There is another thing I notice when I watch KNOY 2012 video, and that make me thinking a lot too. It is that the media we had right now, it helps us to spread the information quickly and more convenient. For filmmakers, musician who put their artwork on Internet, it does make us know about their works faster. However, I wonder if media also decrease the value of their or our works when that “Like and Unlike” button is there for people to press.
Just like when we are watching the video of KONY 2012, it is an amazing video, it may take years to collect all the footages, and they put in actual efforts into this. Those hundred thousands of people who sit in front of their computer, how can they just press that “unlike” button so easily. Just a simple unlike which reject all the hard work that the owner have done, and probably is not because of some professional reason, but some personal feeling towards the works. For example, when we saw KONY 2012 video, we think the music is over exaggerated, or we do not like the fact, director Jason Russell always pop out to the screen, but that should not be the reason we decided to put that work into the unlike list. Those convenient tool/ buttons may give people too much power, and when they put too much personal feeling inside, it seems to be a little unfair to the works.
These kind of features are appear everywhere on the Internet, that kind of “star” given to every films in IMDB website, and so do other websites, we have this rating system without any explanation. I do believe that review help other people when we try to figure out if some product is good, or a brief idea about how others sight to a product. However, when these button just become simply definition of good and bad, somehow I felt it lowered the value of a piece of work, since people can just like it or unlike it due to any possible reason without any explanation. Jason Russell probably spend years to make that video, I can totally imagine some people sitting in front of computer thinking how lame that is, press “unlike” when it plays only to 30 seconds, turn it off and switch to another video which probably made in 30 minutes, like “I know you were a goat” which aim to make fun of Taylor Swift, and press “like” button.
Obviously, Taylor Swift needs helps too, she needs us to tell her stop writing songs about her past lovers and complain. However, is those video try to make fun really better than some of the hard work we see online? Some people say I go online to find something to relax and laugh, not for that? Yes, okay, that is personal choice, no offense, but did that give you the power to reject someone’s hard work just by pressing that “unlike” button? I am sure the freedom of speech does not work that way.