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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Videoblogging is Vaudeville

Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: Youtube and the Vaudeville Aesthetic:
"Vaudeville was an actor-centered mode of production. There was no director who could build an ensemble piece. Actors chose their own material, refined their own skills, and lived and died entirely on the basis of their ability to connect one on one with the audience. It was a form which placed a high premium on virtuosity -- on the ability of the performer to impress the spectator with their mastery. Similarly, YouTube is a space of individualized expression. This video is about nothing if it isn't about the mastery and virtuosity of these young performers. We watch breathlessly to see what they will do next and if they can pull off a high risk performance."
Brilliant.

Henry Jenkin's Introduction to the Futures of Entertainment conference, at MIT, was the best presentation of the day.