John David Ebert Movie Review on Videodrome

My new book "The New Media Invasion" can be ordered from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Invasion-Digital-Technologies/dp/0786465603/r...
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[pete2383]

good stuff, but just another form of peacocking inside the videodrome really.

[johndavidebert]

@pete2383 Yes, but I'm a writer and essayist first and primarily and a video commentator only as a secondary, recreational activity. And if I was just talking to hear myself talk inside the video arena, I probably wouldn't have anything very interesting to say, as most reviewers, in fact, don't, because they tend not to be very literate individuals.

[g00ch]

Brilliant review. I love how cronenberg encloses the idea of not being able to distinguish reality ) within the narrative film form itself as the last half of the film just spirals into total hallucination..he did it much better with this and Existenz then the wachowskis and matrix indeed!

How do you feel about the general mythology of "Cyberpunk" as a (albeit limited) mirror of our own contemporary mythology? Timothy Learys essay is particularly inspiring as to how to get out of the Matrix.

[johndavidebert]

The mythology of cyberpunk seems to me to be largely a retrieval of Gnostic myth, on the one hand, and the subversive attempt on the part of the alienated human individual, on the other, to sabotage the Machine by making use of objects of everday life in novels (in Michel de Certeau's sense).

There is a great of Gnostic myth, especially in Willian Gibson, haunting cyberpunk: the separation of the soul in cyberspace from the body that it leaves behind is Gnostic, for instance.

[MikePhilbin]

amazingly perceptive review of one of the best movies ever made - yeah it was TEN YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME. Real horror.

:)

[softsillymusic]

Great review, very well said.

[KajiCarson]

"It's invisible and we can't see it and we're not aware of it." You just said the same thing three times in a row. I notice quite a lot of repitition in your analyses, and, although your reviews are good, I think you could easily communicate your ideas with less verbiage.

[AveragejoeChess]

Very nice, was looking for someone to shed some light on some of the obscurity of the movie

[xXanimelover69Xx]

This is a great video, I understand a little more every time (not sarcasm)

[meatissodumb]

@johndavidebert don't even respond to the trolls

[aznkour3]

its incredibly interesting how you mentioned the aspects of what is essentially the role of the human become an agent of an actor within a contemporary technological society. ie. the analogy of the fish in the water. There was a series of talks in san diego regarding conditions of geopolitics and contemporary social engagements through this digital age. Youve mentioned an aspect of paranoia, what other forms of phenomenological infrastructure do you see governing this geo-system?

[underbightdog23]

your are a genuis

[Bassbait]

That thing about media being more important than the message is really the kind of thing that people need to hear. I mean, MPAA rates things entirely based on the media, not the message the media has, in this sense. The films are based on how much swearing or nudity or violence there is as opposed to what those things MEAN to the film. And that's just one example. People see 2001 just for the colors and weird stuff, but not for what it MEANS. That's one thing that's bothered me about society.

[AzaleaZoeliz]

I really enjoyed this and I liked what you had to say. Cronenberg is one of my many interests and attempts at digging deeper into his visual symbolic language catches my attention like you did. I've also read a little bit about Marshall McCluhan in sociology among other things so this video is very giving.

[Groomboy47]

very interesting insight.. well done.