maradydd | Don't mince words, Meredith, tell us what you really think!

Ok, so apparently the latest episode of BoingBoing TV is by the guys at monochrom, who are a bunch of Austrians, and it's described as "Web 2.0 meets Marxist economic theory".

I have not actually watched this yet, because the last monochrom puppet show I saw, at last year's CCC, was so pointless and badly executed that

enochsmiles and I walked out less than halfway through. (Don't get me wrong, the art was good. But the story made not a lick of sense, the puppeteers had no technical skill -- most of the action involved stick-puppets bouncing up and down randomly -- and it was pretty obvious that they hadn't rehearsed beforehand, given all the missed cues.)

Maybe I'll watch it. Maybe I won't. But the juxtaposition of Austrians doing a puppet show on Marxist economic theory makes me want to put together a puppet show on Austrian School economic theory. Who wants to help? I'm thinking the world needs Lolcat Von Mises.

(

digitalusrex,

cassandrasimplx, damn do I ever wish I were in Houston right now. And I bet

john_j_enright and I could bang together a fun script in Shakespearean blank verse...)

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Watching it in real life was pretty excruciating, not least because the stage manager kept giving the puppeteers cues that were audible from the ninth row and they just kept missing them. But, hey, different strokes for different folks.

I got enough Foucault to last me for the rest of my life when I was an undergrad. By the time I realised every grand assertion about human nature and society that the guy had to make was totally unfalsifiable, I just couldn't take him seriously anymore, and still don't. Discipline and Punish has some parts that are pretty damn hot, though -- makes for amusing bedtime reading.

I missed the puppet show live and watched the recording of the stream... downloaded it from the CCC server. I watched it because some people where very enthusiastic after seeing the show live and highly recommended to download the file. What can I say: I liked it... and there is no accounting for tastes ;-)
I have to admit: I follow monochrom's projects for some years now, and I like their general approach. Some projects are extraordinary, some not, but they are always somehow "refreshing".

Concerning Foucault: it's more about how Deleuze takes Foucault's concept ("disciplinary society") and transforms it into his idea of "society of control". But, whatever ;-)

All the best from Düsseldorf
P.K.

I haven't followed their projects all that closely, but I've seen several over the last few years myself. Typically I find myself entertained by the concept, but underwhelmed by the execution (the early-90s-style computer game about a fictitious former Soviet republic being one example -- the idea was hilarious, and the art and music were pretty good, but the gameplay was clunky and obtuse, with a story that seemed kind of tacked on.)

And then some of their projects just make me want to shake them, like the one where they tried to do a "patient zero"-style disease-outbreak story in real life. In that particular case, they're lucky that the execution was so bad (protip: when making up a biology story meant to cause panic, either use the names of real microorganisms, or at least don't mix Greek and Latin when inventing a scientific name) -- the CDC would not have taken kindly to a rumour which caused a large area to be evacuated and then turned out to be made-up. (Of course, it may be the case that they deliberately chose nomenclature that any biologist would find obviously fake, so that the CDC would immediately see through it. But there was a lot of potential for widespread panic, particularly if a stupid but well-meaning TV station had caught the story, so they're quite lucky that the prank didn't go anywhere.)

I am picky about art, mine and other people's; I favour strong ideas executed just as strongly, an equal blending of artistic inspiration and good craftsmanship. Monochrom is certainly full of artistic inspiration, but in general I have not been impressed with their technique; the visual arts are an exception. But, yes -- everyone's tastes are different, and everyone looks for something different in art.

Oh, don't talk too bad about my beloved Soviet Unterzögersdorf #1 ;-)) I think it's a masterpiece all in all, and I'm waiting for the second part for a long time! I guess we really have different expectations in art or -- to be precise -- the practice of cultural intervention.
Anyhow, was nice to discuss with you; I'll definitely follow you blog!

P.K.

Don't mince words, Meredith, tell us what you really think!

Re: The film is not about Marx

Re: The film is not about Marx

Re: The film is not about Marx

Re: The film is not about Marx