Group 3 =16-Oct

We Live in Public is a biopic of now relatively unknown ‘.com boy’ Josh Harris. The first part of the film charts Harris’s rise from a lowly researcher in New York to a millionaire internet mogul. After arriving in New York in 1980 with only $900 in his pocket, Harris attended a lecture by Frank Webster exploring the possibility of a ' communications network'. Harris quickly became obsessed by this idea and convinced that it would be a cashcow worthy of investment. He established Jupiter Communications in 1984, a marketing company dealing in data projection for prospective internet markets. With the advent of the Worldwide Web in 1991, Jupiter Communications went public, earning Harris 80 million dollars. At this point, there were only 100,000 websites up and running. Harris sold Jupiter and moved on quickly to his next project, Pseudo.com, an internet television network which incorporated televisual transmission and live chat. The quality of the live streaming was, at first, very bad, but this did not faze Harris's conviction in his idea. He saw television as a limited structure which would soon be subsumed by the internet as the dominant form of popular media. Harris became a prominent figure in New York, inviting celebrities from all fields of creative endeavor, to his frequent parties and using these to talent scout for Pseudo.com. The network of artists involved in Pseudo was, for many, reminiscent of Warhol's Factory although this comparison irked Harris himself. Harris, though somewhat vindicated by history, seems at this point to be getting slightly carried away with himself, telling a CBS interviewer that he was going to 'take them down' and that he was in the business of 'programming peoples' lives'. Harris was the youngest of 6 siblings. Born to a father who was largely absent and a mother whose demanding job distanced her from her children, Harris was, in his own words, raised by television (notably 'Gilligan's Island'). His siblings remember him as something of an oddball. This backstory starts to weigh heavily over developments in the present day when Harris takes on a clown alter ego called Luvvy, supposedly channeling both his mother and a female character from Gilligan's Island. His erratic behaviour begins to impinge on Pseudo.com, bothering his staff by showing up in character to fundraisers and other events. Harris eventually leaves Pseudo behind, taking with him his share in the company. Claiming that he was through with his experiment at Pseudo, Harris immediately began plans on a new Cultural Experiment, a project which he called 'Quiet, We Live in Public'. Harris designed a Utopian living space, complete with 'pod' beds, chapel, bars, restaraunts and shooting gallery, in the basement of a New York hotel. People clamoured to be admitted even though doing so meant the relinquishing of many personal freedoms and rights to Harris. The project utilised totalitarian methods of surveillance reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 in conjunction with brutal interrogation techniques in order to control the behavious of its 'citezens'. Harris explicitly states that though everything was free within the complex, he owned the footage. Still, the experiment proved hugely popular with the public, attracting artists like Dara Birnbaum and Michael Portnoy, celebrities like Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols and prominent cultural figures like Alana Heiss. At this point the film charts a marked change in attitude amongst the participants in the Project. This leads to what is represented as a more frenetic, violent atmosphere, which seems to be building towards some sort of cataclysm. Alana Heiss says 'we were waiting for someone to flip out' (or something). Another commentator states that 'the freedom was turning everyone into beasts'. On the morning of the 1st of January, 2000, the police finally entered the complex and issued a vacation notice.

"One day we're going to wake up and find that we're servants' - initial quote by JH at the beginning, after he's given his video send off to his mum. Considered his video 'Haute Couture' "Good luck, I'll see you on the other side." 1980 - came to NY with only $900 in his pocket. Starting work as a researcher, he soon went onto establish Jupiter Communications. Surveys were created: 45 degree rises in the data to show that the internet was needed. 450 copies (?) $8 million when Jupiter Communications became public. 1991 when www. was created. 100,000 websites were now online Josh established pseudo.com 'sex would sell' Launched new company Pesudo in 1994. It was an internet television network that incororporated TV transmission and live internet chat. Streaming quality was very poor, lot's of buffering but he was driven in his ambition. x1 frame per second but had huge backing from investors. People were excited despite the quality. It was new and engaging. 300 employees. Nerds had supermodels sitting on their laps for the first time whilst they played "Doom." Then developed mulitple channels, like a cable network. Josh recruited guests at his parties as presenters. "Created environments for other people to do creative things"

"would become a replacement for TV and radion": Fred Wilson "My audience can be counted because my audience are computers." "We're in the business of programming lives...My business is to take you out." 1999 Josh couldn't be creative himself, so he created an environment for people to be creative within. They could write whatever they wanted, fil and video whatever they wanted. Although not a trained artist, he was the closest thing to andy Warhol's factory. Told CBS he was "gonna take them down", when interviewed on 60 Minutes. Said he was "in the business of programming people's lives".

Had six siblings: three sisters and three brothers, oldest brother is nine years his senior. An allusion was made to a shoulder problem, his brother talked of it dislocating. Influenced by Gillingham's Island when growing up. His mother worked in a jail for 'super-delinquent children' and his father was largely absent. Josh was asked to 'fend for yourself'. He went off to buy McDonalds to feed all the kids. Possibly Sickly - with glasses at a young age - brothers considered him 'The Nutty Professor'. He was raised by the TV: absorbing Electronic calories. Loved Gilligan's Island, felt he was more like Sherwood Shorts than either of his parents."Imagine what cavemen would think about looking at moving fire called the television set and getting zombied out."

'Lauder my head' - animation created in 1992 in which he worked on it for 2 years. Lyrics "Conform with me" and "come form with me". Believed in group generated conciousness.

Creates character called 'Luvvy", a clown persona, influenced by the character of Ursula in 'Gilligan's Island. Harris also says he based the character on his own mother. Friends and family were put off by this but Pseudo investors were horrified. He would meet potential investors dressed up as the clown.

Luvvy would perform Josh' desire, he really wants to reach out and connect with poeple. Around this time he started to use less full sentences and became less coherent. Gradually Luvvy's visibility increased.

He left Pseudo with a substantial pay-off/ his share of the business.

He described the work he'd done in the industry over the past years as an art project. (Post-rationalising)

Went on to establish a new experiement. "Quiet" We live in public: he provided everything needed to live for free for 100 people for a one month period. Built a structure underground. People slept in 'pod' beds, bunk-bed structures. It had a weapon room in basement, for enjoyment. "Spent money like a drunken sailor." 2 million on the initial set-up. What the (world?) will look like the the internet takes over. Underground society in the basement of the '...' hotel. Artists were invited to come and create sections of the society, including the likes of Dara Birnbaum and Michael Portnoy. Conditions were to create a 'Stasi intelligence' where people would be filmed eating, shitting, sleeping etc. People had seen multi-cameras in sci-fi films for years, but people had rarely seen this in real life. He created the modern 'Big Brother'. 'You can leave your money at home. Don't bring anything with you,it's free. But the video, your image, we own." Courtney Taylor from the Dandy Warhols was one of the guests. Each entrant was psychologically interrogated, then issued a uniform and told they weren't allowed to leave the uilding. "We're gonna film everything" "We own the video" There was a high demand from the public for a place in the complex. dec 3rd, 1999 registration opened. Formal process to "get a room": social security number required, personality testing.. Podwellians. Alana Heis, director of MOMA wanted a pod. She describes Harris as 'Oz'. "We're more fascinating to watch than TV". Quote from 'Podwellian' Josh was like a "super permissive parent". Electronic beehive. Some thoguht of it as a data-mining experiment. "Eating, shitting, having sex in public and people were eating it up."

The participants could watch each other on screens inside the complex.

"The eyeballs that proceed the moment give them power" - comment during the interrogation room, that the command wouldn't be accepted (for him to get naked) if the camera's weren't on him.

His workers' roles were defined with the title 'artist' proceeding them, eg. 'interrogation artist'. "Freedom is turning everyone into beasts." dun dun dun - jump to Y2K - it's new year's eve, 31st of December 1999. Flash sequencing of various debaucherous and violent scenes with Sigor Ros music overlaid.

lot's of scenes of abusive interogations The energy was turning. "Freedom (monetary) was turning people into beasts" They started to attack each other, while others watched.

"Hey, you in that bunker, you can come out now" - newspaper headline. Police break im, believing it is a Domesday cult. Josh' fascinating subjects became human parasites. January 1st 2000. "Touching upon something that's very much about America" - the idea of heaven's gate, freedom. He was millions over budget.