Intention Matters
By: Sam Gelfand
I’m going to give you a glimpse into the future. For a frame of reference, consider that in the present the following joke is funny: “I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.” That’s funny. In the future, that won’t be funny. In the future, this will be funny: “I haven’t slept for ten days, and the lack of sleep is making me very ill.” That will be hilarious, provided the person telling the joke looks ill, but not too ill. Just ill enough that you won’t be sure whether or not they are joking.
I bet you don’t get it. Of course you don’t get it, your mind is feeble and modern. Ironically, what you don’t get is that you don’t get it. If you got that you don’t get it, you would get it. Because that’s what it is. So here’s the real question: should the intention of the artist affect the way their art is received. Because in the future, intention is going out the window, kiddies.
Die Antwoord. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3f4xU_FfQ
Enter The Ninja. When I saw this video, I loved it. I remember thinking that I had no idea whether or not it was serious, but I still loved it. Consequently, I researched it, and I found out that the “ninja” in the video was a guy from South Africa who was a part of a trashy Afrikaans hip hop movement called zef side. He was a part of the movement, and he was simultaneously playing a character who was a parody of a member of the movement. In other words, it is both serious and a joke at the same time.
BrokeNCYDE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8F5YSA1Oz0
Freaxxx. When I saw this video, I was appalled by it. I remember thinking that it was the worst thing I had ever seen. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the video was a gag, just a parody of the “crunkcore” movement that is too absurd to actually exist. Researching it more, I realized that BrokeNCYDE is probably not a joke, as they have performed at Warped Tour. When I initially watched the video, I liked it because I thought it was fake and therefore funny. However, when I found out it was probably real, I was faced with a difficult question: did I still like it? This is the same as the question regarding the intention of the artist. How is it that I can like something and then upon further review (and further information) not like it? Well, with “Freaxxx,” it was pretty clear that I didn’t like it. That one was easy.
Die Antwoord was more difficult. I liked it, presuming that it was a self-aware project. But what if Ninja really did have all those tattoos and was as oblivious as he appeared to be? Would I still like him? I guess, because I like the music itself, the answer is yes. But I would appreciate it more if it were done in jest.
I was discussing this with my friends Mark Fox and Grant Goebel, and we were all very confused by it. Especially with the new video by Rebecca Black, “Friday.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0
The song chronicles a girl’s excitement about one particular day of the week, and is the most simplistic, vile piece of music to come out of my speakers in some time. But it is not a joke. It is the result of a business who takes on teenage girls, writing generic music for them and producing music videos using money from their rich parents, who believe their daughter should be the next Ke$ha. It is so bad it’s funny. I don’t like the music, but do I like the music video? What if this girl knows how bad it is and was trying to be bad? Does that negate its humor?
I’ve got to lay off of this stuff for a while. The future is confusing. Intention of the artist matters, I guess, but not all the time. I don’t know. I’m going to go sleep. For ten days.