Here is the place to offer your thoughts, impressions, opinions and questions. Feel free to address each other's statements; it's not necessary for me to arbitrate the discussion.
I did have a wee epiphany today about the "catfish" symbolism today, namely that the "catfish" (i.e. the entity or person that keeps us agile, keeps us guessing) is not necessarily Angela (who keeps Nev on his toes), but Nev (who galvanizes Angela into trying to change her life)...It was exciting to be able to see this on a different level than I had previously; before I just saw Angela as the catfish.
We spoke briefly about whether the film is authentic or "real." What do you think?
What about the implications for the widespread use of social media? Should we be cautious about people misrepresenting themselves?
And what about the Ms. article from 1985, "The Strange Case of the Electronic Lover"--does the persona of "Joan Sue Greene" created by the psychologist have anything in common with the "Megan Faccio" persona created by Angela?
I think the movie was so interesting because it addresses to issues that happen to many people in real life as Nev got numerous feedbacks from people having the same situations. Even if the movie was "real" or not, I believe it reached its goal of raising awareness about the limits of social media, which I think now is unlimited.
ReplyDeleteIt is astonishing to see how anybody can create a new world through social media, actually believe that scenario himself/herself at first and be another character for a long time if not forever. I think we see this both in the situation of Joan (Alex) and Angela. I do believe that we should experience these people in our lives and they are the ones that make us really stronger. As Nietzsche states "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger". So, the only thing we should do, which is not that easy, is to be skeptical about people we met on internet and survive at the end. That's why I think catfish title is a perfect match for the movie that we watched and it is right to the point.
Lastly, what Alex did is really significant as he tests reactions to various typings like females, disabled people etc. and we learn a lot about today's perspectives. Thus, I think both the article and the movie were so inspiring.
From Amanda Lobue:
ReplyDeleteOver the summer, I watched a Lifetime movie similar to the issue in “Catfish.” It’s called “TalHotBlond,” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2180168/) and is about an internet romance love-triangle. It’s based on the real story of a 46 year old man, Thomas Montgomery, who begins an online romance with an “eighteen year old…tall hot blonde.”
“Jessi,” the young girl, eventually finds out his true identity when Montgomery’s wife sends her a letter including a picture of their family, after discovering a series of letters, e-mails and a pair of lingerie. Jessi ends the romance, and ends up corresponding with one of Montgomery’s younger co-workers. They begin an online romance, and Montgomery goes crazy. He ends up shooting and killing the 22 year old boy. But, as it turned out, “Jessi” was not who she claimed to be either, and an innocent life was lost over cyber“love” gone too far.
This is a link to the story:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/online-love-triangle-deception-end-murder/story?id=14371076
And to some letters that were exchanged: http://abcnews.go.com/images/2020/love_letter_100319.pdf
NY Times Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/nyregion/07triangle.html?_r=0
Though I do think that overall Catfish was a truthful film, there were parts of it that caused me to question its authenticity. It seems hard to believe that Nev could have been so naive. For one thing, towards the beginning of the documentary, "Megan" sends Nev a song that she wrote. Nev quickly discovers that it is a song that already exists, and that "Megan" didn't write or sing this song at all. Even though he should have questioned Megan's existence from the beginning, particularly after discovering that, he doesn't.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the fact that Megan claims to be a veterinarian, a musician, an artist... How could one person be so many things all at once? It seems strange to me that Nev didn't pick up on how farfetched all of it was. However, "The Strange Case of the Electronic Lover" documents similar circumstances. People believed in and loved Joan. They trusted her, confided in her, and considered her to be their friend. Ultimately, people will believe in what they WANT to believe in. Nev wanted to believe that he had met the girl of his dreams.
“The Strange Case of the Electronic Lover” documents similar circumstances. People fell in love with Joan’s character—a smart, witty, clever woman who used the Internet as her medium to interact with people. It would seem that the people who spoke to and loved Joan were a bit naïve themselves. They didn’t realize how farfetched certain aspects of Joan’s character were, and they chose to buy into it—probably because they wanted to. These people wanted to believe that the relationship they had built with Joan was real.
Unfortunately, the Internet and social media make it so easy to deceive people. Often, it seems, people create fake identities online to make up for their own inadequacies. They portray themselves as the person they want to be, the person they wish they were. However, the problem with this is that people’s emotions get involved, and for some, a lot of time and energy gets invested into these online relationships.
Whether or not Nev’s documentary was entirely authentic, the message is clear: people build relationships online because they are hopeful. Nev was hopeful when he met “Megan”—he truly felt that he had met the girl of his dreams. Perhaps it was this hope that kept him going, despite the fact that maybe deep down he knew how outrageous Megan’s character was. The people who befriended “Joan” felt the same way. Although there may have been doubts, they ignored them because they wanted to believe that the friendship they had built was real.
Just as the Internet can be a wonderful place of discovering and learning, it can also be a source of hurt for some.