I'm not convinced Harris was really all that much of a prophet. Sure, many of us live online, but the overwhelming majority of us do so in very different ways than he did. Seems to me the essence of his "experiments" (ha ha it's not an experiment until lab coats are involved) was the surrender of control of one's public face. In contrast, blogs and Facebook and Twitter and text messaging etc. all seem like attempts--potentially doomed ones, admittedly--at the micromanagement of one's public face. That's a huuuuge difference.
I went to those parties on Broadway and I have to say they were truly exciting and fun. Little did I know how much money they were losing/spending but at least they had a blast doing it!
I know many of the people involved, and, yes, it was staged, though I thought quite adeptly, in a way that added most fittingly to the tension already present in a room I think was fairly enthralled by a masterfully composed portrait of a disturbed man who, in seeking a new world order configured by the collision between the timeless desire for attention and love and the recent seismic interconnective shift occasioned by the epochal arrival of the Internet, only reveals the inevitable result of his own emotional detachment. just like anyone else, his often sadistic narcissism is merely a fiercely protective sheath, an understandable, though not inexcusable buffer for the searing slights he suffered at the hands, largely of his mother. with that in mind, the ensuing incident can be seen as a somewhat jarringly cynical extension of an enterprise/cult that thrived on manipulation, control, jiggering the reality of its willing participants for the intellectual, spiritual, erotic satisfaction of its overlords, especially Harris. in other words, a savvy publicity stunt. this is not to take away from the admittedly unsympathetic Harris' considerably visionary qualities, nor the great Ondi Timoner's virtuosity and grace in creating another (the first being Dig) compellingly, poignantly humanistic portrait of a maverick whose capability for intimacy appears to be in inverse proportion, exponentially so, to his pioneering impact and expansive farsightedness. in fact, compared to debut film subject Newcombe, that musician's beguiling aspects and Harris' insistent delusions in regard to his own artistry (Newcombe being less of a visionary but more of an artist, in my opinion) notwithstanding, Harris, though emotionally stunted, and thus lacking significant self awareness and insight, is indeed toweringly influential. kudos, Ondi! hi, "interloper"! hi Gawkerites! good to be back! and hey, Josh, feel better! go easy on yourself, fella! we love you, Luvvy!
@RonMwangaguhunga: Yes! Gave some of my performance art friends some cash back in the day. But the whole scene was the epitome of self-indulgent dot com boom posturing.
@RonMwangaguhunga: OH MAN. I had no idea those were the same thing! I used to know a bunch of rich white communist kids who were part of a political activist group they called "The Organization" who used to meet in the back of there. We would go and get stoned and argue with them so we could get into the parties for free. God those were stupid times.
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