Traceroute (2016)

The Worst Film Ever

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I loved this flick. Although it has elements of nerd culture as stated, it really reaches for a much greater scope of things and ends up being a cool road trip film, visiting all places awesome. From toys to gadgets, aliens to movies, something for everyone really is contained within these 2 hours. We even get an English translation of the directors name! How cool is that? Grenzfurthner has spliced together so many different elements into one big successful party that I, for one, am quite pleased with the results... as I nudge you over to the left side of the screen... to watch the trailer and connect. As you do please keep one thing in mind. No licking the "Watch Trailer" button.

The viewer is guided on a journey through different stories and experiences of nerd culture and these all accumulate to define how places and people have shaped and inspired filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner's art and politics.Traceroute's quirky and ironic humour is effective throughout and this is showcased from the beginning when Grenzfurthner introduces the first stop on the road trip, San Francisco, as a place of endless opportunity, as well as homelessness. Within the various interviews that take place, there is a real sense that this is a collaborative exploration of creativity: of the old and the new, the past and the present, and the traditional and the digital. The use of photography and drawings interspersed between the interviews with various people associated with nerd culture shows an artistic approach to the material and these images act as reflective snapshots of moments in time, reinforcing the importance of looking back to the past as well as looking forward to the future of the digital age.

A highly enjoyable documentary that doesn't only show us a variety of crazy intellectuals but may also invite us for a different way to observe culture and technology. I haven't read nearly enough books to understand half of the stuff they are talking about but the movie is so full with graphical gems and music/movie references that i still had a blast watching it.The whole thing is a piece of art that, just in the style you would expect it, coming from monochrom. Also, the documentary style kind of reminded me of some of Werner Herzogs movies... Lo and Behold for example. Very, very, very good!!

The problem with "nerd culture" is that it neglects politics; the problem with most politics is that it neglects the implications that technology has, at least in this day and age. Traceroute combines the two, and for that, it's valuable. And don't be discouraged by the thought "I don't even know this person, why do I care about his life or journey?" Don't care about the person; the journey has elements and themes that everyone will find relevant. Not only is it very informative about things in science, tech and culture you probably didn't know about, but it weaves that together into questions about greater social systems that are universal for everyone in society. Only complaint is that I at least would have enjoyed a bit more time spent on the East Coast, but apart from that, completely worth checking out!