NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Lesson: On the Internet, Satire Is at Your Own Risk!
Lesson: On the Internet, Satire Is at Your Own Risk!
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000628.html
Greetings. When it comes to the Internet -- no matter how long you've
been involved -- never assume that you *completely* understand the
social dynamics of cyberspace!
Yesterday, in "Is Net Neutrality a Communist Plot? ('Declassified DoD
Film')" -- I announced the availability of a "a long-lost U.S.
government film that appears to shed unexpected light on accusations
of a linkage between communist/Marxist ideologies and Net Neutrality."
My assumption was that the YouTube video in question
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCLFKlYW3c ) was so obviously
"over the top" that it would be immediately recognized by all observers
for what it was, a satirical emulation of classic old U.S. government
military training and information films.
I created this in reaction to the very real recent trend and false
meme of some anti-Net-Neutrality "analysts" and media observers, who
are now inanely and disgracefully "red-baiting" -- by asserting that
Net Neutrality and its proponents are "communist" and/or Marxist
inspired.
While I didn't explicitly mark the video as satire, I genuinely felt
that the satirical nature would be obvious, I and didn't want to spoil
the surprise for viewers.
Though the vast majority of viewers -- whether they agreed with my
support of Net Neutrality or not -- seemingly "got the joke"
immediately, apparently this was not universal.
To my surprise, I received a few queries, and discovered at least a
couple of links, that indicated confusion about the true nature of the
piece.
At least some persons thought it was a genuine U.S. Defense Department
film. A couple of people expressed concerns that *other* people
would think it was a legit military production. One expressed the
view that it appeared "entirely authentic" in production values, but
he was bewildered by some aspects of the content.
I did put considerable effort into giving the video a reasonably
realistic feel, but I've never claimed to have the filmed propaganda
editing skills of Leni Riefenstahl, so I've frankly been very
surprised by such reactions. Of more concern to me is the possibility
that there are additional folks out there who -- somehow -- assumed
the "film" was real despite the included absurdities.
So to anyone who was confused by this effort, I apologize. To be
honest, I still don't quite understand how the video's film could be
interpreted as other than a spoof, but my apology is sincere
nonetheless. I'll add something to the associated YouTube page to
indicate explicitly that it's a satire.
But I also believe that there's a broader lesson here. When dealing
with very large, and especially global audiences, *any* assumption of
a "universal interpretation" of content may often be unwarranted. We
after all see the world through the unique lenses of our individual
minds, and no joke is guaranteed to be received the same way -- or
even recognized as a joke -- by everyone, everywhere.
Perhaps very much something worth remembering.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein