Review: 'MacHeads,' a documentary on the Mac faithful
'MacHeads,' a new movie about the Apple and Macintosh culture, will premiere Wednesday at MacWorld.
(Credit: MacHeads)It's a long-established truism in technology journalism: That stories about Apple are pretty much guaranteed to do better than just about any other subject.
And why? It's certainly not because of the total size of the user base of Apple products. Rather, as has been very well chronicled in newspapers, magazines, online and in books, the passion felt by the community of Apple users far outstrips its size.
Now, with the release of MacHeads, you can add movies to the roster of media documenting the full fervor of the Mac faithful and their particular brand of do-it-yourself brand evangelism.
MacHeads, a 54-minute film by the Israeli director and producer team of Kobi and Ron Shely, has its world-premiere Wednesday with a screening at Macworld, a suitable place for a film about 25 years (or more) of Mac fanaticism, especially because much of it was filmed at Macworld 2007.
It's also a bit of an ironic location to launch a cinematic discussion of hard-core Mac fandom, given the recent announcement that Apple will end its participation in Macworld after this year, a development that could well spell the end for the last large-scale physical gathering of the very people the movie is about.
In a way, however, the end of Macworld as we've known it plays right into the hands of the Shely brothers, as one of the chief arguments their film makes is that the newest generation of Mac users depends much more on the Internet for community than Macworld itself or the users-group meetings that have taken place in any number of cities around the world for so many years.
Either way, though, one thing is made abundantly clear in MacHeads: As long as there are Mac users, new or old, on working computers or museum pieces, the so-called cult of Mac will stay alive and well.
As a movie, I found MacHeads to be rather uneven. It struck me as haphazardly edited, and it struck me that the filmmakers were never completely clear with themselves whether their movie was about Mac users, their passion, Apple, the computers themselves or the transformation of a small, yet unbelievably vocal community.
Probably, that's because it's about all of the above. But where MacHeads succeeds in amply demonstrating the extent of the feeling the faithful have for their beloved Macs, it suffers from an obvious lack of clarity.
Still, it's kind of fun listening to the so-called MacHeads opening up to the world about their obsession. It's also not at all unfamiliar. I myself am writing this on a Mac, and between my wife and I, we have five Macs, two iPods and two iPhones. And she would probably recount proudly that she nearly dumped me early in our relationship when I told her that I was considering buying a PC for my next computer.
In the film, this distaste for all things Windows takes many forms, some funny and others even more funny.
Early in the movie, for example, the well-known sex author and blogger Violet Blue, says, with only the slightest hint of irony, "I've never knowingly slept with a Windows user. Ever. Ever. That would never, ever happen."
Later, DigiBarn computer museum co-founder Bruce Damer talks about Apple taking on IBM and PCs as "the force fighting against the beige banality."
While the Mac--in its many iterations--is the technological focus of the devotion of the MacHeads, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is clearly the human form.
And together, Jobs and the products his company makes comprise a church of sorts, with thousands, if not millions, of followers.
"If you go online and look up the definition of a cult," Shawn King, the executive producer and host of Your Mac Life, says in the film, "Mac users are a cult. You know, complete fealty to one leader."
Fealty and devotion often have a physical component, and for some Mac fans, that's a tattoo. MacHeads, then, features at least two cases of users with Apple logos emblazoned on their legs.
But some Mac users clearly think of their computers as an extension of themselves--a sentiment that some might laugh at, but which others will understand fully.
"Only Mac people really put stickers all over their laptops," digital media strategist Deborah Schultz says in the movie, "and I think it's indicative that this is kind of something that is close to me like my clothing and it's an identification."
These days, with Apple flying high on the strength of the massive success of the iPhone, the iPod and the Mac line, it's easy to forget that in the mid-90s, the company was on the verge of failure. And for the 25 million or so Mac users at the time, events at the time like Macworld were a place to come and share their hopes and fears about their future computing.
"You have to be an optimist to be a Mac user," said former MacAddict columnist Joseph Holmes in the film, "because there were those tough times when we thought, you know, maybe I'll have to use a Windows system. Maybe there won't be a Mac in a couple of years. It was kind of tough."
Or, as fellow Mac fan Debroah Shadovitz put it, "We would have entered the dark ages if Apple went away. We couldn't let that happen."
As is the basis for endless business school case studies today, of course, Jobs returned from the Siberian exile of forced life away from Apple, and brought the company back to glory, first with the iMac and then with the company's next--and maybe biggest--game changer, the iPod.
Oddly, MacHeads hardly covers the iPod, and its importance in making Apple what it is today. I think that's because the whole point of the film is to focus on the passion of a niche group of tech users, and the iPod has been such a mainstream hit that it is the dominant portable music player today, hardly the kind of device that establishes the us against them mentality that many of the Mac fans in the film evince.
Yet, the movie feels like it has a hole without a discussion of the iPod, and I think that's evidence of the lack of clarity I talked about earlier--the indecisiveness as to what the film is really about.
Because this is well-covered ground, there is little in MacHeads that would surprise anyone who is familiar with the cult of Mac. Yet, because that community is so visible and outspoken, the movie is bound to have an audience--at least of the already converted. Whether it will appeal to those outside the fold is less likely, to me, at least.
No matter, though. Apple's fan base alone is large enough to give the Shely brothers a sizable potential audience, even if many of those people really just want to see how their kind is portrayed on film.
After all, in the end, what makes the cult of Mac powerful, and interesting, is the people.
"It's the community that you want to talk about," says Shawn King in the film. "Don't love Apple, love the community."
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
Oh come on, it generates revenue.
The Mac user base is growing, and the underdog status is being lost, as is the closeknit community. Oh well. It happens you know. Maybe it's sad, maybe it's good, maybe it's an improvement.
Now to stay on topic, I think if we could role back the clock and implement and distribute the Mac OS like Windows was to business, with a few changes it might have made a difference. Macs could do graphics better than Windows for a long time. Anyway, this gets into the whole Mac/PC argument and I'd rather avoid that. I picked Mac in 95 cause i wanted the graphics capability. If you picked Windows for your needs than I hope you are happy. If you are switching welcome to the family or cult.
Not that Mac users are elitists, just your argument is pretty weak & nothing new.
Why am I bothering, slaves aren't worthy of an education. ;-)
Uh... most Mac critics actually have. They're great machines but not 'better' than PCs in the sense that both systems have their pluses and minuses.
The computers market and the development of computing have been only possible because Microsoft (with all its problems and errors) created a big base of computer users. Mac is only an anecdote, although very useful indeed, but a peripheral one. If Mac dissapears now, NOTHING will happen, we still have Linux, and if even Linux dissapears, some other thing will appear.
Apple makes all the decisions and insures their little (emphasis on "little" as it's still 5%) user group never paints outside the lines. If apple doesn't want you to do it, it's ain't never gonna happen. This is what most mac users want though and I guess it's a fair enough reason. Not many of us want to have to understand our cars in order to drive them, we just want them to work, and apple does an average, but far from great, job of delivering on that promise. If apple tells the iSheep their computers don't crash, lo and behold, iSheep everywhere believe it irrespective of what happens in reality with the constant crashing and hardware incompatibilities that exist.
The new apple tag line....
"Who are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?" R. Prior/G. Marx/S. Jobs
After using macs on/off since 85 (always because i had to, not by choice) the user base has stayed the same and that's fine. Most, but not all, mac users are not technically competent and need someone watching over them all the time to insure they don't injure themselves. I see this constantly, but there are lots of clueless PC users too..... It's the vociferous mac-is-the-only-option ones that I really can't stand. They're so narrow minded, so bigoted, and often clueless, that I'm unable to tolerate them.
Macs - and the TV commercials - can stay. It's the iSheep that have to go....
PS - We'll probably hear from that penguin dude in this thread (if he hasn't already posted) talking about how great macs are...can't wait....
As for apple "innovations", let's look at the new ipod nanos without a replaceable battery (can you spell revenue and landfill). now apple wants to sell a new laptop without a replaceable battery. Are we seeing a pattern here? Yet chief blowhard Jobs talks about what a "green" company apple is and the iSheep believe it because that's what they're told to believe. Baaaahhhh
Thank you. You are exactly the kind of person who would REALISTICLY help me work with the Mac and fix the nits that get in the way of my computing.
Nowadays, the Mac has now become much more main stream, it's users are no longer a rarity, and these legends of new users no longer elicits quite the same feelings they used to. People and things change, and I guess that includes the Mac community at large, a community who's percentage of users now is beginning to be comprised mostly of 'former' Windows users, rather than the people that this film depicts!
As more and more Windows users, millions of them every year, continue to switch over to the Mac, then we should see less and less of the cult like atmosphere that this movie portrays. This for me is a good sign, but also a depressing one, as it means that the crazy days of the Mac cultist is numbered. I will miss it!
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/meandi?view=uk
...unless you're just being sarcastic. In which case, never mind.
Apple the Great iNOvator.
A bit of the Truth for the Denial Crowd -
"Apple offers advice on 10.5.6 upgrade problems
CNet by Tom Krazit, December 18, 2008
If the Mac OS X 10.5.6 update caused you problems earlier this week, try, try again.
Apple has acknowledged an issue encountered by Leopard users trying to install the company's latest update released Monday."
Bwah ha ha ha ha ha .... this happens EVERY UPDATE!! EVERY RELEASE OF OS X!!
Sure small problems crop up with the MacOS from time to time, but nothing ever as bad as Vista.
See how ridiculous it looks when someone starts spewing out nonsense in all caps?
Because I believe you don't really know (likely paid by your master to spread lies), it should be pointed out that the problem you cited was minor, corrupted no one's computer and was a unique experience (meaning "never happened before"). Software Update barfed on the update and only partially loaded it, so when you tried to run it the computer would freeze. Rebooting it brought the machine back, without the update applied. Try that wintards!
"Rebooting it brought the machine back, without the update applied. Try that wintards!"
I've had bad driver updates cause Vista to freeze, reboot, self repair and I'm back up without the bad driver installed. You really need to try an get at least one eye out of the hole once in awhile.
Macs DO NOT HAVE A "user base is growing", he's the TRUTH AGAIN! -
Quote:
Apple Macs Fall Behind Windows PCs In Sales
The numbers are an indication that Apple may be feeling the competitive pressure of Windows PC vendors, such as HP and Dell, which have cut prices at much larger percentages.
By Antone Gonsalves, InformationWeek
Dec. 16, 2008
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212500783
Apple Macs in U.S. retail stores fell behind Windows PCs in sales growth last month, an indication that Apple's strategy of charging more for its critically acclaimed design may be showing weakness in the economic downturn.
PROOF AGAIN, ******** live in Fantasy Land.
;-)
I've never looked at a single cited website on CNET for accuracy/proof of information because I don't really care. I don't know for sure, but I can GUESS (no proof! omg *** Sporlo f*cking cite your sources next time!!!!!!) that a majority of those sources aren't 100% accurate. Sure they might have the main idea, but details can easily get mixed up without detection.
"IMHO Windows XP has a better user-interface than the Mac."
IMHO, my poop smells quite nice. And your point is?
"my poop smells quite nice."
See it's not the mac, osx, or Apple that aren't liked. It's just the nutbags that go around smelling their own poop like you do that are despised.
IMHO everyone has an HO.
Just to clear this up, I KNOW, and am 100% sure, that some people like Windows and some people like Mac. I don't need to know something I already know.
"I have to use a Mac at work, but I have a PC at home because they are more fun"
"I can just fix this by editing my register"
"Why does my home page keep changing?"
ha ha.
I love my Mac.
"I better scan this thing for viruses."
"When was the last time this thing was defragged?"
"Uh oh, blue screen!"
"Why is WGA locking me out?"
Tis better to be free on a Mac than it is to be enslaved by winblows.
You don't get out much do you? Use a mac at home by choice? Surely you're kidding, right?
"I can just fix this by editing my register"
What does this mean? Do you mean the registry? Oh, that's right, you'd never be able to tweak anything about your computer because Stevie didn't give you permission. Locked down tight so you can't hurt yourself, right?
"Why does my home page keep changing?"
Hmmm. Never happens to me, unless you're talking about a virus possibly? No one would defend windows as a secure system ("open window" would be a good name for it from a security perspective), but since we've already established you're probably not a very knowledgeable mac user, (that's OK, most (>90%) aren't) you should know that there's little fun for the virus writers going after 5% of the market. If you want to cause trouble, go after the machines that are used professionally by the majority (95%) of the world.
Uh, gee, I guess that leaves macs out. Apple has been selling them for 25 years and they've finally gotten back to 5% market share (after reaching their high point of approximately 10% in the late 80's/early 90's). That's telling em.....
I know, you love your mac, aka, leapfrog...
Also, I do use a mac at work and vista at home. The mac is a great development platform for what I do. I just don't use it for much else. It's nice not being locked into one paradigm.
But the problem with registry is even Microsoft tried very hard to hide it from everyday user, one day your machine still most likely will snap, then suddenly Joe six pack or his eleven years old girl need to deal with a scary alien thing called ?Regedit?.
That won't happen on a mac, That won't even happen on a well preconfigured Ubuntu machine.
- Oh my drive is so Fragmented (and they are ********), I'll just use the built in Defrag Tool.
- Oh jeez, i need more RAM for this Video, Audio, Graphics etc. Project, I'll just use Windows "ReadyBoost" and plug in a cheap high-speed USB 2 flash drive and add another 2, 4, 6, 8 Gigabyte!
- Oh ****, Apple's OS X update fu@k3d up my system AGAIN, I'll just use ONE BUTTON RESTORE function to step back to any AUTOMATICALLY SAVE system state with ALL THE WORKING SYSTEM FILES. (See, with OS X you have to REINSTALL! bwah ha ha ha ha ha ) And NO OS X 10.5 DOESN'T REALLY have this.
And there are hundreds of other advanced technology features that you BSD CLONE of UNIX DOESN'T have the XP and VISTA does have! You know "VISTA" = Virtually Indestructible, Superior To Apple
********
Why is the "cult of Mac" dying on the vine? Not hard to figure out: the cult is right behind the platform itself. The traditional anti-x86/Windows Mac is indeed dead--long live the neo-Mac of today which embraces both x86 and Windows fully. For some reason, this is the side of the story that never seems to register among traditional Mac cultists primarily because they've been programmed to anti-x86 sentiment for so long that they're incapable of registering the fact that today's Mac isn't growing in popularity in some circles because it is different--it's growing in popularity because it is so much alike the general PC/Windows marketplace. Irony doesn't get much better than this...;)
Apple computers sell because of great design, and who the hell doesn't enjoy good design? Does it bother all of you people so much that some of us like the experience and want our friends to give it a shot?
Do we have your permission to buy the computers we want? With such a large majority, die-hard windows users begin to sound anti-capitalist with this windows or nothing sentiment.
And one thing I've noticed as a negative side effect of "going mainstream" is the small user interface philosophy changes Apple has made to court Windows users. These changes have, for the most part been contrary to Apple's own Human Interface Guidelines and degraded the usability of the Mac OS. I could and would cite these changes in detail if I had more time to research the changes with each new version, but I simply don't have the time.
Thinking differently is not necessarily a bad thing and I am always stunned by the attitude that it is. If we all followed the herd, we'd be no better off. It takes thinking differently to innovate. If Jobs and Woz didn't put the GUI innovations they saw at PARC to use, we'd all be typing arcane commands for the simplest of tasks still.
[I've used just about every major operating system since the Apple ][. This list includes systems starting with DOS since 3.1, Commodore 64's, Windows 3.11 to XP, various distributions of Linux, Solaris, AIX, and Mac OS from System 7 to Mac OS X 10.5.6. When I say I've used them, I mean just that. I used them to get work done and used them for an extended time. I don't mean I toyed with it for 15 minutes. This is something that Windows users often call "used a Mac".]
I've tried them all, and I continue to try new releases of alternate operating systems. It's sort of a hobby, but more of an eternal search for something that will work better. But I ALWAYS come back to the Macintosh. It's simple so that I can get tasks done, but still allows me to get under the hood if I need to.
- by TheOriginalKLanD March 6, 2009 1:41 PM PST
- I watched the Movie and I have to agree with you that it was very sloppy. I was aware that some people were nuts for Apple, but not to that extent. To me a lot of what was presented was just Macheads spewing the same half-truth garbage that you often hear in Steve's speeches and the Apple ads.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(56 Comments)Back in the day the Macintosh was a great machine, it was also my machine of preference at the time. Until about 96 or 97 when Apple was just way too far behind to compete with what windows was offering. By 98, I was a full blown PC user, and to be honest, I've never felt the urge to look back. When the G4 came out, I got excited, I thought "this is it! Apple has finally caught up!" I almost bought one, but being the cautious buyer, I decide to check them out first. I used one for about 2 weeks and almost thew it out the window. The experience was so confining that I couldn't take it. It had none of the flexibility I was used to and almost none of the Apps. So.. I gave it back and bought a new PC. I now have a PC laptop and a Mac pro at the office and to be honest, the only thing I use the Mac for is Keynote. Not for myself, but I get sent keynote presentations from time to time. All my graphic, audio and video editing is done on my laptop.
Violet Blue is a sex columnist?? Man.. she can't have too much experience with an attitude like that. Also, to the author of this article.. Seriously? Your wife would have dumped you if you bought a PC? Dude.. I would have kicked her out myself for having such a close minded attitude.
Which brings me to my last thought.
If you think you need a Mac to be creative, you really need to get your head out of Steve's @ss.