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

[maradydd]

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...)

Comments

Re: The film is not about Marx

[(Anonymous)]

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.

Re: The film is not about Marx

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: The film is not about Marx

[(Anonymous)]

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.