Play This One, Rewind it Even and Watch it Again

The ease with which one is now able to showcase one’s creativity on the internet now allows many people to show off their talents, something which would have been fairly impossible 20 years ago. The ease with which anyone browsing the internet may happen upon subpar musicians, filmmakers, and writers plying their craft with nobody telling them that their stuff sucks is in full view with just one click to You Tube. At the same time, it is easy to see that there are many talented and creative people out there sharing their talents with the public on the webbernet. The fact that it no longer takes a great deal of effort to get your stuff out there, as they say, is one of the subjects focused upon in the 2011 documentary, “PressPause Play.”

There is no doubt that the ways in which aspiring musicians, filmmakers, and writers may thrust their goods upon society are much less arduous than in the past. Amazon, for example, will allow you to self-publish a book. Of course, it’s up to you to write something good—----well, to write something people will want to buy and download to their mobile device. Amazon allows the forum for one to profit from said creative endeavors. Musicians can create as much as they want and upload their work online in hopes of being discovered, or sometimes, just simply so they can share their music with the public. “PressPausePlay,” directed by David Dworsky and Victor Kohler, does not present one side or the another in presenting the current state of artistry and the means in which artists showcase their talents. The film does present, through interviews, a sense of frustration from artists who did not have the benefit of the internet and mass distribution of their work. The musician, Moby, though not completely bitter, does voice a bit of frustration about how he had a more difficult time getting his music heard than musicians do now. The point that because of the ease with which people can distribute their music, films, or writing allows for much, much more inferior content to be seen resonated with me. Though I am happy to be able to have my own forum on this blog you are hopefully reading on a regular basis---you are reading it on a regular basis, right…and telling your friends about it…and liking it on Facebook……and clicking right up there above where you are reading where it says “More” and you see the little drop-down arrow. Yeah…that’s right. You can share this wonderful, time-killing blog with Facebook or Twitter. Go ahead and do that, if you do not mind. I will wait. ..........................I'm still here, thanks again........................... Ok, cool. Thanks. As a means of presenting how someone can gain a certain amount of fame from distributing their work online, “PressPausePlay” follows an aspiring Icelandic musician named Olafur Arnalds from his home in Iceland where he creates his music, to being invited to play at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. His story, which is chronicled in scenes throughout the film, was semi-interesting, however, his music did not move me one way or the other. His story, though a necessary part of the documentary, was not entirely interesting. Perhaps, this is the best the filmmakers could do as far as finding somebody who is an example of someone who found a bit of success from using the internet to market oneself. I am glad that the story of Arnalds was used in the film, despite my lack of interest in his music, as presenting an example of semi-success is crucial to the thesis of the film. What “PressPausePlay” does best is present several interesting points of discussion regarding the future of distribution of artistic content and what the future of said content will be, meaning, without boundaries to showing off one’s creativity, more and more mediocre stuff will be available for viewing, listening, and reading. As mentioned previously, this digital age in which we live also allows for those who are truly talented and, in the past, would not have had a place to show off their talent, access to a very large audience. In the end, “PressPausePlay” does not take anyone’s side, which is good. It documents what is going on in the digital world of creativity, presents some who have valid arguments, not so much against this openness, but who state that such openness breeds mediocrity at an exponential rate. I agree with this notion of a massive amount of mediocre crap is now available online. Have you heard of that goofy blog that guy has---Epistemology Tonight? What a weirdo. What the heck is epistemology anyway and why does it have such a dumb title? You can stream “PressPausePlay” on Netflix and spend a pleasant 80 minutes watching this well-made documentary which, if you have any bent towards a desire to express yourself artistically, will most likely interest you. The subject of the film is interesting so go to Netflix and click on play and pause whenever you want to for a refreshing Dr.Pepper or orange soda.