RE: What Did Daniel and Dad Talk About?
The LonelyGirl15 saga has bothered and fascinated me and Eliza for a while. I really want to hear Stereogum readers' theories on YouTube's mysterious shut-in. I've felt it was a hoax since day one. A viral marketing scheme? A Scientology recruitment video?
Here's my problem, I'm not allowed to blog about something unless it relates to music! So ... uh, here's the song Bree used in her most recent video:
Something For Rockets - "All OK" (MP3)
This week NY Magazine's Adam Sternbergh looks at the phenomenon ("In all likelihood, Lonelygirl15 is a fake").
Thoughts?
Posted at 11:27 AM in MP3
Yeah it sucks. I can only blog about politics. That shut in... totally fake.
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it's not even any type of mystery that this is fake. the amount of cuts in those videos, the way the room is set up, extra lighting from the right. it's fake
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It's definitely fake, but I think it's awesome that she's suddenly become this quasi-celebrity because of these videos.
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Let's talk about geriatric1927 instead.
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OK, it's fake. BUT WHAT'S IT FOR?
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I don't understand why everyone thinks it's fake. Really good resolution? Some people have lots of money and can afford decent digital cameras! Story too well though out? Oh please, it's nothing that other kids haven't gone through. I've know plenty of people who've gone through shit just like her story. Extra lighting from the right? Ever heard of goddamn table lamps? Yeah, sometimes people have those. And sometimes people might use them to make the lighting better in a video.
I'm not saying it's not fake - cause I would have no idea one way or the other. All I'm saying is the evidence offered as to WHY it's a fake is a joke, if you ask me.
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It seems like a variation on Emogirl15 (I think that was her name) which was also fake.
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Who care if it's fake? It's damn entertaining.
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I think the word "fake" is incorrect.
I think the proper term is "someone's grad school thesis project on meta-trends and media manipulation."
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But why would someone go to the trouble of making a fake show like this? Is the Purple Monkey Puppet Industry that desperate for product placement? The only thing that would convince me is if all the bands she plays are on the same label or have the same agent or something like that. I don't see any place to make money out of this. So unless she suddenly starts chugging Coke Blak or soemthing, I would have to vote for real for lack of any motive to fake it.
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I heard about her here from an earlier post so thank you stereogum for addicting me to the drama. I watched all of her videos in a row, and while this is a pretty drawn out set up it does seem fake. She's a little too perky and her facial expressions are sort of cartoonish sometimes, like she's acting. Also she always knows exactly what she's going to say like she has her lines memorized.
A few questions:
Is she supposed to be 15?
Were the few first videos (which were dull and included discussing academic passages and the introduction of Daniel) just a set up to make it look real, so we would believe the drama later?
And in the middle of the heated argument they just kept saying "my religion" & "your religion." I don't know but it just doesn't seem natural to phrase it like that, but it's like they don't want to get too specific.
I can't believe I just wrote this long of a post on the subject.
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Doesn't seem mysterious to me.
I remember making up a "secret club" with some friends once named in honor of the misdeeds of an aquaintence. It was strictly bogus but we'd sort of whisper about it in public. Eventually, it took on a life of its own with people we didn't know saying they were "in." (God, sounds like the plot to an ABC Afterschool Special...)
Sometimes pranks are just fun to pull off and if yours gets a write-up by NY Magazine - you win!
On the other hand. If its legit - her parents have raised a major egoist.
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it's a religious thing, it's all bought and paid for, and in about two weeks it'll be clear as day. thee is a reason no one ever flubs a line, stutters, makes a mistake etc. and it ain't editing. but i can't say more.
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annabanana, if you're saying she's Jesus, Christianity's sophomore effort, "The Second Coming," does not live up to their excellent first album "The Birth of the Son of God."
Too much hype inevitably destroyed the band's artistic integrity.
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oh no - she's not - and I'm not on any religion's team, and i think the whole project is creepy and gross; but i'm just part of the work for hire posse that did some work for the project. i think there will be more disclosers with better info, (a lot of the people who worked on it feel really gross and dirty as i do) but my rent is too high to be too careless.
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1. of course it's not real. the story line in going to reveal her satanist/occultist religion at some point. (but its not clear if that was part of the original storyline, because the crowley picture is actually another picture in the earliest videos. did the storyline develop after the 1st posts?) Most teens who casually watch her may think she is real, they will be blown away at the twist.
2. so, it's not real, but the enigma is, what is it and who is doing it? how professional are these guys? no leaks so far, so it must be a closely kept secret. what if the creators are never revealed? that seems the least likely possibility.
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the actor that plays Daniel was used in some full page Rhapsody ads that appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine last year.
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Just warn me annabanana.
If I keep watching will my face eventually melt?
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RE:
> I think the proper term is "someone's
> grad school thesis project on meta-trends
> and media manipulation."
Good theory.
RE:
> the actor that plays Daniel was used in
> some full page Rhapsody ads that appeared
> in Rolling Stone Magazine last year.
Intriguing. I wish I kept my magazines that long.
I mean, let's say hypothetically she's for real (she's not) ... she has overprotective, ultra-religious parents ... that let some dude (her only friend?!) come to her room to make videos of her every couple of days? Doesn't add up.
And that NY Mag article says her fansite domain was registered before the YouTube vids started happening.
But who is behind this?
I don't know. Someone very clever.
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let's get a link to or scan of that rhapsody ad, someone, anyone?
some folks keep saying bree is actually some actress "brooke nevin" but they don't look alike.
scott - her religion is satanic or Thelema, so having a boy in the room may be no big deal. (there's a picture of aleister crowely with candles beneath in her room. -- in one episode, she quickly stops daniel from lighting one of the candles.)
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I think I can get a hold of a jpg or pdf from one of the ads. It may take some time, but I know the folks who worked on the Rhapsody campaign. He's in all three of them... they feature different playlists w/ him (and a couple with his other fake girlfriend who may or may not be a satanist.)
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Whether it's real or fake doesn't matter, she comes across as a prat whichever it be.
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anyone who thinks it is real is deeply stupid. it's damn facinating though.
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drake - you'll bring the whole thing crashing down if you can produce the proof! oddly enough, i'm not sure if i want that yet.
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It's definitely not fake. I know a guy who was dating a girl who met the guy who lived next door to her granparents.
p.s. Scott, couldn't you just classify this a "music and pop-culture blog" and talk about all things avant-pop?
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you should all kill youselves
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I really couldn't care less if it's fake or not...as long as she keeps making these freaking videos! I'm addicted....
I would like to believe it's real but since the chances of that are slim to none, my bet is that it's just a teen series/soap opera produced by an independent company. Or it could be viral marketing for an occultist religion or something like that, but I doubt it.
Either way, it's pretty entertaining and that's all that I care about.
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I thought it was the mormons. She claims to have lived all over the world, so I assumed her fictional family did fictional missionary work. And what's with the whole debunking science angle?
And if her parents were such puritans, would they really allow a boy in her room with the door closed all the time?
It's a great marketing scam nonetheless. It's working like a charm. Everyone is talking about it.
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I think it's totally fake, but it's so entertaining that I don't care! They really have turned the Soap Opera on its head. That one episode with Daniel trying to light the candles in front of the Aleister Crowley picture was so cool because it added a new creepy dimension to things and brought up even more questions.
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This is likely a 3 years or so marketing ploy to get everyone involved in the soap opera only to set up a lonelygirl15 porn site when she 'turns 18'. The money from the YouTube addicts will be pouring in. Genius!
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Apparently her fansite/forum domain was registered prior to the videos existing. Which pretty much does it in. C'mon, have fun in your product.
As to why, I believe I read someone commenting that they knew the people involved and that they were doing it to get notice. When the guy did the fucking "Myspace the movie" video can get a studio deal, that sounds pretty goddamn reasonable to me.
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Apparently her fansite/forum domain was registered prior to the videos existing. Which pretty much does it in. C'mon, have faith in your product and it's ability to start up fansites on its own...
As to why, I believe I read someone commenting that they knew the people involved and that they were doing it to get notice. When the guy did the fucking "Myspace the movie" video can get a studio deal, that sounds pretty goddamn reasonable to me.
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Hmm, here's something interesting, or maybe it's nothing. Most people have come to the conclusion that Bree is a satanist. Well she has a myspace page now and if you were to go there, this gentlemen is listed as her number 1 friend http://www.myspace.com/but_what_does_it_matter
and he's such a christian that he posts a daily bible verse. It's probably all just a set up, apparently the guy is big into films and maybe he helped make the lonelygirl15 vids who knows. Are strict christians allowed to wear ninja costumes? Okay so maybe this is nothing and I clearly have too much time on my hands, I was just curious as to what a fake person's Myspace page would look like... and also who she leaves comments to. Lots of people have asked her what her religion is, no reply.
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My roommate can't stop watching these videos. He claims it's mostly a disgust thing, but either way they have a fascinating quality.
I think there is a good chance they are fake, since she is so confindent and comfortable in front of the camera.
I feel like everything is a viral marketing campaign these days. Damn it.
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er i dont get it. i mean it's fake, but what's the point of the big reveal being that she's a satanist? zuh?
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er i dont get it. i mean it's fake, but what's the point of the big reveal being that she's a satanist? zuh?
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Can't think of a better way to attract and engage more young YouTubers than this whole lonelygirl gig. Makes sense to me that YouTube has something to do with this.
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It could be fake (IT IS!) or real (hem)...
what a big deal! In a few minutes, I'll forget its mere existence (as you should probably do before starting to write a whole thesis! And it's probably the point : gathering reports on our reactions and write a thesis, like Skatelip suggested).
Or we should kill ourselves, like "I'm Right" suggested...
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Fake is too strong a word for the lonelygirl15 series. It's more like campy and madcap. C'mon, half the stuff is unabashed silliness and the other half is whiney-emo.....the best of both worlds.
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I went out of my way last night to see one of the framed Rhapsody ads hanging in my friends office and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that it's not him.
I was only half sure it was him until I forwarded the video to some of the folks who worked on the ad and they flipped out.
They're both dark haired 18-20 year old jewish boys w/ eerily similar facial expressions, but outside that, Daniel looks more like my 32-year old friend Ben then he does this kid.
Oy gevalt... I feel like such a shlump!
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I'm sure no-one is reading this anymore, but one last thing: her myspace says that she's a fan of Family Guy since watching it on Youtube. But you can't watch whole episodes on Youtube, only clips. So what's *that* about?
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Sad to say, we're still reading, Jason...
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drake - thanks for the detective work, anyway. most leads don't hit paydirt, but you gotta try. we'll see if your original post gets posted elsewhere as fact and chuckle about it.
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dear drake- how do you know that the guy in the lonelygirl videos is jewish? that seems like pretty racist to me.
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The Jason above this comment isn't the same Jason a few posts above that. Just want to point that out.
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more lg15 fodder at nytimes blog:
http://screens.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=61
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re: family guy on youtube, that show was practically invented for being watched in tiny clips. i can see it.
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to Jason:
he is not saying anything negative or positive about the character of jewish people he is just stating that Daniel in this case has facial features that are common among jewish people, just like saying that if you see someone with a brown complexion you think he is a member of the black race ( although he might be wrong, maybe he isn't jewish and maybe the guy you thought was black was a white guy with a tan). that is one way to determin which race they are, by looking at their skin/body/face. for a comment to be a racist one it must include a judgement of character that is solely based on race.
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ANNABANANA: Explain yourself!
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