tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post2224365898897045775..comments2019-07-26T00:01:54.730-07:00Comments on Circle of Confusion: The Good Old Days are GoneCraig Mieritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-81098494525900416432010-06-08T09:19:49.125-07:002010-06-08T09:19:49.125-07:00Thank you for taking the time to write such a thou...Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. <br /><br />I had many of the same thoughts/concerns that you expressed while writing this post. In the interest of brevity, I kept the post a little more general, more to use as a starting point. I had even considered the use of quotations around "personal" experience but the voice of an ex-girlfriend/editor popped into my head telling me that I tend to overuse them. But in this case, I do believe that they are entirely justified.<br /><br />I think, in the end, my remarks were aiming for a more aspirational view of future media creation, as opposed to going straight to the form it will probably assume. My experience as a fine artist has taught me that, to one degree, the consumption of nearly all art involves a bit of a lie. People who buy paintings or other fine art seem to really want to be buying a piece of the artist/charisma, their brand, their experience . Now, I need to be careful because this is territory that has been well-covered by people a lot smarter than I am.<br /><br />I guess that ultimately my point is directed to the intelligent people out there who may have a narrow window of opportunity to create something new and visionary and make money outside of the heavy machinery of the corporate media structure. Ultimately, it's really exciting (and scary) that the very way we structure communication is changing in such a radical way. Yes, the dark side from the command/control insecurity-inducing-so-you buy forces will probably carry the day in the end, but that can't be everything.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-48020932348047878372010-06-07T14:43:48.337-07:002010-06-07T14:43:48.337-07:00An interesting and thoughtful post, Craig, and I&#...An interesting and thoughtful post, Craig, and I'm glad to see you are maintaining a sense of positivity in the face of technological and industrial change.<br /><br />But -- and maybe this is the historian in me talking, the guy who likes to think about old things -- I am a bit concerned about the impact of technology on our ability to think deeply. As the NYT article points out, our brains don't seem to do that good a job at handling the massive amounts of data inputs that many new technologies presume we can. We lose focus, perform poorly at tasks and become grouchy if we don't get the immediate fix of new e-mails or FB updates or friends. We also lose the ability to think reflectively and possibly deeply -- to understand structural causes and remedies. This does not bode well for a world that is facing a large number of structural problems: overpopulation, inequitable wealth distribution, the breakdown of capitalism, etc.<br /><br />I don't think that the next wave of media producers will craft experiences that are more "personal"; they'll craft experiences that can be <i>sold</i> as personal. We'll all still be using the same gadgets with the same apps offering the same programs; how an individual mixes and matches those elements will be called "personal," but I'm not sure that's a good way to look at it. It serves the goals of the mammoth corporations that will produce gadgets, apps and programs, but it doesn't help us with the deep thinking -- it is neither an example of deep thinking or something that fosters it. Of course, deep thinking leads to lower consumption levels....<br /><br />Boy, I sound like a Luddite Dana Carvey ("back in the day we burned our fingers trying to keep the torches lit so we could use our magic lanterns to see images so faint that we eventually all went blind like little mole people... <i>and we liked it!!!</i>). I think your larger point, that the film industry and film schools might not be preparing for the kind of future that technological changes are helping to craft. What that means for <i>quality</i> cinema and television remains to be seen.DMOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17788733884750799811noreply@blogger.com