David Carr’s article on M Dot Strange and the Sundance Film Festival raises some interesting questions about this film at the confluence of many new forms of media. M Dot Strange’s enigmatic “We are the Strange” will appear in the real world, at Sundance, online at YouTube and in an totally artificial cyber world in a “theater” on Second Life. What does this mean for global media? More choice. Mainly new means of access for producers and consumers, and a lot more volume or media that can be accessed. We’re witnessing the figurative trade-in of nukes for small-arms, to follow the Orwellian metaphor from class; and that means more arms out there. So choose your weapon --Paramount or YouTube? This may give studios a run for their money, but the fact that M Dot Strange saw it necessary to come to Sundance shows that the mainstream still has a lot of power, and a lot to offer.

As we have seen with MySpace, YouTube and countless sub-sub-culture websites, the internet has provided a means for the previously anonymous to speak their voice or play their music video to a much larger audience. With this in mind, the internet can bridge the gap between media maker and media consumer while allowing a certain level of anonymity and distance promoting more honest critique. M Dot Strange discusses this with Carr in the video attached to the article. Now, media can become more of a collaborative enterprise, blurring the line between creator and audience. This collaboration, could help empower the marginalized to spread their plight or explain their lives. The sex-worker in Amsterdam or the slave laborer in India could have their lives broadcast via fiber optic cable around the would in seconds, perhaps ultimately producing material results. My fear, however, is that the ease of production and the increased media volume will result in dumbed-down culture-jam, or an overwhelmingly large and confusing amount of information that will send us running back into the arms of CNN.

I am a junior international relations concentrator focusing on global security and very much want to be in this class. I wanted to get in last year, without success and was very energized by the first lecture and class introduction. I have had an interest in media and in its relation with politics since I learned about how important it was ending Vietnam. In high school, I spent the better part of a semester researching and writing a paper about the portrayal of war in film before and after Vietnam. I also have video production and editing experience. I used Final Cut Pro to produce a 40 minute long set of shorts for my senior project in high school.