'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."
At Macworld 2008, Apple fans got their first hands-on look at the MacBook Air. Without participation by Apple at Macworld after 2009, scenes like this will be a thing of the past.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Apple's decision to make January's Macworld its last offers fodder for endless speculation. But another big question is how this will go down with the Mac faithful who have flocked to this annual event through good times and bad.
To be sure, there will be official Apple events in the future, like the Worldwide Developers Conference. But most fans--the civilians--likely won't be able to gain access to such events, which are usually reserved for press, analysts, VIPs, and developers.
So, as one colleague of mine put it, Macworld has long been the public carnival for Mac fans, and Apple's decision to get out after the 2009 version doesn't bode well for Macworld's future or for the future of a single, mass event for the hardcore Mac community.
"It's a big disappointment," said Leander Kahney, the author of The Cult of Mac and Inside Steve's Brain. "A lot of Mac fans will be royally bummed. It's a huge part of being an Apple fan--looking forward to what Steve (Jobs) will unveil at Macworld. It's like Christmas for grownups."
For Mike Leeds, a Mac technician at a Portland, Ore., college, one of the biggest losses of an Apple-free Macworld will be the chance to hobnob with the company employees who staff the event.
"I got to wander around and talk to the Apple employees that are on duty manning the show," Leeds said. "With luck, you manage to find a particular employee that actually knows the particular issue that you might have, and can give you some background on a) what their plans are for addressing the issue or b) other ways of dealing with it. Half of the time I'm down there...I'm walking around and talking to Apple employees, and that's going to be gone."
For Leeds, then, not having Apple participate in Macworld means he likely won't make the annual trip to San Francisco for the event. And he's not alone.
"It matters a lot that people get to see Jobs," said Kahney. "This is the big show for Jobs' fans. People look forward to this all year. They camp out overnight and take a vacation to go to Macworld and travel from all over the world. It's the big gathering of the tribe."
Further, Kahney pointed out that for many Apple fans, Jobs' keynote speeches have provided a regular sense of spectacle, something worth traveling to San Francisco for, and which will be sorely missing both next month--when Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, gives the keynote speech--and in the future, when Apple doesn't participate.
"Jobs is hugely entertaining," Kahney noted. "There's nothing like it, in tech or anywhere else. It's marketing theater at its best. And with concerns about Jobs' health, people want to see him in the flesh--see if he's OK."
For its part, Apple had no comment related to Jobs' health.
Of course, Mac fans aren't the only ones who would be disappointed by an Apple-less Macworld.
"What a bummer for everyone," Kevin Mathieu, a Bay Area artist who has been going to Macworld for 17 years, said about the news. "From Mac fans to local union workers and local bars," which will undoubtedly lose business.
Still, Kahney pointed out that the faithful will still have places to congregate.
"Luckily, there's the local Apple stores," said Kahney, "which have a ton of community events. They're not just stores. They really are community gathering places, especially the flagship ones in New York and Los Angeles."
But to some, the end of Apple's involvement in Macworld spells trouble for the continuity of the cohesiveness of the Mac faithful community.
At Macworld, Kobi and Ron Shely, two Israeli filmmakers, will be debuting their documentary, MacHeads, which is about the Mac and Apple community. Kobi Shely said a big part of the movie is an exploration of just the issues raised by Apple's Tuesday announcement.
"Apple is on an ongoing process that started back in 1998 when the Internet started to take over," Shely said. "The Mac community was based on in-person meeting places such as the Mac users groups. What's holding it all together is the hundreds, if not thousands, of communities across the world spreading the passion and creating the myths. Their meeting place is Macworld."
But Shely added that while making MacHeads, he found that Apple and its community, while deeply connected, are indeed separate.
"And today I think...is the most significant sign (of) that relationship," Shely said. "The Internet has changed the community. Today the young generation doesn't need to get together in groups. They can get online. But at least they had Macworld. In my view, the Mac faithful will have difficulties continuing the fandom without that direct contact. I hope Macworld will continue to be the gathering place of 'Mac heads' and the shelter for Mac users all over the world."
'MacHeads,' a movie about the Apple and Macintosh culture, is set to premiere at MacWorld on January 7, 2009.
(Credit: MacHeads)For the faithful planning to attend MacWorld 2009 next month in San Francisco, there's one more reason, beyond the usual iPhone, Mac and iPod news, to get excited.
That's because the producers of the Mac and Apple culture documentary, MacHeads, say they are going to debut the film at the show.
The film, which takes an in-depth look at the evolution of the so-called "cult of Mac," is scheduled to premiere on January 7, 2009, at Moscone Center's North Hall.
The producers noted that showing MacHeads for the first time at MacWorld is an appropriate thing to do, given that they shot the film's first reel at MacWorld 2007.
MacHeads features, among others, former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki, early employee Daniel Kottke, DigiBarn computer museum co-founder Bruce Damer, Inside Steve's Brain author Leander Kahney. and an introduction by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
It's something that has been talked about for years, and now the author of a new book is trying to explain it: the idea that to many people, Apple is a religion.
In an interview with the creators of the film MacHeads, which itself examines the Apple branding and community phenomena, Buyology author Martin Lindstrom (see video below) talked about just how powerful that brand is.
"Apple is (as we've proven using neuroscience)...a religion," Lindstrom said in the interview. "Not only that--it is a religion based on its communities. Without its core communities, Apple would die--it is already facing strong pressure as the brand simply is becoming too broad (losing) its magic. What's holding it all together is the hundreds if not thousands of communities across the world spreading the passion and creating the myths."
To anyone who has followed Apple over the years, this is not too surprising. But it is interesting that an author like Lindstrom would be willing to codify this in some way.
It would likely be hard for some people, I would think, to be willing to articulate the link between religion and the Apple culture, but as the author points out, there are many similarities, especially when it comes to passion, commitment, and loyalty.
To be sure, there are other brands that have similar followings--but in consumer electronics those names are few and far between. And it often seems as though the Apple fans treat anything that comes out of CEO Steve Jobs' mouth as the true gospel.
I do wonder, of course, as have many others, whether this is a religion that can survive if its leader goes away. In other words, if and when Jobs is no longer at Apple's helm, can anyone step up and be the new prophet? Only time will tell.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan is a center of Machead lust, something the new film 'MacHeads' will explore.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)This afternoon, I heard about the forthcoming film, MacHeads, for the first time.
My first thought was, huh, someone has made a movie based on Leander Kahney's book, The Cult of Mac.
I watched the trailer, and sure enough, Kahney--a former editor of mine when I wrote for Wired News--was in it. But it didn't look at all like it was his film.
Rather, it appears to be a similar look at the cultlike community and emotions that surround Apple, the Mac, and all things non-Windows.
For me, the trailer itself was gratifying enough, as from the very first frame, I recognized someone I know and it only went on from there. All told, five of the people they used in the trailer were friends or acquaintances of mine.
But more to the point, I think it's an interesting idea, making a movie like this. Obviously, I don't know anything about the film beyond what I saw in the trailer. But it seemed like they captured the sense of charged emotions that Mac users have about their computers and the company that makes them: devotion, excitement, reverence, frustration, betrayal, and so forth.
For it's abundantly clear that while Apple is a consumer-focused company, it doesn't really care about you as a customer. That is to say, its products are well-thought out; they are made with the consumer in mind. But as a consumer, you aren't treated any better--or worse--than you would be by other companies.
Either way, I'm very interested in this film. I think it will be a valuable cultural examination, and I hope that the filmmakers stayed true to the sense conveyed in the trailer that they--and Macheads--can be enamored of the Mac but also be highly skeptical of Apple.
Time will tell. There doesn't appear to be any info available about when the film will be released. So, stay tuned. I'm sure we'll have more as the film gets closer.
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