Post by shont2006 on Sept 6, 2006 2:26:57 GMT -5
For the sake of keeping things simple...I just reposted my intro from LG15's fansite:
Alright...so there I am, browsing Youtube, and I come across a video by Lonelygirl15. I watch it, and I am immediately impressed with the lighting, video compression (even Paris Hilton's crew can't get THAT right) and sharp editing done throughout the video. Not to mention the incredible music she finds. Then...there is the story...it's your basic soap opera...guy likes girl, she likes him as "a friend" etc., and all the videos seem to follow a story arc, which is different from ever other video blog on the site. And then there is the psychology of it. It just seems too good to be real. I start to question how much of these videos are being staged.
It wasn’t until after I started doing a little research on my own, that I realized that other people share my cynicism regarding these videos. And then there are the conspiracy theories. My oh my, they are even more interesting than the videos.
It’s always nice to be among people with a common interest! Perhaps I should introduce myself.
My name is Shon, and yes, I do have Hollywood relations, in the “true” sense of the word, but I am not connected to the industry myself. Instead…I am a Child Therapist, and it is the psychology of this phenomenon that especially draws me to these videos. I have always been interested in dissecting mass conspiracy theories, and why people get sucked into these things. I have even thought of writing a book on the subject. For the first time…I find myself being sucked down the rabbit hole along with everyone else, lol.
Without going into an extensive explanation of why I believe what I believe (for lack of time) let me just give you a quick run down on my theories regarding the “truth” of these videos.
I believe that Bree is working with a small group of close friends to produce these videos, and that she is, in fact, behind them. It is entirely possible that Bree is a teenage girl, but her profile is not the type of thing a teen would write, even a very gifted one. The way that Bree responds to criticism (or doesn’t respond) is also extremely out of character.
I believe that Bree has a general idea of the story she wants to tell, and people like Daniel help her tell it, but I don’t believe that it is an accurate reflection of her life.
These kinds of things are very difficult to analyze from afar for a number of reasons:
1. We get a very short snapshot of Bree’s life.
2. We only get it from her perspective.
3. People tend to “ham” things up for the camera…and that will often come across as unnatural, or “fake”.
I am sure that many of you have heard of the Johari Window Theory
[en.wikipedia.org]
Since we are only getting information from Bree’s skewed perspective…it is quite possible that she is telling the “truth” from her perspective. But were we to have additional information regarding her family or religion, we might decide that like many teens, she is being just a little over-dramatic. We might realized, for example, that her father isn’t as “strict” as she thinks, and many of the things she frets over as being a really big deal, really aren’t.
Due to the difficulty making a proper analysis, I leave the door open to the possibility that we may just have a “drama queen” on our hands, but I personally think that things go a bit farther than that.
I suppose that some people wonder what harm can come from Bree’s videos. I would point out that many people (both teens and adults) identify strongly with what Bree talks about in her videos. If they find out that she was “making it all up”, they will be emotionally devastated. People often get emotionally involved with fictional characters, especially on long running TV shows, but this is a little different. With TV, most people realize it is fake, and recognize that even as they grow attached to a character. Obviously, some become over attached and they become very upset if anything happens to that character. Well imagine how betrayed many of Bree’s “friends” are going to feel if they discover this stuff isn’t real?
I love the suspense and the chase, but for their sakes…I hope the truth comes out soon.
Alright...so there I am, browsing Youtube, and I come across a video by Lonelygirl15. I watch it, and I am immediately impressed with the lighting, video compression (even Paris Hilton's crew can't get THAT right) and sharp editing done throughout the video. Not to mention the incredible music she finds. Then...there is the story...it's your basic soap opera...guy likes girl, she likes him as "a friend" etc., and all the videos seem to follow a story arc, which is different from ever other video blog on the site. And then there is the psychology of it. It just seems too good to be real. I start to question how much of these videos are being staged.
It wasn’t until after I started doing a little research on my own, that I realized that other people share my cynicism regarding these videos. And then there are the conspiracy theories. My oh my, they are even more interesting than the videos.
It’s always nice to be among people with a common interest! Perhaps I should introduce myself.
My name is Shon, and yes, I do have Hollywood relations, in the “true” sense of the word, but I am not connected to the industry myself. Instead…I am a Child Therapist, and it is the psychology of this phenomenon that especially draws me to these videos. I have always been interested in dissecting mass conspiracy theories, and why people get sucked into these things. I have even thought of writing a book on the subject. For the first time…I find myself being sucked down the rabbit hole along with everyone else, lol.
Without going into an extensive explanation of why I believe what I believe (for lack of time) let me just give you a quick run down on my theories regarding the “truth” of these videos.
I believe that Bree is working with a small group of close friends to produce these videos, and that she is, in fact, behind them. It is entirely possible that Bree is a teenage girl, but her profile is not the type of thing a teen would write, even a very gifted one. The way that Bree responds to criticism (or doesn’t respond) is also extremely out of character.
I believe that Bree has a general idea of the story she wants to tell, and people like Daniel help her tell it, but I don’t believe that it is an accurate reflection of her life.
These kinds of things are very difficult to analyze from afar for a number of reasons:
1. We get a very short snapshot of Bree’s life.
2. We only get it from her perspective.
3. People tend to “ham” things up for the camera…and that will often come across as unnatural, or “fake”.
I am sure that many of you have heard of the Johari Window Theory
[en.wikipedia.org]
Since we are only getting information from Bree’s skewed perspective…it is quite possible that she is telling the “truth” from her perspective. But were we to have additional information regarding her family or religion, we might decide that like many teens, she is being just a little over-dramatic. We might realized, for example, that her father isn’t as “strict” as she thinks, and many of the things she frets over as being a really big deal, really aren’t.
Due to the difficulty making a proper analysis, I leave the door open to the possibility that we may just have a “drama queen” on our hands, but I personally think that things go a bit farther than that.
I suppose that some people wonder what harm can come from Bree’s videos. I would point out that many people (both teens and adults) identify strongly with what Bree talks about in her videos. If they find out that she was “making it all up”, they will be emotionally devastated. People often get emotionally involved with fictional characters, especially on long running TV shows, but this is a little different. With TV, most people realize it is fake, and recognize that even as they grow attached to a character. Obviously, some become over attached and they become very upset if anything happens to that character. Well imagine how betrayed many of Bree’s “friends” are going to feel if they discover this stuff isn’t real?
I love the suspense and the chase, but for their sakes…I hope the truth comes out soon.