Blog – no ancestors?
Personally I see blog as completely different from diary. Blog allows us to share ideas, interesting clips and promote almost anything. Although diary, documentary are said to be the ancestor of the Blog, not to completely disagree with the idea but I don’t really see much similarities between them. I guess blog has been modified into something that connects different medium together as technology progresses. As Adrian Miles mentioned about how blog is similar to documentary, I happen to see the other side of this view point. Even though documentary is based upon real story/events, documentary is shot under rehearsals, scripts and made to reinforce a particular view point. Blog in a way allows users to post anything up on the net and viewers are freely viewing the blogs, I see the blog as what is real in the virtual space as people can stay anonymous and freely discuss about anything. Not to forget that users are allowed to block off their own blog so only himself or a few people can view the blog. Blocking off the blog allows it to be a “private diary” but I believe that there are people who can unblock the blog and freely enter into the blog. In the virtual world nothing can really stay private and what is the most important feature of the blog is that it is for users to share things with other users. Vlog are now available this enables users to do much more and viewers can visualize instead of imagining. Technology is constantly changing thus affecting the media – Blog. Who knows what blog will be like in 5 or 10 years time?
-Vivian
posted by Vivian at 4:41 PM
2 Comments:
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Although I agree that a blog is more unlike than like a diary, I disagree with your comments on documentary. Adrian Miles' argument discusses the topic of documentary only briefly, and seemingly only through the theories of Bill Nichols. There is little actual space given to the form of documentary itself within Miles' essay, and I believe this is problematic in making the connection between blogs as a type of documentary. I strongly believe that documentary is not a medium that is necessarily rehearsed or scripted. In fact, the genre of documentary is better respected for not having any of those qualities. There are exceptions, of course, in such cases as using actors to enact scenes that are relevant to or emphasize the points of the documentary (such as in the "The Thin Blue Line").
I think Miles' argument is strongest when relating the many variations documentary has taken in the past decades to the many types of ways blogs seek to document life. They are also similar because they are both always biased in some way. This can be related to theories brought up by documentary filmmaker Michael Rabiger in his book "Directing the Documentary". In his book, Rabiger discusses the innate self-reflexive nature in the documentary making process. Although not scripted or rehearsed, every camera angle, every editing technique is meditated to form an idea, theory, etc. I believe that blogs also have this quality, but rather with the words, links, pictures, etc. that each author, in essence the camera person of his or her own life, puts forth. Rabiger is earnest in his statement that documentary making is messy--there is no clear journey with any true or right conclusion. A great documentary offers more than just a view point, but many ideas that reflect upon each other like mirrors and are as circular in nature as any human life. Blogging is a similarly messy process, but as Rabiger would put it, still a fascinating journey.
After all this, I still think that Miles would have to bring up more research related to the art of making documentary and less on the final product itself in order to solidify his theory that blogs and non-fiction film are so interrelated. At my school in the states I currently study documentary production and have to make documentaries every semester. From that point of view, having both made documentaries and blogs, I think there is truth in their relation--especially when Miles says, "While the 'objectivity' of this indexical record {documentary} is no longer assured, or even particularly relevant, the ability and desire to engage with the world and to then author identity experientially in such contexts appears as the benchmark for 'prosumer' technologies. It is also their potential." I think that both medium seek the same thing--to engage with the world in this way. - Erin O.
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