As the moderator for the past eight years of the swing dance online community at Yehoodi.com, I’m always interested in studies and explorations of other online community sites. Stephanie Tuszynski wrote and directed a new documentary that examines one particular online community surrounding the uber-geeky show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer":
"IRL (In Real
Life)" is one of the first feature-length documentaries to take on the
subject of online communities. IRL is
also the first documentary made by fans about fan communities. The film
chronicles the life, death and afterlife of an online community called
"The Bronze," made up of fans of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." The documentary looks at what
happens when online friendships move from the Internet into "real
life." In their own words, "Bronzers" talk about what lead them
to seek out the community, the prejudices and misconceptions they had to face
from family and friends about their Internet activities, and the effect the
experience had on their lives.
I’ve never been much of a "Buffy" fan, although I love Joss Whedon’s work in general. So this film sounds like a winner for me. Now available on DVD.