Let’s talk about Vice Magazine.
I am coming up on my one year anniversary as a subscriber and I thought this would be a good time to reflect. First of all I still don’t really know what to think. I can’t say I like it, most of it seems weird to the point of trying to hard and the articles are rarely well written. I often find myself thinking “I must just not be cool enough to understand this” but not because I’m too old or too much of a nerd or anything like that.
Each issue tackles a wide spectrum of topics ranging from muslim transsexuals, to silly cowboy boots, to the exploration of an abandoned missile silo turned LSD lab. Underlying it all is this feeling that they are showing you something that mom dad don’t want you to see. There is a childish rebellion to it and I think that’s why I keep coming back. A real writer from The Independent nailed it in 2008 saying “Vice has firmly established itself as a vehicle for news that other publications will not carry.” As someone who spends a lot of time on the internet I usually feel like I’ve seen or heard about everything, yet this crude satirical magazine finds a way to bewilder and surprise me every month.
Another aspect that is both tantalizing and ethereal is Vice’s ability to seem so unbiased in what they talk about. Bias obviously exists but is acknowledged and then immediately thrown away as useless in this new world the journalist has entered. The attitude is always, “well let’s go and see what happens.” It is a technique called immersionist journalism, something that sprung from gonzo journalism and is generally regarded as unprofessional in the eyes of the news community. I disagree, but then again I’m a huge fan of The Hell’s Angels so there’s my bias showing through. Their unique kink on journalism really shines in the documentaries they create and distribute on their website. The videos are generally short and will completely fuck with your world view. Personally I think it’s fascinating and vastly more gripping then most of journalism I’m exposed to. For a good place to start I suggest checking out the Vice Guide to North Korea. I guess what it comes down to is that even a year out and even though I can’t quite figure out why, I’m fascinated by Vice’s existence and I read it cover to cover every month.
Secret Project Status: #1 completed #2 thumbnails
Enjoi Status: no job but still an awesome company, reaffirming my desire to work in skateboarding
# of free to play games I am currently wasting my time with: 5
Freelance projects in the air: 3
Money received/promised for those projects: 0
Advertising campaign of the week: Coke Zero
Whelp. See ya later.
Blake Smisko 