Inside of Bijan Stephen’s article In Praise of the Flâneur (The Paris Review, 2013) he analyzes another piece written by Evgeny Morozov The Death of the Cyberflâneur ( New York Times, 2012). Morozov argues that the new internet is killing the digital flâneur due to massive websites such as Facebook or Instagram essentially only showing you what you want to see. To Morozov this is a direct gutting of the flâneur philosophy of being a mindless observer. Additionally he cited how in the older days of the internet you were more free to explore whatever you wanted because the world wide web had not yet become poisoned by government or corporations.
“the whole point of the flâneur’s wanderings is that he does not know what he cares about. ”
( Morozov, 2012 )
In turn Stephen argues back saying that “new arenas, new arcades have replaced them, and they’re no less valid than the old” (Stephen, 2013)
I argue that the new forms of media available to us are not only just as good as the old forms but are better in many ways. In fact the new ‘arenas’ that we have access to make being an online flâneur arguably superior and allows anyone to stroll at any time in any place as long as you have internet access.
But what are these new online mediums?
Twitch is the ultimate way to anonymously people watch. Originally created to watch people play video games live(or stream your own game play) Twitch has evolved into something much more, with the recent addition of Just Chatting: a category that allows streamers to just talk with their viewers instead of playing games.
This means that streams are able to bring their viewers along with them where ever they are in the world
For instance, this person above is live streaming a maze at some kind of autumn festival with nearly seven thousand people watching! There was nothing even comparable to this 25 years ago on the internet.
Strolling through this website, it is easy to become an observer without a clear objective. The thought of ‘Why go for a stroll in my own city when there are already numerous people streaming it in different perspectives’ might even cross your mind.
VR chat is a way for anyone no matter their race, creed, or culture to connect with others globally.
Not only is VR chat completely anonymous, it allows you to choose from almost any character or ‘avatar’ imaginable. You can choose to interact with people or simply stroll along and listen to different peoples’ conversations from around the world.
While the main point of VR chat is to have a virtual reality headset to play, it is unnecessary.
Never has being a flâneur been so easy but so strange……..
A great example of VR chat working in a very wholesome and real way can be seen in this video where a teenage kid opens up to other VR chat users about being bullied. Furthermore they all chose the Kermit the Frog avatar.
While nothing will ever truly beat going for a stroll in a city in person, it is interesting to see the alternatives for people who may not be able to do so.
Work cited
MOROZOV, EVGENY. NY times, 4 Feb. 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-death-of-the-cyberflaneur.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
Stephen, Bijan. In Praise of the Flâneur, The Paris Review , 17 Oct. 2013, http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/10/17/in-praise-of-the-flaneur/.
FILM 3610G - CINEMATIC PUBLICS & PARTICIPATIONS: MOVEMENTS, MANIFESTOS, FILM FESTIVALS, COLLECTIVES 