet
has a lot more to offer than just a "modern day freak show," and I
feel that many of us take it for granted.
I
think that the lives and stories of Internet celebrities are probably as
interesting, if not more interesting than traditional celebrities. This is for
a few reasons. First of all, Internet celebrities have ways of communicating
with their fans. Many of us use social media such as Facebook and Twitter,
where celebrities can almost always keep us updated. I also feel that Internet
celebrities have more of a variety of reasons they became famous. The celebrity
could have posted a funny video, or meaningful blog, or have a well-known
Facebook page, whereas more traditional celebrities are commonly known for
either singing or acting. Lastly, internet celebrities, in my opinion, have
more information online that fans or non-fans can retrieve from the internet.
Although not all of what the reader sees could be true, it definitely excites
some of us who read things we are not expecting. Some of the things Internet
celebrities expose can be very surprising, and that is what keeps us
interested.
Overall,
I see us at a low point in modern popular culture. Sometimes it is disappointing
to see how many views a ridiculous video gets, how many 'likes' that a terrible
meme gets, and how popular some reality TV shows get when they are thought to
be terrible by so many people. The good thing about modern popular culture is
that there are many subcultures within it, and it wouldn't be fair to globalize
by saying, "Everyone thinks that Greatest Freak-Out video is
funny," or, "Wow, why does everyone hate the
Kardashians?!" Everyone has their own opinions, but I feel that many of us
would agree that we would be seen in a 'higher point' in our modern popular
culture if more of what we watched consisted of positivity, humiliating humor,
and realism.
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