talkmagic.co.uk

I rewatched this again recently. Still don't quite get the hype. I think anyone who's been online for more than five years or so will have encountered people pretending to be other people. Maybe Angela went above and beyond the usual, but the fact that she chose to adopt a fantasy on-line reality doesn't seem all that outlandish.

Also, I still don't believe the story is real. I can't put my finger on it, but it just feels hokey. Not the subject matter, but the... performances, for want of a better word.

So - Catfish... documentary or fake?

and do you have a Catfish story? I have one, but don't want to share mine just yet!

Not the most helpful reply, but I do remember watching the film and thinking that something was off. I honestly can't remember what I noticed that stank, but I *think* it might have been something to do with the directors' behaviour. Possibly there was a point when they were filming and I thought either, "How did they know to film then?" or "Why are they filming?"

Certainly they made some fairly strange decisions during that film.

There was a Radio 4 programme this week (or last?) about internet sock-puppets, mainly focussing on people who pretend to be ill or who pretend to have ill kids.

In the world of magic internet forums I know for a fact the identity of a few so-called sock-puppets. Even though they operate simply as marketing tools, they still make me pretty disappointed with the individuals behind them. How do I know? People talk and the internet is not quite as anonymous as some think...

T.

Ted wrote:... but I *think* it might have been something to do with the directors' behaviour. Possibly there was a point when they were filming and I thought either, "How did they know to film then?" or "Why are they filming?"

Yeah - the film focuses on the director's brother. Apparently when asked in a Q&A about the authenticity of the film the director responded by saying that that would make his brother the best actor and writer in the world. Nope. Frequently through the film his reactions just seem forced - could be because he's on camera, but if the cameras are always on (and they either were, or the director was extremely lucky) he would be acting normally.

Ted wrote:There was a Radio 4 programme this week (or last?) about internet sock-puppets, mainly focussing on people who pretend to be ill or who pretend to have ill kids."

I knew someone on a non-magic forum who used to do that. They'd post for a while, then vanish for a month or two, and then on their return would explain that they'd had to have emergency surgery, or their father died, or they'd miscarried. Then after a while they'd vanish again, and it would repeat over.

I think an episode of Ronson On looked into it too. I shall see if I can find a link.

I think everyone knows a story about internet sock-puppets. Not quite recognised by the DSM yet, though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_by_internet

Ronson is a great guy. I met him a few months ago, after he'd some internet (YouTube) documentaries about astro-turfing and so on. Here's a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OSDt2Km ... ature=plcp" target="_blank
Cheers,
T.

Madelon Hoedt wrote:I think everyone knows a story about internet sock-puppets.[/url]

But not all stories are equal! I want something juicy.

Here we go!

http://1048931951.test.prositehosting.c ... _wrong.mp3

Mr_Grue wrote:

Madelon Hoedt wrote:I think everyone knows a story about internet sock-puppets.[/url]

But not all stories are equal! I want something juicy.

*hands Mr Grue an orange*

Bo!

I have no doubt the story is real. I also have no doubt that the filmmakers took certain liberties to make the story more exciting. Things were certainly staged and/or embellished, as they are in almost any documentary. Simply, the filmmakers obviously can't have the camera out and ready 24/7 to capture every huge development and they often re-stage the events they miss, which may lend to less authenticity in points. But it's definitely real. It has no reason not to be.

I refute you thus:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103905/

Drama as a genre exists almost exclusively because of stories that could happen but haven't happened. Some even making use of the fake documentary device. It would be an odd thing indeed to say that such a film was real because "It has no reason not to be". "Ah," you might say, "but those films aren't passing themselves off as real." This is true, but would Catfish have enjoyed more or less popularity had it been presented as a fake documentary?

To make a fictional film about someone using multiple fake on-line personae as a cautionary tale, but to present that fictional film as a documentary definitely adds meaning and caution to it.