Summary

Folded in

Crossing the borders of a WEB 2.0 reality

Borders exist to demarcate and control properties. They signal the limits of stability, sovereignty and security for a state. Their representation especially in the case of air and sea border is symbolic, with lines and numbers noted on a map, marking what history has imposed. While ultramodern war systems guard these limitations, their marking is still fluid and their crossing is relevant, allowing them to become occasions of concern, conflict and war. The delimitation of the borders however is not happening only on a map; borders are also installed inside our bodies and minds. In the era of web 2.0 people are supposed to be given the possibility to cross borders, to supersede them and see beyond. User-generated systems like the Youtube are based on the information and perspectives provided by the users. But what does this call for subjectivity brings upon? A tour in the Youtube will allow one to see that people reproduce the prejudices and superstitions imposed to them by the mainstream media and nationalistic beliefs. A video war is taking place by users opposing to one another through such material. The call for critical thinking seems to be the necessity of our times. Can we liberate ourselves from prejudices and beliefs? Personal Cinema questions the emergence of both representation and distribution systems which are responsive to a dialogue, networking and collaboration across physical, cultural and imaginative borders. Focusing to a framework of independent production and to the platforms that allow such practices, Personal Cinema will seek to reverse the situation given, and will aim to provoke discussions and give birth to a new network of thoughtful gamers and users. FOLDED IN is such an attempt. It is a detournement. What happens to videos when they are taking out this context? When they are assigned a new role, that of acting as key components in a gameplay? Users will be asked to cross borders, conquer and map territories evaluating the data they watch. Opposing sides and territories are fluid and subjective. Folded in is a manifestation for a progressive approach to a critical engagement within creative practice, a form of resistance questioning if technologies could allow us to minimise the superstitions of our times.