This is going to sound like a real boomer take, but I hate the recording culture that has taken the world by storm.
I’m talking about concerts, vlogs, aurora borealis, firework shows – anything impermanent and fleeting.
The other day, I attended Philadelphia’s Cherry Blossom Festival on April 6. It was a little chilly and the sky looked a little dreary, but the lively performances and colorful trees that rained down a slurry of petals more than made up for it. However, what ruined my experience was all the filming that took place.
During the hour-long performances, so many people had their phones out recording the performance! And I don’t mean like little segments of the show – no, I mean the entire thing! It’s one thing for you to do it, but to deliberately place your recording device above you, or reach across the area to get a better view is audacious. Mind you, I am only 5’1”. So, these tall people put their phone either right in the space that let me view the stage or planted their phone directly in their neighbors’ faces just to get a better angle. I was disgusted.
What happened to living in the moment? What happened to be more spatially aware of your surroundings? What happened to not obstructing others’ views?
This moment just made me realize how reliant we are on our phones. I am supportive of little clips here and there that you can look back on and reminisce. But, it definitely gets to a point. I think anybody can admit that recording is not as fun nor as memorable as seeing it first-hand. Engaging the present is how memories form, but if all you remember from your concert was how difficult it was to film the artist in a good angle, I doubt you actually experienced that concert. If the artist is telling you to clap your hands along to the beat, or to sing along, but all you do is continue recording, I think it’s very sad.
I remember a gust of wind gently blowing through the open arena and watching as white petals floated off the trees around us. It reminded me of a romantic scene from an anime in which cherry blossom petals would just flurry around the main couple. I remember the feeling of the soft ground underneath my boots– wet from the recent rain – and the sharp, yet warm sensation along my nose as it was exposed to the cool air. As the taiko drummers continued to beat their instruments in a rhythmic lull, I saw one of them look around and smile as he realized the scene laid out before him.
A woman behind me said to her child, “Look it’s snowing!” A pause, “It’s snowing petals!”
I don’t think any camera would have been able to capture what I felt in that moment, nor caught the conversation with the mother and child. All of this is to say that I think recording should take a back seat!