Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/08/24

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Subject: [Leica] Riefenstahl ...apolitical alternate view
From: locke at straylight.ca (Greg Locke)
Date: Tue Aug 24 07:04:12 2004

...and how is the art of Riefenstahl different than this?

..from this months WIRED magazine.

-----------

The military has been using flight and tank simulators for decades ("War Is
Virtual Hell," Wired 1.01), but the installation at Fort Sill is the first
attempt to duplicate battle conditions for troops by combining wartime
science and theme-park showmanship. The Joint Fires and Effects Trainer
System, or JFETS, is the product of an unprecedented level of cooperation
among the Pentagon, film and gaming companies, and Silicon Valley - a
synergy that Stanford history professor Tim Lenoir calls the
military-entertainment complex.

----------

It may be a tech story but at its heart are artists. Film makers,
cinematographer, writer, photographer, SFX specialists, illutrators,
Computer graphics people...

Lets be honest, artists are basically self absorbed creatures who, to them,
their work is more important than the vagaries of silly politics. If someone
is going to give them money to make their art, they are there. 

...and I can't honestly say I wouldn't be there too, but it doesn't mean I
believe in the politics of my paymaster.
In fact, it may be more about how much the Paymaster values my work and
talent. My ego is stroked, I create my work and I make few bucks too.   Are
they not human desires?

Not everything is politics.

Like I said, different place, different time, same story.

Greg Locke
St. John's, Newfoundland
http://blog.greglocke.com



Replies: Reply from hellman at comcast.net (Jesse Hellman) ([Leica] Riefenstahl ...apolitical alternate view)
In reply to: Message from jbcollier at shaw.ca (John Collier) ([Leica] Riefenstahl ...apolitical alternate view)