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Documentary review: ‘The Rock-afire Explosion’
Author: dronon
While we’re waiting to see how furry fandom is treated by Fanboy Confessional, now might be a good time to discuss a documentary that presents another fandom with respect.
In 2007, a video of an animatronic animal band performing Bubba Sparxxx‘s Ms. New Booty went viral. Director Brett Whitcomb and writer Bradford Thomason followed the video back to its source, and in 2008 produced a 72-minute documentary about the band and its fans: The Rock-afire Explosion (trailer).
Rock-afire boom . . . and bust
Rock-afire, like furry, is very much a niche interest with respect to other fandoms (comics, science-fiction, anime, etc.) in terms of how many people attend events. When you’re dedicated to a chain of family entertainment restaurants whose heyday started in the 1980s, the fandom must be pretty small. If you further limit it to fans nostalgic for the band that used to play there, the number is smaller still.
The Rock-afire Explosion was the work of Aaron Fechter, inventor of the Whac-A-Mole. In 1980 he teamed up with a group of businessmen to open a chain of restaurants,Showbiz Pizza Place, which would feature the animatronic band constructed by Aaron’s company, Creative Engineering.
At its height in the early 80s, Creative Engineering employed 325 people and built more than 200 Rock-afire Explosions in a four-year period. Showbiz Pizza expanded rapidly, only to discover they were losing money. In a desperate attempt to stay in business, they merged with a similarly-situated competitor – Chuck E. Cheese’s.
One condition of the merger was that Aaron had to transfer all copyrights of the band and its characters to Showbiz Pizza. Since Rock-afire was his invention, he wanted to keep creative control, but this was unacceptable. To add insult to injury, he was expected to hand the copyrights over for nothing.
Aaron and Showbiz Pizza slowly parted ways, and by 1990 the merger was complete. Most restaurants now used the Chuck E. Cheese label; though the animatronic band was still there, they were replaced with new characters atop the old equipment. A corporate video set to muzakdescribes how to dismantle the Rock-afire stage and coldly instructs, “destroy all of these props as they will not be used again.”
Devoted fansWhitcomb’s documentary only presents six fans; it’s primarily the story of two of them: Chris and Aaron. Chris Thrash was a childhood fan of the Rock-afire Explosion. With the original chain long-gone, he decided he wanted one of the bands: “The show was really for me; I wanted it where Showbiz Pizza Place could never be took away from me again.” Eventually he managed to contact Aaron, who still had unused bands in storage, and bought one from him. Next, Chris started programming his own shows with new music, resulting in the online video that went viral.
Whitcomb gives depth to Chris and Aaron. Chris is visibly worried about his father’s battle with cancer and how much time they have left together. “Problems like that, or problems at work, sometimes if you just can’t handle the stress of life, people pick different ways to relieve that. I don’t choose to go to drugs or crime or anything like that. This is my escape from reality.”
Aaron, for his own part, is now the sole employee of Creative Engineering (the last few people being let go in 2003). With its sprawling rooms and storage spaces, he solders on as best he can with remarkably good humor, but with a hint of regret. In one scene, while he reminisces about a past friend who wrote a children’s song about getting older, he finds himself starting to cry.
Throughout the documentary, Whitcomb never talks down to his subjects – in fact he doesn’t talk at all, instead allowing the fans to speak for themselves. Their performance is heartfelt and genuine, accompanied by a surprising amount of surviving video footage.
Chasing the dreamThere’s always an inclination to laugh at people during documentaries like this, like one fan’s tattoos, or as another starts to put on a costume. Mocking those who are different is an all-too common sociological trait, and schadenfreude is even easier from behind the safety of one’s screen. It reveals more about the viewer than the person being mocked, highlighting personality traits we consider desirable; how we judge others, and evaluate social worth. Extreme fans tend to get stereotyped – we forget or ignore that individuals are more than the sum of their obsessions (did you know the Tron guy can fly a plane?). But there’s no mockery here, just honesty.
What makes this documentary work is that it shows how fandoms help people derive a measure of happiness from their hobby. The world is a complicated place; if happiness is attained through some forgotten piece of pop culture, so what? Not everyone makes the best decisions in life, but how many of us have aggressively pursued a challenging dream, and achieved it?
Chris held down multiple jobs for two years to reach his goal of having his own Rock-afire band, and programming it is something he now enjoys. Aaron started his own multi-million dollar company with his inventions, and while it may not have worked out in the long run, the spirit of what he started still lives on. Along the way, they both fell in love and got married (though not to each other).
Overall, this documentary is an interesting little window into the lives of two fans. I don’t know how much interest it would hold for furry fans, but if you’ve been in any fandom for any amount of time, you start to get this vibe, of community and of comfort from making connections with others who share similar interests. I don’t personally “get” the appeal of the animatronic band – and neither do I expect anyone else to “get” furry – but while watching the Rock-afire Explosion, that fandom vibe was definitely there. Lastly, I should say I liked the background music used in this production, which included Super Furry Animals – an appropriate choice!
See more: Rock-afire Explosion videos uploaded by Chris and Aaron.
Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought
Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.
FC-47 Fayroe’s Folfs - With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin'. Can't wait to do this again.
With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin’. Can’t wait to do this again.
News:- Using Google Plus? You may want to change your Profile Name
- Furocity staff ‘joining forces’ with Fur Affinity
- Furcast Servers Borked – Paradox Confused
- Lizard has problem-solving skills
- Hypoallergenic dog claims don’t stand up
- Prominent Homosexual Activist Says Bestiality OK “As Long as the Animal Doesn’t Mind”
- c0de – “An Interesting topic”
- Draston – “?”
- Flakke – “Hipster Furry”
- [_WizeNDeadly_] – “Mate Problems…”
- Raxtus Pain – “LDS (Mormons)”
- Omega – “Exams, Videos, and FuzzBalls”
- Kira – “Musical Influences”
- Kage Ryuukin – “Greetings”
- Anonymous – “Furries.”
- Draston – “My B-Day”
FC-47 Fayroe’s Folfs - With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin'. Can't wait to do this again.
With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin’. Can’t wait to do this again.
News:- Using Google Plus? You may want to change your Profile Name
- Furocity staff ‘joining forces’ with Fur Affinity
- Furcast Servers Borked – Paradox Confused
- Lizard has problem-solving skills
- Hypoallergenic dog claims don’t stand up
- Prominent Homosexual Activist Says Bestiality OK “As Long as the Animal Doesn’t Mind”
- c0de – “An Interesting topic”
- Draston – “?”
- Flakke – “Hipster Furry”
- [_WizeNDeadly_] – “Mate Problems…”
- Raxtus Pain – “LDS (Mormons)”
- Omega – “Exams, Videos, and FuzzBalls”
- Kira – “Musical Influences”
- Kage Ryuukin – “Greetings”
- Anonymous – “Furries.”
- Draston – “My B-Day”
FC-47 Fayroe’s Folfs - With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin'. Can't wait to do this again.
With half the cast missing, Fayroe and Paradox relaxed and slow started some wonderful classic email readin’. Can’t wait to do this again.
.postlink:link { color: #ff9900; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; } .postlink:visited { color: #BB5500; } .postlink:hover { color: #ffBB00; } .postlink:active { color: #ffffff; }Download MP3 (Right-click, Save)
News:
Emails:
- c0de – “An Interesting topic”
- Draston – “?”
- Flakke – “Hipster Furry”
- [_WizeNDeadly_] – “Mate Problems…”
- Raxtus Pain – “LDS (Mormons)”
- Omega – “Exams, Videos, and FuzzBalls”
- Kira – “Musical Influences”
- Kage Ryuukin – “Greetings”
- Anonymous – “Furries.”
- Draston – “My B-Day”
Anthrocon 2011 Full Dance Competition
07/15/2011
By: CraftyAndy
The AC dance competition in it’s entirety.
List in order
Celementine, Mangusu, Sebastian, Mozee, Oreo, Kwik, JJ Fox, Taun Taun, Astu Fawx, Kotto, Doryuu, Twiggy, Neopan, Media, Sadie. Results
I also spared you all the uninteresting dialogue coming from the judges. Buddy was the only one with something interesting to say.
Modify, non commercial.
Controversial Article Removed – Reasons
Article removed!
“Prominent Homosexual Activist Says Bestiality OK “As Long as the Animal Doesn’t Mind” – We are removing it based on Copyright issues.
This article was cross posted from another Furry news source. The admin of that site posted it to see who was actually watching his news feed and we allowed it along with a number of their posts to come through this week – In this case, we did not double check the article for content or copyright.
Now – as for the topic of Beastiality, the bad thing is, it sometimes happens in the Furry fandom – See Krypto1701 & Krypto1701 Update - when this comes up, we will cover it.
One of our goals is to hold a mirror up to the Furry Fandom – so we can see how outsiders see us. The message here is, if you love the Fandom, and want to see it flourish, be aware of what you do and how it will look for the rest of the fandom.
How I Tormented my Geometry Teacher. A skit I was in at CaliFur2011 (I'm the Red one on the left)
?Medal of Honor Cat – Comedy Video??
Author: Doug
A cat wins the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the line of duty.
No cats were harmed in the making of this video. One cat named Danny became incredibly well fed, though!
Yes…it’s a slow news day.
Furcast Servers Borked – Paradox Confused
In news today, Paradox spent what seemed like hours trying to unbork his server’s configs during the Furcast pre-show.
Chatroom has determined that Paradox hs in fact gone insane.
-Seacrest OUT
Hypoallergenic dog claims don’t stand up
Author:Doug
Hypoallergenic dogs don’t actually produce fewer allergy-provoking proteins than other dogs, say researchers who put the claims to the test.
Researchers in Detroit analyzed dust samples collected from 173 homes one month after a newborn baby was brought home to check allergen levels from hypoallergenic dogs and other breeds.The Obamas were offered one of a Wisconsin breeder’s Australian Labradoodle puppies for their daughter with allergies. WITI-TV/AP
Specifically, 60 dog breeds were involved, 11 of them considered hypoallergenic. Researchers found no significant differences in allergen levels in homes where either hypoallergenic dogs or non-hypoallergenic resided, they said in the July online issue of the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy.
“We found no scientific basis to the claim hypoallergenic dogs have less allergen,” Christine Cole Johnson, chair of Henry Ford’s Department of Public Health Sciences and senior author of the study, said in a release.
“Based on previous allergy studies conducted here at Henry Ford, exposure to a dog early in life provides protection against dog allergy development. But the idea that you can buy a certain breed of dog and think it will cause less allergy problems for a person already dog-allergic is not borne out by our study.”
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
"Monty Python" ended too soon...
Man with dead weasel accused of assault
HOQUIAM, Wash. (AP) — Police say a man was carrying a dead weasel when
he burst into an apartment and assaulted a man in Washington state.
The victim asked, "Why are you carrying a weasel?" Police said the
Lizard has problem-solving skills
Author: Doug
A vibrant green tree-dwelling lizard has surprised scientists with its mental prowess by succeeding in a problem solving test.
For the video on BBC iPlayer, click thee read more link below.
Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News
What restores your faith in the furry fandom?
We all know of things that happen in this here fandom that we don't approve of, and in some cases even make us reconsider our belonging and connection to this community.
But which are the things for which you will stay regardless?
What will renew your faith in this community?
submitted by Sherbniz[link] [37 comments]
Let's Share our Google+ names to add each other /r/furry! (Private and Public methods)
Just for the heck of it, because many enjoy meeting new friends and because G+ is new and everyone else is doing it.
There's two different ways you can do it:
Public: You just need to publish a comment with your nick/name and an optional description of yourself or the people you want to meet.
Invitation: Publish a comment with a description of the type of furry you'd like to meet and the type of furry you are. Then wait for someone to send you a PM and ask for permission.
Also, If anyone's Interested, there's this Public Circle (works the same way) for the Feral Furs of G+
https://plus.google.com/107844119910661402538/posts/BkH8pfQVGMU
Cheers!
submitted by DanielTaylor[link] [11 comments]
Using Google Plus? You may want to change your Profile Name
Furries – watch your names – if you have names with words like “the” as part of the title, Google may suspend your account till you change your name and verify you are indeed a real person – It just happened to The Hypnotic Beast to Charem the Charmeleon (Caleb Scott) . If your account is suspended, you will have to change your name and go through a telephone verification process and then wait till Google reviews your account. This will include your gmail and youtube account if they are all under the same Google Profile.
This may be fallout from a post by Andrew Bunner – a Google Engineer – Post can be found here
Find me online on Google Plus gplus.to/TheBadWolf
BDBC Meeting 012: ‘And the Moon Outside’ by cubetriangle
Author: Toonces
The night has its special properties, of course. For as long as literature has been written the darkness has been a time for plotting schemes and raising trouble. If you’re a werewolf, and the moon is full, this is especially true. cubetriangle has for us a story with undertones of alienation and revolution, and it all takes place under the subtle…
…read more at www.baddogbookclub.com
Find the full article here: The Bad Dog Book Club
The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.
