Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology (2011)

Waste of time

People are voting emotionally.

good back-story, and good acting

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The trailer for this movie suggested that the film would address our dependency on technical connections at the expense of the personal. I was expecting insights, and kept looking for them, but was rewarded only with banal new age platitudes. Notably, a film entitled "Connected" was in the end a DISconnected jumble of points historical, sociological, economic and emotional. It's unfortunate, because the concept for the film was potentially compelling. The director's decision to try to convert that original concept into a sort of tribute to her father proves disastrous. The film ends up being a rambling speech by the director in voice-over, accompanied by repeated clips from family home movies along with an array of stock footage from silent movies and newsreels and a large number of animated graphics which come across mostly as irrelevant distractions. The director's sloppy use of scientific terms and her irrational beliefs about radiation were distracting, but she totally lost me when she insinuated that she believed in auras. There is a certain personality type that will love this film precisely because it is so vague, disorganized and pointless. These people believe that meaning can be extracted from nearly anything. What a disappointing doc. Not recommended.

On one level, the filmmaker does a great job of showing how, through the use of technology, the world is a more connected place. According to her, the number of computers that are connected to the internet is around 2 billion, or roughly a third of the world's population, and there are nearly 5 billion cell phones in use. Those are some incredible numbers.But where I believe the filmmaker fails is pointing out that social media in many ways makes us less social as people, as we become the masters of our own online domain, where narcissism alienates us on many levels from one another.There's no doubt that the internet and the rise in cell phone usage is a game changer the likes we are now beginning to see the consequences of. But the world was never meant to be experienced while sitting in front of high resolution screens which keep us simultaneously connected and disconnected from each other. No matter how great the leap in technology is, the best connections with each other come from actually spending time in real life with each other.

Connected is essential viewing for anyone who participates in, thinks about, and perhaps has some concerns about how we as humans connect with each other in this digital age. Tiffany Shlain is probably one of our most important filmmakers today – pushing the boundaries of communication and all of its implications. This film is not only a consideration of how we relate to each other as human beings in the digital age – but as importantly – how those connections – and the way that we connect affect us both positively and at times negatively. How are we transforming as a human race with our digital appendages? How can we retain what is human about us? How wonderful it is that we can connect with people across the planet in ways never dreamed of – but also what is the price of that digital connection. As a parent – this is a must – and a must to watch with your children – and gift and share with your friends and family. It should be required viewing in middle school – and should be required viewing for you.

Connected is one of those rare films that engages, entertains and makes you continually and thoughtfully ponder long after you've seen it.It is one cleverly interwoven film integrating two constructs: One is a big picture adventurous roller coaster ride utilizing found footage, fabulous animation and music to uniquely give a historical snapshot of globalism, humanism, technology, and the interconnectivity between them all.The other aspect is a lovely, emotionally-charged story of Tiffany Shlain's own personal life as she begins to come to terms with her own connections during a challenging time in her life. Tiffany, filmmaker & founder of the Webby Awards, is a thought leader of innovation and it's fascinating to see someone immersed in 21st century high tech question her own relationship to it and the world as well as the good, bad & potential of all this connectivity.Watch this film! You'll never look at life...or even hugging someone the same again ;)!