I know that there is such a thing as indie filmmaking, my cousin who is a pretty well known cameraman has his own side projects. I always was interested in this art form but for some reason never came around to delving deeper into it, or doing my own movies. I was however not aware that there is a whole network of independent TV/streaming show makers out there. Sure I have see fan made films on youtube but I was not aware of the larger culture. Since yesterday I know better and am intrigued
It all started a few days ago when I stumbled upon the show called Strowlers on Amazon. The show centres around the premise that magic exists in the world but that it is government regulated, and wild magic is forbidden. Anyone with powers is sent to containment centres where they are trained to use their powers and have to wear suppression collars . Once training is completed all emotions are “burnt’ out of the practitioner to make them better tools for the government to use for their own purposes. From what I get from episode 1 is that the government will let some people wear their collars instead of burning them out if they comply with government wishes (or work for them) and policy, but anyone arrested for “wild magic” is forced to go through the burnout process and have no say in the matter. The Show is an anthology series all playing in the same universe but are to date not yet connected. I really enjoyed the show and am looking forward to seeing more.
As independent show the production value might not be what some that are addicted to the U.S American entertainment circuit are used to, and many complain over the fact that the third episode was shot entirely in Mongolian and with Mongolian actors. I personally loved that fact it makes this show so much better and truly makes it a global series not just another U.S American endeavour. people who are not willing to read subtitles (or are to stupid to even know that there is such a thing and turn them on; like one of the reviewers on Amazon are missing out on something really great.
I also like that the audience is encouraged to add to the greater cannon of the show. This is what the production company, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (now isn’t that a fun name :D), has to say about it :
Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE), the production company behind cult-classic genre shows such as JourneyQuest and The Gamers, is launching an award-winning urban fantasy television show and shared universe, Strowlers. Unlike many closed cinematic universes (like Marvel or Star Wars), the Strowlers Shared Cinematic Universe is released under a copyright alternative that allows commercial derivatives, so anyone can tell stories within the Strowlerverse.
I love this concept, for one because I have always been a sucker for creative commons and secondly because it almost has something spiritual this building a world through collective thought and input. A world built by many can can lead to a more complex and varied experience, I really hope this takes flight and that maybe some of you who write here on Steemit feel compelled to maybe contribute a story or two.
The show itself has its own website, belong to an independant streaming service for indie shows called the Fantasy Network, The production company has a Twitter and the show itself a Facebook page, all which can give you insight on the wider project. I found all this out after looking for a song featured in the soundtrack of the third episode. So I began to go further down the rabbit hole to find out about all the above.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that the show itself not only has acquired a dedicated fan base but also a whole army of right wing trolls who feel apparently threatened by the show. The complaints range from the pilot episodes hero being black, female and gay to insanities such as that all the bad guys are white and the real premise is to paint whites as villains.
In the reviews on Amazon you can find people literally counting how many people of colour there are versus white people and several having a fit about the Mongolian episode. I guess this idiocy is the reflection of a world in the era Trump and Brexit but the level of stupidity in humans never ceases to amaze me. I for my part have found a nice new show and hope to see more of it. Right now they are setting up a pledge list eventually will lead to a crowdfunding campaign for the next installments once there is enough interest shown. I really wish Steem would get its act together how awesome would it be to pull in projects like this on our platform. If you like fantasy and are not offended by LGBT characters, people of colour and a bit less polished production value I would recommend you give Stowlers a chance :)
images are all from the strowlers show and website
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