Us Now
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}{{Use British English|date=September 2010}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Us Now
| image =
| caption =
| director = Ivo Gormley
| producer = Hugh Hartford (Banyak Films)
| writer =
| music = Orlando Roberton (Pixelphonics)
| cinematography = Robin Fox
| editing = Mark Atkins
| released = {{Film date|2009|04}}
| runtime = 60 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}
Us Now is a 2009 documentary film project "about the power of mass collaboration, the government and the Internet".{{Cite web|url=http://www.usnowfilm.com/ |title=Us Now website |publisher=Usnowfilm.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923120922/http://www.usnowfilm.com/ |access-date=15 September 2010|archive-date=23 September 2009 }} The New York Times describes it as a film which "paints a future in which every citizen is connected to the state as easily as to Facebook, choosing policies, questioning politicians, collaborating with neighbours."{{cite news |title='Athens' on the Net (Published 2009) |work=The New York Times |date=12 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506094318/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/weekinreview/13giridharadas.html |archive-date=2022-05-06 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/weekinreview/13giridharadas.html |last1=Giridharadas |first1=Anand }}
The documentary weaves together the perceptions of leading thinkers on the power of the web, with the overriding suggestion that people gain a sense of satisfaction from active participation rather than symbolic representation in decision-making processes.[http://blogs.channel4.com/fourdocs/2008/12/11/us-now-documentary-collection-action-via-the-internet/ FourDocs Review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123111258/http://blogs.channel4.com/fourdocs/2008/12/11/us-now-documentary-collection-action-via-the-internet/ |date=23 January 2009 }} (Rebecca Frankel, editor of Channel 4's FourDocs)
The project claims the founding principles of mass collaborative projects, including transparency, self-selection and open-participation are nearing mainstream social and political lives. Us Now describes this transition and confronts politicians George Osborne and Ed Miliband with the possibilities for collaborative government as described by Don Tapscott and Clay Shirky amongst others.
Synopsis
The Us Now website describes the project as an examination of the role of the internet, and more specifically Web 2.0 in facilitating direct public governance without the need for politicians. The film tells the stories of the online mass collaboration projects such as Mumsnet, CouchSurfing, [http://www.slicethepie.com/ Slice the Pie] and My Football Club whose self-organising structures may "threaten to change the fabric of government."{{Cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/ae12516c-fedf-11dd-b19a-000077b07658.html |title=Financial Times Review |publisher=Ft.com |date=20 February 2009 |access-date=15 September 2010}}
Release and distribution
Us Now premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema in December 2008 and was released in spring '09 for free online viewing.{{Cite web|last=York |first=Anna |url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/us-now-film-may09 |title=Harvard Kennedy School of Government |publisher=Hks.harvard.edu |date=15 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025010204/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/us-now-film-may09 |access-date=15 September 2010|archive-date=25 October 2012 }}
All of the material generated during the project is available to view and download on a Creative Commons license "and also encourages others to remix the core content with the 20 hours of footage available on the Us Now website (and presumably their own material) to draw other conclusions."{{Cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/blog/collaboration/interview-with-us-now-collaboration-film-director/383 |title=Oliver Marks (ZD Net) |publisher=ZDNet |date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811060419/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/collaboration/interview-with-us-now-collaboration-film-director/383 |access-date=15 September 2010|archive-date=11 August 2011 }}
Following release online the film was screened on Channel 4's More4 on 11 July 2009.{{Cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/us-now |title=Channel 4 |publisher=Channel 4 |access-date=15 September 2010}} In late 2009 Us Now was the first film to be distributed on VODO,{{Cite web|url=http://vodo.net/usnow |title=VODO |publisher=VODO |access-date=15 September 2010}} a legal torrent distribution website, and received 100,000 downloads in its first five days of being available.{{Cite web|last=Cooper |first=Sarah |url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/digital/uk-ireland/100000-downloads-for-first-vodo-release/5007038.article |title=Screen Daily |publisher=Screen Daily |date=19 October 2009 |access-date=15 September 2010}} The film has been translated and subtitled into 29 languages on the dotSUB{{Cite web|url=http://dotsub.com/view/34591ca8-0ef5-48fb-82e6-163a9f21298d |title=DotSub |publisher=DotSub |date=6 May 2009 |access-date=16 April 2011}} platform and has been screened in many locations across the world.{{Cite web|url=http://www.netsquared.org/blog/celinaagaton/the-us-now-global-screening-project |title=Us Now Global Screening Project |publisher=Netsquared.org |date=5 August 2009 |access-date=15 September 2010}}
See also
- Electronic direct democracy
- Open source governance
- Participatory democracy
- E-democracy
- Participatory culture and technology
- Collaborative e-democracy
- Metagovernment, international group of projects instantiating a vision similar to the one in this film
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://banyak.co.uk/#/us-now/ Official website]
- {{vimeo|4489849|Us Now}}
- {{IMDb title|id= 1555154 |title=Us Now }}
- {{Internet Archive film|id=VODO12UsNow}}
- [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/5319535/Us-Now-and-social-networks-interview-with-director-Ivo-Gormley.html Us Now and social networks: interview with director Ivo Gormley] on Telegraph.co.uk
- [http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/tecnologia+link,acao-colaborativa-pode-mudar-forma-de-gerir-o-mundo,2911,0.shtm# Ação colaborativa pode mudar forma de gerir o mundo]. Estadao newspaper (Brazil)
{{VODO}}
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Category:British documentary films
Category:2009 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about politics
Category:Documentary films about the Internet
Category:Politics and technology