Response to Schizovloggerphrenia

Comment by Ran on October 15, 2008 at 1:22am

I think the name caused all the trouble, it wasn't a video about mental illness it was a video about all the vlogging purists haunting after not so pure vloggers.
and the responses going after the mental side of it is not deserved.

Comment by Kristin Bell on October 15, 2008 at 1:22pm

Hey, you don't need to give me flack. *I* am not the one who was calling the video "controversial." I am merely repeating what was discussed in xelander's other video where he wondered if he had crossed the line with his representation (thus the use of the word "controversial"). And I was adding to that discussion with MY perspective. You don't have to agree with me, but I don't appreciate flippant responses for no reason. And anyway, if you CANNOT even slightly imagine how it DOES make fun of people with mental illness, well, I can't help you. I even stated in my video that I did appreciate the comedic aspects of it, but you have to admit that all kidding aside it does caricature people with mental illness...that IS the whole joke of it!

Comment by Selinauno on October 15, 2008 at 9:07pm

I thought it was the most entertaining video I've seen in a LONG time! It was hilarious! And if he had not titled it Schizovloggaphrenia, then I would not even have assiciated it with being Schizophrenic... I would have just classified it as he was a troubled soul trying to figure out what the heck a Vlog was after watching tons of videos that were put up at the time when everyone had a different definition of the word!

Comment by Xelander on October 22, 2008 at 11:20am

I didn't realize you had made a response to this or I would've commented before. Of course it's interesting to hear your point of view. You're right, who better to reply. Other people I know who would define themselves with a mental illness or condition haven't found it offensive, but just like you can't put all black people (or any group) in a monolithic thought, you can't say people with a certain condition all think alike. Some people get it and some dont'. Actually most of the people jumping on it were people who work in the field. I have a couple of friends who battle with cycling and think it's funny as hell. So you never know.

Comment by Xelander on October 22, 2008 at 11:31am

@Selinaua, right you are about the title. The ironic thing is originally I was going to call it P.O.V. (Prisoner Of Vlogging) because I didn't see it so much as a man with a mental illness but as a man being held captured and driven crazy by this nonesense, like a POW(Prisoner Of War) but at the time there was all this talk about John McCain and his freakin' war story over and over and I knew...just knew that people would freak out and start accusing me of making fun of our war heroes/POWs. So I thought "I won't call it that" and I thought the Schizovloggaphrenia title would be funny and not subject to the same over-reaction. I still think that's true. But I think that you're spot on that it's the title and it explains why Kristin didn't see any accurate protrayal of a Schizophrenic because I wasn't trying to do that actually . But it goes to show you that an artist can't decide to do or not do something in order to not offend someone, because you are going to anyway. The only option would be to not take any risks at all and make just make kind of safe, sit-com type stuff. If I hadn't put the title on the video itself, I would actually go in and change the title to POV(Prisoner Of Vlogging) and see if I don't a vicious response for that. I'll bet you I would.

Comment by Xelander on October 22, 2008 at 12:07pm

Hey, Kristin, of course when you put something out, who ever views it will see whatever they see and decide what the video (or book or movie etc) is about to them. And of course because it's my creation and know what the intention (the joke) was, I am biased, but I do think that even if I had seen it by someone else clearly, to me, the whole joke is not a caricature of people with mental illness but the "joke" is a criticism of the lunacy of trying to pin a definition on something (in this case vlogging) that can't be defined. Now, when you put a video out in cyber space, it's out there and will be seen any number of times well after it's shelf life, so to speak, but frankly, for me, I've gotten enough feed-back from this video, that it's done. I've had people who I know personally with various conditions, who take meds, etc. And have met people online who do also, and who have assured me that they get the joke. And have encouraged me not to take it down or change a thing. I have taken the good advice to post a a trigger content warning and that, at this point, is all I'm willing to do.

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