Snakes on Public Life
I found myself at an 11:40pm showing of Snakes on Plane last Friday, after months of anticipation and hype. I enjoyed the movie a great deal, and literally felt as though I was on a thrill ride for much of it. But I don't really want to talk about the merits of the movie, but what, if anything the buzz surrounding the movie tells us about the state of public life.
For those unfamiliar with the cultural phenomenon that is (was?) Snakes on a Plane, a brief primer. About a year ago, word got out that Samuel L. Jackson was starring in the aforementioned film, which sparked a flurry of activity online, spearheaded by Snakes on a Blog. People joined in on the frenzy for a variety of reasons, some were devotees of Mr. Jackson's body of work (and ability to drop a mean f-bomb), others reveled in the directness of the title. still others latched on with the morbid fascination that draws people to train wrecks.
Through online communities, people created their Snakes on a Plane posters, some even created trailers for the movie using snake footage and sound-alike actors. Often, movies need to kick start this kind of "viral" marketing (think of The Blair Witch Project blanketing college campuses with teaser ads before the movie came out), but New Line Pictures didn't have anything to do with the explosion of publicity. It was the closest thing to a grassroots effort we have seen in quite some time.
The online community created their own culture around the movie - even developing their own mythology, with movie hero Jackson stepping in to save the day in real life. The story goes that Samuel L. Jackson accepted the role after just reading the title of the movie, and, when New Line considered changing the name to Pacific Air Flight 121, Jackson led the revolt that preserved "Snakes on a Plane" for the public. Regardless of how true these accounts actually are, they have become reality as Jackson has repeated them as he's done the press junket for the film.
What cannot be denied is the impact that the online community had on the film itself. We can debate whether or not the netroots defeated Joe Lieberman in the CT primary, but there is no doubt that they had an impact on Snakes on Plane. Some members of the cast were brought back for a 5 day reshoot to increase the violence, sex, and profanity in the movie to attain an R rather than PG-13 rating. Included in the reshooting was the now infamous line expressing Mr. Jackson's frustration with the situation on the plane, a line that originally appeared in a fanmade movie trailer using a sound-alike voice actor. Of course, in interviews Jackson has claimed credit for inciting the online community to demand a more "hardcore" Snakes on a Plane.
Too often in public life, we see people attempting to "grow" the grassroots rather than cultivating roots that have already taken hold. Authentic grassroots activism, as we've seen in this case, can get results, but in order to accomplish its goal three keys must be in place. First, the activism must be authentically grassroots, and springing from a wide variety of sources with a common cause, not from top-down organizing. Secondly, the organization being influenced must recognize and respect the power that is held by the grassroots group (In this case, New Line recognized that these activists were their target audience). And finally, the organization being influenced must have both the ability and the desire to adopt the changes or cause being advocated by the group.
While New Lines' desire to keep it's fan base happy and cash in on free advertising is apparent in this model, it's easy to see how this model can break down when you move outside the commercial arena. In politics, for instance, there is a breakdown in the first and second keys - "grassroots" campaigns are often contrived and inauthentic, or made of too narrow a base of support, and because of that public officials do not respect their power. To some extent there is also a breakdown in the third key, as people increasingly become frustrated that their elected officials aren't actually able to make any sort of substantive change.
But the question still remains, what can inspire such an outpouring of support in public life? I believe a piece of the puzzle does lie in the Snakes on a Plane phenomenon. What you have with Snakes on a Plane is a direct, honest, clear message. What you see is what you get. There is no pseudo-mystery of "Pacific Air Flight 121" it just comes out and says what it offers. That's what people responded to. People are so used to being manipulated, sneered at, and pandered to, that there is a real desire for honesty throughout public life. If something as trivial as Snakes on a Plane can tap into this void, just imagine what a national public figure who tried it could achieve.
For those unfamiliar with the cultural phenomenon that is (was?) Snakes on a Plane, a brief primer. About a year ago, word got out that Samuel L. Jackson was starring in the aforementioned film, which sparked a flurry of activity online, spearheaded by Snakes on a Blog. People joined in on the frenzy for a variety of reasons, some were devotees of Mr. Jackson's body of work (and ability to drop a mean f-bomb), others reveled in the directness of the title. still others latched on with the morbid fascination that draws people to train wrecks.
Through online communities, people created their Snakes on a Plane posters, some even created trailers for the movie using snake footage and sound-alike actors. Often, movies need to kick start this kind of "viral" marketing (think of The Blair Witch Project blanketing college campuses with teaser ads before the movie came out), but New Line Pictures didn't have anything to do with the explosion of publicity. It was the closest thing to a grassroots effort we have seen in quite some time.
The online community created their own culture around the movie - even developing their own mythology, with movie hero Jackson stepping in to save the day in real life. The story goes that Samuel L. Jackson accepted the role after just reading the title of the movie, and, when New Line considered changing the name to Pacific Air Flight 121, Jackson led the revolt that preserved "Snakes on a Plane" for the public. Regardless of how true these accounts actually are, they have become reality as Jackson has repeated them as he's done the press junket for the film.
What cannot be denied is the impact that the online community had on the film itself. We can debate whether or not the netroots defeated Joe Lieberman in the CT primary, but there is no doubt that they had an impact on Snakes on Plane. Some members of the cast were brought back for a 5 day reshoot to increase the violence, sex, and profanity in the movie to attain an R rather than PG-13 rating. Included in the reshooting was the now infamous line expressing Mr. Jackson's frustration with the situation on the plane, a line that originally appeared in a fanmade movie trailer using a sound-alike voice actor. Of course, in interviews Jackson has claimed credit for inciting the online community to demand a more "hardcore" Snakes on a Plane.
Too often in public life, we see people attempting to "grow" the grassroots rather than cultivating roots that have already taken hold. Authentic grassroots activism, as we've seen in this case, can get results, but in order to accomplish its goal three keys must be in place. First, the activism must be authentically grassroots, and springing from a wide variety of sources with a common cause, not from top-down organizing. Secondly, the organization being influenced must recognize and respect the power that is held by the grassroots group (In this case, New Line recognized that these activists were their target audience). And finally, the organization being influenced must have both the ability and the desire to adopt the changes or cause being advocated by the group.
While New Lines' desire to keep it's fan base happy and cash in on free advertising is apparent in this model, it's easy to see how this model can break down when you move outside the commercial arena. In politics, for instance, there is a breakdown in the first and second keys - "grassroots" campaigns are often contrived and inauthentic, or made of too narrow a base of support, and because of that public officials do not respect their power. To some extent there is also a breakdown in the third key, as people increasingly become frustrated that their elected officials aren't actually able to make any sort of substantive change.
But the question still remains, what can inspire such an outpouring of support in public life? I believe a piece of the puzzle does lie in the Snakes on a Plane phenomenon. What you have with Snakes on a Plane is a direct, honest, clear message. What you see is what you get. There is no pseudo-mystery of "Pacific Air Flight 121" it just comes out and says what it offers. That's what people responded to. People are so used to being manipulated, sneered at, and pandered to, that there is a real desire for honesty throughout public life. If something as trivial as Snakes on a Plane can tap into this void, just imagine what a national public figure who tried it could achieve.
posted by Patrick at 10:57 AM
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