Morgan Spurlock, director and subject of the documentary Super Size me, walked up to the producers of the film during one of its initial screenings and told them “it was the best fake documentary I had ever seen.” It is true that the film Catfish has some problems in authenticity. During the film making process, it showed some suspicious factors. People have also questioned the trio's decision to begin filming, as well as the seemingly improbable coincidence of them catching everything of importance to the story on film as it happens. It has also been pointed out that the group's supposed movements in Catfish are not documented in their public blog postings at the time and that at least one web site mentioned in the internet conversations shown in the film does not exist.
Not only that, it was suspicious that they did not use web-cam to find who she is. Isn’t it unclear that Nev did not use web-cam who is a professional in dealing computers and internet tools?
Like Morgan Spurlock said, the film Catfish is hard to be believed as a real documentary. The possibility that this documentary has been faked – or semi-faked or restaged exists. However, be free from the authenticity, viewers should concentrate on the lessons of the film. Whether it is a fiction or not is not an important question. Even if it were presented as fiction, it would still be fascinating. It is alarming us the possible dangers of social network system and internet life.
In the film, communication technology and other networking system assists and obstructs the movies in different aspects. In Catfish, there is full of design touches taken from the web. For example, Google Maps and Google Earth show the leading figures with respective locations in New York and Michigan where Angela lives. As we have seen through the catfish, Google tools allow us to zoom up and observe things and figure out what it is. These techniques theoretically make Abby and her family vividly and instantly real even though Michigan is far away from New York. However, because an elaborate visually detailed reality can so easily be conjured up via the web, it is so treacherous also.
The most important thing through the overall film is talking about relationships. SNS(social network system), especially Facebook allows us to keep in touch with many people. Users have many friends and many relationships. However, how many real friends with real relationships they have? In addition, can we believe the images and pictures they have posted on their walls? This is the creepy side of the Facebook. We cannot blame that posting fake pictures on their walls as wrong doing, but in the aspects of viewer, they have to differentiate the real and fake on the Facebook walls. The social network imagined the genesis of Facebook as a painful breakup experienced by its inventor, Mark Zuckerberg and shrewdly suggested that its popularity lies in allowing its users to regulate their contact with other people, to present and manipulate and image of themselves in ways previously available only to celebrities. This is the creepy side of Facebook and websites in general, amplified in catfish.
The real relationships cannot be attained in Facebook. It suggests only faked image and only On-line connections like move Matrix depicted. I don't think Catfish is a fake: the hidden story is all too plausible. But I do get the sense that Nev and the directors suspected or maybe even discovered the exact truth far earlier than they are letting on here
3 debate topics after the Catfish
1. THB the film making process of Catfish violated Angela’s privacy.
2. THB the Catfish should be treated as fiction.
3. THB the real-name internet system should be adjusted to the website.
Appendix
http://www.iamrogue.com/catfish (Official site of Catfish)
Ebert, Roger."Catfish" Chicago Sun-Times, 22 September 2010
Nice work Joohyung. I'm glad you comment on the social networking aspect of things rather than strictly the authenticity. You dug up some interesting links, and I had fun at the Rogue website...supposedly snooping through Nev's computer (did you get to that part? It's kind of creepy when you click "Enter Nev's World" and get to read his email).
답글삭제The internet is indeed getting pretty scary in some ways, as you mention the ability to zoom in on a house etc. Catfish makes use of these things specifically for that purpose, I think. We've talked a lot about life in the digital age in this class, and it may be a sign of the times we live in. More so for you guys, who truly are the first generation to mature with SNS sites.
Good work as usual.