Techno Viking

The four-minute video shot by experimental video artist Matthias Fritsch at the Fuckparade on 8 July 2000Matthias Fritsch, [http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/technoviking-archive.html The Technoviking Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113745/http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/technoviking-archive.html |date=2015-09-24 }}, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. begins with the title "Kneecam No. 1". The camera is focused on a group of people dancing to techno music,The two tracks appear to be "Navigator" by Can-D-Music, and "Save Changes And Exit" by Winstan vs. Noia; Fritsch, The Technoviking Archive. with a blue-haired woman in front. A man stumbles into the scene and grabs the woman. The eponymous "Techno Viking", a muscular bare-chested man so-named because he is wearing a Mjölnir pendant and has a blond braid and a beard, enters the scene by grabbing the man by the arms, with the camera showing the confrontation. The Techno Viking pushes the man back in the direction he came, looking at him sternly and then pointing his finger at him to warn him to behave.{{efn|In the full video the offender is seen later, sitting on the back of a truck as the camera is turned to the side for a few seconds.}}

The camera then follows the Techno Viking as the parade continues. Another observer comes from the back of the scene and offers an inverted bottle of water to him. The Techno Viking starts to dance down Rosenthaler Straße ({{Coord|52|31|33.8|N|13|24|13.2|E|region:DE-BE_type:event|display=inline|name=filming location}}) after drinking from the bottle.

Fritsch uploaded the video to the internet in 2001.Astrid Herbold, [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/20-millionen-klicks-fuer-den-techno-wikinger/1889090.html "Youtube: 20 Millionen Klicks für den 'Techno-Wikinger'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726065744/http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/20-millionen-klicks-fuer-den-techno-wikinger/1889090.html |date=2010-07-26 }}, Tagesspiegel 23 July 2010 {{in lang|de}} This includes an embedded version of the video. Fritsch intended to raise questions of whether the action was real or staged. In 2006 an unknown user re-published it to YouTube, and it went viral in 2007. According to Fritsch, its popularity began on a Central American pornography site.Kevin Morris, [http://www.dailydot.com/news/technoviking-german-lawsuit-matthias-fritsch/ German court to decide the future of Technoviking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305230724/http://www.dailydot.com/news/technoviking-german-lawsuit-matthias-fritsch/ |date=2013-03-05 }}, The Daily Dot, 17 January 2013.

After being posted on Break.com, it peaked on 28 September at more than 1{{nbsp}}million views per day and was watched by over 10{{nbsp}}million people over 6 months. More than 700 responses and edited versions were posted.[http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/technoviking-archive.html KNEECAM No.1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113745/http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/technoviking-archive.html |date=2015-09-24 }} at The Technoviking ArchiveCarmela Thiele, [http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/2009-05-05-corso-carmela-thiele-dlf_1521_ea0d3096.mp3 "Das Musik-Video Technoviking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422121315/http://www.technoviking.tv/subrealic.net/works/installation/technoviking-archiv/2009-05-05-corso-carmela-thiele-dlf_1521_ea0d3096.mp3 |date=2016-04-22 }}, Corso, DLF Cologne, 5 May 2009, interviewing Matthias Fritsch (mp3) {{in lang|de}}[http://wn.com/We,TechnoViking We,TechnoViking] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114032523/http://wn.com/We,TechnoViking |date=2012-11-14 }} at WorldNews.com. It was the #1 clip on Rude Tube{{'s}} series-three episode Drink and Drugs.Clip 16, position #1; E4 transmission 17 December 2008. Mathew Cullen and Weezer wanted to include Techno Viking in their compilation of Internet memes for the "Pork and Beans" music video but were unable to.[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/weezers-pork-beans-director-on-the-bands-viral-hit-plus-exclusive-behind-the-scenes-video-20080616 "Weezer's 'Pork & Beans' Director on the Band's Viral Hit, Plus Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Video"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806223526/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/weezers-pork-beans-director-on-the-bands-viral-hit-plus-exclusive-behind-the-scenes-video-20080616 |date=2017-08-06 }}, Rolling Stone June 16, 2008. Techno Viking was also rendered in oils as part of a series on internet memes.[http://www.crackunit.com/2008/03/11/techno-viking-in-oil-painting-internet-memes/ "Techno Viking in Oil – Painting Internet Memes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708200929/http://www.crackunit.com/2008/03/11/techno-viking-in-oil-painting-internet-memes/ |date=2011-07-08 }}, Crackunit.com 11 March 2008.

By mid-2010, the video had generated over 20{{nbsp}}million hits on YouTube alone; {{As of|2013|1|lc=y}}, the original version had more than 16{{nbsp}}million views. Fritsch mounted an installation and the online Techno Viking Archive "to research the strategies of participatory practice in digital social networks"Judith Staines with Ghislaine Boddington, Interview with Matthias Fritsch, [https://web.archive.org/web/20221209172934/http://www.on-the-move.org/documents/excited_atoms_final.pdf Excited Atoms: an exploration of virtual mobility in the contemporary performing arts], On the Move April 2010, p. 43 (pdf) and presented lectures on the reception of the video. His Music from the Masses project was suggested by the Techno Viking experience: it explores web collaboration by providing silent films for artists to provide soundtracks. In response to legal action by the man featured in the video, access to the Techno Viking video itself has been restricted and annotations on YouTube blocked since late 2009.

File:Keith Jardine - UFC 100 Fan Expo - Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas (crop).jpg was the Techno Viking before the actual man's lawyer stated this to not be the case.]]

Fritsch did not know the man's name at the time of filming. A man who appeared in the 2009 "Bodybuilding" broadcast of the German television show segment Raab in Gefahr[http://tvtotal.prosieben.de/tvtotal/videos/player/index.html?contentId=36189 "Bodybuilding" (Sendung 8888)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319065148/http://tvtotal.prosieben.de/tvtotal/videos/player/index.html?contentId=36189 |date=2011-03-19 }}, Raab im Gefahr 20 February 2009, TV Total, Brainpool, 2011, retrieved 7 February 2011 {{in lang|de}}; the man calls himself "Harry the old Teuton". was taken to be Techno Viking in a YouTube upload.[http://youtomb.mit.edu/youtube/XIChUOV9Fzg Technoviking on "Raab in Gefahr"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720003457/http://youtomb.mit.edu/youtube/XIChUOV9Fzg |date=2011-07-20 }}, uploaded to YouTube 1 October 2007, removed 25 December 2009; documented at YouTomb with screenshots; YouTomb presents him as being Techno Viking and says he calls himself "Harry the old Viking". In 2008, fans claimed MMA fighter Keith Jardine was Techno Viking.[http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/08/25/keith-jardine-talks-thiago-silva-fight-brock-lesnar-and-techno/ Keith Jardine Talks Thiago Silva Fight, Brock Lesnar, and Techno Viking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306185849/http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/08/25/keith-jardine-talks-thiago-silva-fight-brock-lesnar-and-techno |date=2010-03-06 }}, MMA Fighting, 25 August 2008, retrieved 1 February 2011. The lawyer of the Techno Viking asserts that his client had never been a public figure and that he did not want to become one.{{cite web|url=https://motherboard.vice.com/de/article/zmvdya/die-geschichte-des-grossten-deutschen-memes-was-der-fame-mit-dem-techno-viking-machte|title=Die Geschichte des größten deutschen Memes: Was der Fame mit dem Techno-Viking machte|publisher=Motherboard|date=2017-07-27|author=Dennis Kogel, Richard Diesing|quote=Anwalt Alexander Paschke gegenüber Motherboard: "Er will einfach keine öffentliche Person sein, das war er auch nie"|access-date=2017-08-03|archive-date=2017-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804012918/https://motherboard.vice.com/de/article/zmvdya/die-geschichte-des-grossten-deutschen-memes-was-der-fame-mit-dem-techno-viking-machte|url-status=live}}

The unnamed man's court case against Fritsch concerning infringement of personality rights opened in Berlin on 17 January 2013.[http://www.zeitjung.de/medien/medien/8425-all-heil-technoviking-technoviking-matthias-fritsch-vor-gericht/ "All Heil Technoviking! Der Technoviking verklagt seinen Schöpfer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123095412/http://www.zeitjung.de/medien/medien/8425-all-heil-technoviking-technoviking-matthias-fritsch-vor-gericht/ |date=2013-01-23 }}, Zeitjung.de, 18 January 2013 {{in lang|de}}Leonhard Dobusch, [https://netzpolitik.org/2013/der-technoviking-prozess-urheberrecht-und-internet-memes/ "Der Technoviking-Prozess: Urheberrecht und Internet-Memes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123010813/https://netzpolitik.org/2013/der-technoviking-prozess-urheberrecht-und-internet-memes/ |date=2013-01-23 }}, Netzpolitik.org, 21 January 2013 {{in lang|de}} In June, a decision was reached for the plaintiff and Fritsch was ordered to pay the man €13,000 in damages, almost all he had made from YouTube ads and sales of Techno Viking merchandise, plus €10,000 in court costs, and to cease publication of his image.Leonhard Dobusch, [https://netzpolitik.org/2013/interview-zum-erstinstanzlichen-urteil-im-technoviking-prozess/ "Interview zum erstinstanzlichen Urteil im Technoviking-Prozess [Update]"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803015503/http://netzpolitik.org/2013/interview-zum-erstinstanzlichen-urteil-im-technoviking-prozess/ |date=2013-08-03 }}, Netzpolitik.org, 20 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013 {{in lang|de}}Ana Samways, [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10893920 "Pronunciation Sought"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709150908/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10893920 |date=2013-07-09 }}, Sideswipe, New Zealand Herald, 1 July 2013.Olivia Solon, [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/27/technoviking "Filmmaker gagged by the Technoviking, bankrupted by legal bills"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516083644/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/27/technoviking |date=2016-05-16 }}, Wired, 27 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013.Kevin Morris, [http://www.dailydot.com/news/technoviking-matthias-fritsch-lawsuit-ruling/ "Technoviking prevails in court, still can't erase Internet fame"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926061306/http://www.dailydot.com/news/technoviking-matthias-fritsch-lawsuit-ruling/ |date=2015-09-26 }}, Daily Dot, 26 June 2013.Henry Steinhau and Till Kreutzer, [http://irights.info/technoviking-ein-internet-mem-vor-dem-berliner-landgericht "Technoviking: Ein Internet-Mem vor dem Berliner Landgericht"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702034048/http://irights.info/technoviking-ein-internet-mem-vor-dem-berliner-landgericht |date=2013-07-02 }}, iRights.info, 25 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013 {{in lang|de}}, with link to [http://irights.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LG_Berlin-Technoviking-27O63212.pdf verdict] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721034300/http://irights.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LG_Berlin-Technoviking-27O63212.pdf |date=2013-07-21 }} (pdf) {{in lang|de}}

Fritsch raised money with a crowdfunding campaign to make a documentary film about the case, The Story of Technoviking, which was released in 2015.Attila Nagy, [https://gizmodo.com/here-is-the-crowdfunded-film-about-technoviking-one-of-1737541305 "Here is the Crowdfunded Film about Technoviking, One of the most Popular Memes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830185331/http://gizmodo.com/here-is-the-crowdfunded-film-about-technoviking-one-of-1737541305 |date=2017-08-30 }}, Gizmodo, 20 October 2015, retrieved 23 October 2015.

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{{Reflist}}

• Mikkael Kinanen, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721214104/http://www.inter-cool.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&Itemid=106 Matthias Fritsch: "Kneecam No. 1 (aka Technoviking)"], Inter-Cool 3.0.
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnkC0Ps9tVk Shinya Yamaoka making a statuette of Techno Viking] (YouTube slideshow)
• [http://technoviking.tv Technoviking.tv] collection of fan responses and links
• {{IMDb title|tt4082608|The Story of Technoviking}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SK38Ln3FNs The original video on YouTube]

Category:2006 YouTube videos

Category:Films set in Berlin

Category:German male dancers

Category:Internet memes introduced in 2001

Category:Unidentified people

Category:Viral videos

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:Internet memes introduced from Germany