Me at the Zoo

it's been said that this doc is a tarnation rip off. what makes tarnation superior is that it's a completely different movie. it's a memoir, a family album that flipping through, you peal back the pictures stickered to the page and see the age and experience gathered underneath. me at the zoo, on the other hand, is about one of youtube's first celebrities, making chris crocker a center piece of the new invention of celebrity, how a younger generation has introduced a totally new definition of celebrity. using his footage helps us know that he's not just something born from Britney spears fame, but an individual who's form of expresion was influenced by the artist, although ultimately shaped by his environment; a ridiculously loving grandmother (one of the best documentary characters i've seen in a long time), a broken, but loving mother, and a town that tried to eat him alive. i thought it was pretty bad a**.

This is a film about what it means to live in an essentially culture; it is about the conditions which enable us to express our original narcissism, project it into the world, re-create it over and over again, in ourselves, and through other people. It is about how, at the extreme lengths of it, we can find some common ground. Told through a complex narrative of the development of you-tube as a social media platform, of Chris Crokker's personal relationship to that platform, and of Britney Spears identity within that platform - how it was built up, and taken down, by those voyeurs it sustains - Me @ The Zoo, portrays the grotesque extreme of our exhibition existences and, through its surreal quality, shows the beauty of being able to return to the common humanity at the core of each of us. A must see for anyone who watches reality TV.

I have been a fan of Chris Crocker since I was a sophomore in high school (Soph in college now). Out of everyone I follow on youtube he has by far been the most inspirational to me so I had to see this film.

I thought the film took a very interesting direction, it was very tamed; thats the best I could describe it. The film did not just talk about Chris Crocker but it was more focused around how the internet has changed the world, and the turmoil Britney Spears went through and how Chris Crocker related to her during those hard time.

I enjoyed the documentary and thought it was very well done. My only problem with it is I did not feel it went in depth enough about Chris Crocker. I would have loved to hear more about him, maybe hear some stories about his short time in LA after the Britney video. Maybe more about his childhood, specific times he was bullied, maybe his relationships. I watched the doc because I was interested in Chris Crocker not all this the history of youtube, which a lot of the film was about.

All in all it was very interesting, and even if someone isn't a fan of Chris Crocker but knows of him they can take something out of this film. I definitely recommend it