Reproduce Experiences of Subjectivity
In the 80s and 90s video slapstick took center stage. Programs such as America’s Funniest Home Video and Candid Camera gave ordinary people an opportunity to bring localized, subjective experiences to the masses (Dovey, 2000). These short video clips were neither cinematic artistry nor documentaries instead there was a move away from the classical, film making styles.
Amateur on a roll!
Videotext became the form that represented the shifting paradigms of the public and private sphere (Dovey, 2000). Changes in technologies made it easier to incorporate the ‘new’ media and its output into our daily lives. Devices, i.e., videos, camcorders and so forth went mainstream, making them more attuned to the masses. Gradually, the use of those devices became smaller in size, and they subsequently increased our mobility.
The relationships between technology and its cultural form shifted accordingly. Everyone that had access to new technologies now have the ability to produce and reproduce their experiences of subjectivity (Dovey, 2000). By contrast, the expert lost some of its ground in vetting these experiences on film and/or tape (Keen, 2007).
The amateur rather than the professional is the driving force behind new footage, and this phenomenon has shifted from the traditional media to the ‘new’ media platforms available to them, which also allowed cyberspace to emergence.
A great example of this phenomenon is YouTube. The best-rated videos are not the ones that broadcast objective, generalized, rational news or video, rather the ones in which you and the amateurs are the focal point of attention. Somehow we are captivated by the silliness, and self-exposure of others.
Moreover, the ‘performer’ makes its own mashups - reshuffling pieces of pre-existing videos, texts, older cultural and social productions. However, I examine that this is not something of modern times; retrieving older footage showed that ‘reshuffling’, bricolage, collage, and more was used to mix mainstream TV with self-generated footage in the past (Dovey, 2000).
Humankind is just trying to find modified ways to ‘reinvent’ itself whether it is with the use of new or old media tools. The use of mainstream technology certainly makes it a lot easier for us.
References:
Dovey, J. 2000. Freakshow: First Person Media and Factual Television. London: Pluto Press.
Keen, A. 2007. The Cult of the Amateur. Doubleday. New York
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