ME @THE ZOO_

Director: Chris Moukarbel, Valerie Veatch

Institute History

  • 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Description

ME @ THE ZOO tells the fascinating modern tale of Chris Crocker, a video blogger from a small town in Tennessee. Part of the first generation that came of age under constant self-surveillance, he was raised on the Internet, and his online videos—including his infamous YouTube declaration “Leave Britney Alone!”—have been viewed hundreds of millions of times. The film weaves a tapestry of Web comments and response videos with reactions from Crocker fans and haters to map the controversial rise of an Internet folk hero.

This unconventional documentary excavates a personal story that was written on the Internet and, in the process, uncovers an identity indistinguishable from technology. In this exploration of the way video sharing and social platforms shape the way we tell our stories and mediate our lives, filmmakers Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch utilize the aesthetic imbedded in the story to craft a scintillating portrait of a young man who may be a star, a fad, or a harbinger of what lies ahead.


(Archives note: see also Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch's Meet The Artist interview on our YouTube Channel.)

— Trevor Groth

Screening Details

Credits

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