I know that some of you will probably have seen this already, but I thought you guys might be interested in this kind of interesting project being done by a guy named Wafaa Bilal. Basically, he's staying in a room for 30 days with a web controlled paintball gun. It's been going around the internet for the past couple days, and he's been posting videos about it on youtube.
website Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
How awful.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Horrifying.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
I read about this in the Chicago Tribune a week or so ago. I think it's very interesting. I'm always amazed by what artists can come up with to make a statement. And, frankly, I think this is quite a strong statement. I looked at the website, but I can't imagine actually trying to shoot him. I found it disheartening to read some of the chat a couple hours ago. Some people can be such jerks.
Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
I looked at the website too, and... dang, I don't know how people can be so mean to him. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to click the shoot button when it's aimed at him.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
There are some malicious people out there, so I've got a few friends together and we try to shoot the instant the gun is ready. It's usually not pointed at him at that point, and it buys him a few minutes of time.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: There are some malicious people out there, so I've got a few friends together and we try to shoot the instant the gun is ready. It's usually not pointed at him at that point, and it buys him a few minutes of time.
Hey I thought I was the only one doing this
I've logged about 5 shots that were clearly far away from him.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I don't see it as malicious to shoot the guy, he's literally asking for it. No more than it would be malicious to shoot someone at a paintball park.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I couldn't figure out why anyone would shoot at all, but that's pretty cool, Tom and BB.
Morbo, my opinion of you just dropped considerably. Have you watched any of the recent youtube footage? Day 16, for instance?
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
I watched about 2 minutes and only saw the wall get shot.
What is the difference between the artist and someone playing a paintball game? Obviously, he can't shoot back.
Also, would the art piece be a success if he was never shot during the month he was a target? It would be pretty dull.
I'm not trying to be insensitive here. I think it's an interesting idea. But he's like Andy Kaufmann, who wanted to provoke anger in his audience. Does that mean anybody who reacted angrily to Kaufmann was malicious, or just that Kaufmann succeeded in manipulating them?
I'm also reminded of a quote from Hitchcock, who said he wanted to manipulate emotion "like an organist at a keyboard".
edit:On second thought, maybe manipulative is too harsh. I think Kaufmann was, but the interactivity of this makes it different.
[ May 22, 2007, 12:31 AM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Did you listen to him talk about how this experience is making him feel?
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
No, I will tomorrow. And refrain from more comment till then.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Do you think the pseudo-anonymity of the internet and the distance has a lot to do with how this project is turning out?
I think it has as much to do with the fact that he put himself in there and decides to remain in there day after day. He's dehumanizing himself as much as the technology is. The guy's basically wearing a sign that says "Kick me," and won't take it off.
*This post is meant to merely explain the observed behavior, not to condone or promote it.
Also, I don't have the bandwidth tonight to watch any of the videos.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Heh. I wouldn't shoot the guy (not that I think it would be malicious to do so, necessarily) but I've got my eye on that can of soda!
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Only a sodist would think that.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
A sod farmer?
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Hmmm. Would a sodist be someone who enjoys inflicting soda-related suffering on others? Because if so, sometimes, yeah I'm a sodist.
Or would a sodist be someone who enjoys to an unhealthy extent the pleasures of soda? If so, I'm that too.
<--issues!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: The guy's basically wearing a sign that says "Kick me," and won't take it off.
True enough.
I wouldn't think much of someone who kicked a guy in that situation either.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Obviously it's going to make him feel bad that people are willing to shoot at him. But at the same time he urges people to log in at the site and shoot the gun. Even after watching some of the videos I'm having a hard time feeling genuinely sorry for the guy. I'm not going to shoot at him, and I don't want him to get hit, but I'm completely mystified at the whole setup. It's hard to figure out what he's going for.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by advice for robots: I'm completely mystified at the whole setup. It's hard to figure out what he's going for.
I agree with this.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
I certainly don't think he's saying anything new by proving the Internet is full of jerks. If he's trying to prove something by getting people to shoot at an Iraqi American (he mumbled something about that) then I think he's a bit of a jerk himself for this bit of mockery he's set up.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Wait, is this discussion about feeling sorry for him?
Because I sure don't.
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
quote:...the Internet is full of jerks.
The World is full of jerks. A lot of them have access to the internet. Avoiding the internet doesn't keep us safe from them. Unfortunately.
I am not posting this as a snarky comment, but just as rather disheartening personal observation. I, and most people, usually say "well, what do you expect, Such-and-Such Place is always full of jerks," but it's actually just that there are a lot of jerks, period. And we can't get away from them. A lot of us are complete failures at being anything close to a mensch. Us. *sigh*
We're doomed.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
I thought the whole idea was to give people a chance a shot at an Iraqi. The impression I got from the article I read in the paper was that he felt that people outside of Iraq didn't really understand what was going on there. Also I think he is making a statement about how many Americans view war as a video game. Splat, splat, splat. La di da. There is no real connection that the people being killed are actual people.
At least, that was what I gleaned from it all.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
That, plus some complicated motives around the fact that his family is living under daily threat of gunfire while he is safe.
I don't feel sorry for him, exactly, but I also don't think that "he's choosing to be there so he's asking for it and there's nothing wrong with shooting" is accurate either.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
I also don't feel sorry for him. But then again, I don't think he's asking anyone to feel sorry for him.
I think he's asking people to really think about something many people aren't willing to think about, which is the unpredictability of war, the civilian casualties, and what it's like to really live in constant fear.
There is a great disconnect between the war in Iraq and your average American citizen. The Iraqis don't have that disconnect because it's in their faces every day. We're pretty darn safe here in the USA. The Iraqis, unfortunately, are not.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
What if he were to place posters of Bin Laden, Bush, an illegal immigrant, a gas pump, etc. Would people shoot him as much?
I know it's not the point he is making.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
(In response to Luet) That's why what this guy's doing seems like a bit of mockery to me. Completely artificial, consequence-free victimization set up to mimic what many people have no choice but to endure with their actual lives on the line. Set up so that whenever some idiot takes a shot, it reflects on the entire world. It's manipulative and grossly misrepresentative.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
If the point of the exercise were to say, "Look at how many people want to shoot an Iraqi for fun" I agree that it would be grossly misrepresentative. But I don't think that's it.
I think, as much as anything, he's exploring his own feelings about the experience of being in front of the gun.
Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
quote:Originally posted by advice for robots: (In response to Luet) That's why what this guy's doing seems like a bit of mockery to me. Completely artificial, consequence-free victimization set up to mimic what many people have no choice but to endure with their actual lives on the line. Set up so that whenever some idiot takes a shot, it reflects on the entire world. It's manipulative and grossly misrepresentative.
I don't think it necessarily reflects on the entire world. I think it reflects on the idiots in the world.
Of course it's manipulative. It's art. Art manipulates emotion, and not always in a good way.
As to grossly misrepresentative, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that.
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
I don't think I'd shoot him. I'd be more than willing to shoot something near him though (like the said can of soda).
But, sad to say, my first thought was of what would happen if someone posted this at, say, the World of Warcraft forums? About that point is when I'd start feeling bad for him.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
He's an Iraqi-American, the gun's going off all day, it seems like everybody's shooting at him, and therefore it's everybody's desire to take a shot at him. In other words, every time someone takes a shot, it can be interpreted as everyone taking that shot. As if we all needed the catharsis of shooting an Iraqi.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I think, as much as anything, he's exploring his own feelings about the experience of being in front of the gun.
Which is one of the reasons why it's misrepresentative. This guy is choosing to be in front of a gun, every single day.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:But, sad to say, my first thought was of what would happen if someone posted this at, say, the World of Warcraft forums? About that point is when I'd start feeling bad for him.
God Forbid!
If it goes up there, Ill find out and believe me I can find you if I want to, have a nice day!
mph: The Iraqi's who are not fleeing the country are more or less choosing to a degree to risk their lives. They could be blown up or shot any day of the week as things are right now.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Whereas this guy actually set up a paintball gun and is asking people to shoot at him. And when he gets tired of it he goes down to his basement.
Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
I think this whole thing is less of a commentary on those who choose to shot him than it is on those who choose not to shoot him or those who shoot away from him.
This man is litterally asking to be shot. He's set himself up in a room (which he can leave at any time he wants) and given control of a gun over to the anonymous masses. If he didn't continually get shot, his artistic message would be bunk.
Why wouldn't you shoot him? Is it because you feel compelled to protect the poor Iraqi? Is it because you feel quilty about the war in Iraq and all the civilian casualties?
This man is in there of his own volition. He is asking to be shot. Repeatedly. Help him produce a jarring and controversial work of art! Shoot the damn guy!
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
*shrug* I wouldn't shoot him-and didn't, when I had my shot at it (no pun intended), because I didn't feel like it.
Coupled with my not really caring at all about his artwork, my not feeling like shooting him was dominant .
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
I still don't really know what exactly I think about this whole thing. I don't really agree with the "he's asking to be shot" people. I agree that it does matter that he went to great lengths to set this up and put himself in the line of fire, but I don't think that entirely justifies pushing the button and shooting him.
On the other hand, I've seen some people online suggest that it has something to do with people being hateful, or that it's some sort of "shoot the Iraqi guy". While I have no doubt that those people do exist, I suspect that the vast bulk of the shots have little to do with that. Really, I think that the best explanation is that the internet can really have a huge anonomyzing effect on people. Basically, if you put a button in front of people, it doesn't really matter what it does, a lot of people are going to go "ooo.... shiny button **PUSH**".
Either way, though, I think this is an interesting project. I can't wait to see what he has to say after the fact once he's had a chance to put a little emotional distance in between now and then.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:If he didn't continually get shot, his artistic message would be bunk.
*grin* I strongly suspect that this is ultimately the point he wants us to consider. And by "consider," I mean "think about." Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
How many of you have been hit with a paintball fired from an air-pistol? Not many, I'd guess. I very much doubt that many folks would know that being hit by a paintball is much more of a nuisance than being sprayed with a watergun, or shot with a rubberband across the room. Heck, even those of you who have played paintball don't know how fast this con"artist" has set his particular airpistol to shoot. It don' take a whole heckuvalot to make a paintball go splat.
In other words, don't assume that the shooters mean more harm than extremely minor mischief. Don't assume that anyone is doing more than trying to deliberately miss, and occasionally accidentally failing to miss.
And don't assume that the ham is doing anything other than pretending to feel pain. Even if that "victim" were feeling pain, it would be purely for his own attention-seeking and masochistic pleasures.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
From the chat log:
"Enjoy your soda stupid man?"
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
BTW: Google has announced that YouTube would begin paying the makers of the most popular original videos. So those of you who watch him are about the same as the folks who buy booze for winos.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
What in hell kind of sense does that make, aspectre?
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
Where is he? I can't even see him in his room.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
He was in there videotaping it an hour or so ago. Maybe he stepped out for a second to do some commentary or have it uploaded. Either that, or he is behind the camera.
Posted by Iain (Member # 9899) on :
quote:Originally posted by brojack17: What if he were to place posters of Bin Laden, Bush, an illegal immigrant, a gas pump, etc. Would people shoot him as much?
Aye
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
The project is now over (as of the 4th, actually). Here is the video for the last day. And here is the press release for the end of the project. There is going to be a panel discussion on the 16th, it will be interesting to see what they have to say there.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Have you watched any of the recent youtube footage? Day 16, for instance?