I'm watching Gameheadz, the documentary on the origin of computer games on The Learning Channel. And what I'm learning is that TV sucks.
The bulk of the Atari portion footage - the historical stuff, not the interviews - is lifted directly from a parody video which Atari employees made (including a handsome young Owen Rubin, who acts in the piece): "Outstanding in Our Field". Part recruitment silliness, part commercial, it was meant to be a funny, self-deprecating piece. It screened at California Extreme last year, and it was hilarious.
But - and maybe it's because I've just finished reading Neil Postman - it's infuriating how the scenes are used with no comment. You don't get that it's a parody. It makes me wonder what other sources they're mixing in there with no explanation or comment.
Neil Postman argues that that's the inherent problem with TV - it severs words from images, it requires disjointedness. I love TV, and I don't want to condemn it as all bad - I will yet find a way to defend it. But holy crap! This documentary is a great example of what Postman was warning us about back in 1985!
I couldn't find a copy of the parody video online. I'm afraid you'll have to content yourselves with these bad photos I took last year.
Title Screen
Yes! That's Owen! Check at that great 'stache!
This is the opening shot of a little scene which talks about how great the life at Atari is, how there's hot chicks everywhere. Images from this scene appeared in Gameheadz while they were talking about how Bushnell tried to make Atari a good place to work. By dressing up the receptionists as nymphs? Riiiight.
They throw a coin-op machine off a second story. (They use that bit in the documentary, too.) This is the result.
There's an inside joke in this shot but I can't remember what it is...
Oh well. At least it was nice to see Shigeru Miyamoto talking about Mario.
We recently wrote essays regarding Neil Postman. We were actually responding to newspaper reports of a lecture of his. I think the newspapers served him ill; he's much more awesome than I'd thought.
Posted by: Richard S | 04/17/2003 at 05:35 PM
This reminds me of some footage I saw on a space shuttle documentary, also presented without comment, of some rocket scientists (or more probably rocket engineers) in outrageous paper hats working in, like, disco clean-rooms. It didn't occur to me at the time that they might have been joking.
Posted by: John L | 04/18/2003 at 08:28 AM
i'll never look at a documentary the same way again!
Posted by: jane | 04/20/2003 at 09:39 AM
At least that's entertainingly bad. Have you tried watching G4 lately?
Posted by: misuba | 04/23/2003 at 02:03 PM
nothing
Posted by: gao chao | 05/05/2003 at 10:14 PM
The reason you cannot find a copy of the video online is because Owen doesn't have a release from everyone who was in it. Perhaps in the future it'll be released, but for now (sadly, I agree), it'll have to stay under wraps; occasionally showing it's head in places like G4 Gameheadz or California Extreme.
Brian Deuel
Webmaster
The World Of Owen Rubin
Posted by: Brian Deuel | 09/01/2003 at 01:16 PM