Wired in

On the subject of HBO Voyeur, I was wondering what everyone’s favorite show was. Being unfamiliar with Voyeur, it took me a little getting used to, but eventually found the Artist at West 34th Street. I wasn’t too convinced beyond the general draw of crime drama until I noticed one thing: the canary in the Artist’s apartment; seeing that made me better understand Barthes’s idea of the punctum. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The detail of this project is incredible. At the same time, I think it’s interesting that aside from the details, until the viewer gets to the action, this is, in all honesty, pretty boring; but sitting it out is rewarded. The Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance style moment where the Artist kills the police officers took me by surprise. Here I am sitting at my computer, but I feel like I should be calling the police. The watcher is both incredibly active, choosing who to follow at what time, and irrevocably passive, incapable of the changing the actions which we voyeuristically witness and are entangled with. Even more shocking is the moment when the Artist picks up binoculars and looks at the viewer, echoing Rear Window. Watching this show, my first thought it: What have I gotten myself into? And why am I here? There’s a painting psycho-killer holding a gun and coming through the streets of New York to find me, and I’m trapped in my desk chair, wired into an LCD display. The sense of both expansiveness and claustrophobia in this convergent world is fascinating, but even for a blog-reading web 2.0er like me, this particular dramatization is a little freaky.