[Frameworks] Avant-garde film, Facebook, and the nature of attention

[Jonathan Walley]

On the Framebook/Faceworks controversy:

I have two main problems with Facebook as a forum for the kind of  
discussion we have on this list (I have a LOT of problems with  
Facebook, most of which have already been given voice in this thread,  
but I'll limit my remarks to the specific problems I have with FB as a  
way to "update" Frameworks).

First, the environment of FB strikes me as anathema to FW - whatever  
benefits FB might have, and whatever pleasures it might offer, it is  
shot through with commercialism and, by its very construction, simply  
does not encourage the kinds of extended, considered exchanges that  
make this list great. If I were to organize a weekly meeting of  
experimental film "fans" in my hometown, I might suggest we have it at  
the local library, or a museum, or in an academic building, but I  
wouldn't suggest meeting at the mall. Having FW on FB would be like  
having those meetings in a mall, in my opinion.

Second, if you do a search for "experimental film" on FB, you will get  
at least 100 hits - maybe more, but I stopped counting: festivals,  
pages devoted to specific films (including LOTS that seem to be  
abusing the term "experimental"), student groups, individual fans,  
etc. Many of these pages have members in the single digits. I don't  
see how any one FB page on the subject could possibly stand out, and  
therefore attract the number of people necessary to sustain the  
ongoing, varied, multi-layered, energetic, and often intense  
discussions that take place on Frameworks all the time.

One more observation - and it's just an observation, not weighted with  
any value judgments. My impression is that a large number of people  
who have participated in this discussion thread do not typically post  
to Frameworks. I've been on this list a long time, and many of the  
names I've seen in this discussion are unfamiliar to me (obviously not  
including Fred Camper). It interests me that this topic has apparently  
"drawn out" folks who have been quiet before now - this is probably a  
sign of a worthy discussion, but it also might be a sign that more  
people would contribute more frequently if there were some changes  
made to Frameworks. As a confirmed Cine-Luddite, I love this list, and  
happy with the way it works, and will stay with it until the bitter  
end. But I do think we should be open to the idea of changes. Just not  
a migration to Facebook.

My two cents,
Jonathan

Jonathan Walley
Assistant Professor of Cinema
Denison University
walleyj at denison.edu