LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 29: Nick Diaz attends the post-fight press conference after the UFC 137 event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 29, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kari Hubert/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
I've got to come off like that just to get a fight. You're going to point the finger, make me the bad guy. I'm the bad guy. Now I get a fight. The only reason why I'm getting this fight is because everybody wants to see me take an a**-whipping right about now. - Nick Diaz
People like stories. We always have and our attention generally gravitates towards the better storytellers among us - musicians, long-running television shows, hit movies, teenage angst novelists and so on. However, in the midst of all this story-consuming, we forget sometimes that each of these storytellers is attempting to assemble some kind of narrative that the public at large can jump on and devour. These people are not necessarily trying to tell us the most accurate story or the best story possible; they want to put out the story that makes the most money for the storytellers.
This motive is the entire raison d'etre for having anything besides public access television on our screens at all: having a compelling narrative means people pay attention and when people pay attention, allowing advertisers to sell stuff equals money pouring in. The prevalence of this "compelling story = money" mode of thought has gotten so embedded into our culture that it is hard to prevent ourselves from the risky behavior of constantly constructing stories around certain facts - what I call the creation of a narrative or storyline- and then cherry-picking facts and signs to fit within that narrative. We run the risk of ignoring reality and the possible presence of facts that do not fit the narrative and yet the audience and the media keep building stories like how Sports Player X is "clutch" or that Steve Jobs was the next thing to a god on Earth.
For whatever reasons, the stories we flip out over are rooted in conflict - which meshes well with live sports and mixed martial arts in particular. It is hard to get a more direct conflict than to have two people in a cage trying to beat each other up for pride, fame and fortune. That may very well be the essential appeal of the sport. The format of mixed martial arts at the highest levels lends itself readily to any storyline that the quartet of promoters, fighters, media and fans can make sticky - or memorable to the largest audience possible.
So how do you sell Nick Diaz? Or Carlos Condit? Are they easily reduced to straightforward protagonist/antagonist roles and readily served up in bite-sized promo videos? Is doing the Countdown trash-talking and mean-mugging the best way to sell fights or can we shift to the Primetimes and independent serial videos like The Reem (despite their associated problems)?
SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit
From a lifetime of observing and consuming these narratives in all forms, I can tell you that what really gets the gears going is when we see a hero fight a villain. The problem is that in elite mixed martial arts, there are no real heroes or villains. Everybody at the highest levels is already a somewhat similar combination of unusual talent and relentless dedication to self-improvement with plenty of ruthless dispatching of skilled opponents already in their past. Nobody stepping into the cage these days is a fat, grizzled felon who savaged their way to the top. We do not have the avatar of a monolithic Cold War side like Alexander Karelin to root against. The differences between fighters is more subtle these days and that makes marketing a bit more difficult.
At this point, The Reem might be the most loved video serial in MMA. It does a brilliant job of marketing Alistair Overeem too. Eldar Gross and Fabrice Deters have nearly unrivaled access to a prominent fighter and their videos impart a sense of urgency and impending superstardom to the recent happenings in Overeem's career. But what happens if the upcoming title bout against Junior dos Santos fizzles as a PPV or if Alistair loses? Is the narrative wrecked? Or do they gloss over and/or ignore those inconvenient facts like they did with the Golden Glory split, the Strikeforce non-fighting, or the various nightclub incidents that Overeem has been in over the years? I see the appeal of The Reem, but I do not trust it fully and the words of Bas Rutten, who has been critical at times, and others only serve to reinforce that attitude. Plus, I suspect that the videos could be done better.
From a videography point of view, the decision to make The Reem almost entirely in black and white is a curious one. This is not the mid-90's. Gross and Deters are not using film stock. The lighting seems to be relatively controlled despite the wide variance in conditions and locations. Perhaps what really drives the choice is the desire to appear "historic" - which is exactly what the narrative of The Reem is trying to sell: Alistair Overeem's historic rise to the top of the various combat sports he participates in.
While I enjoy most of the music choices within The Reem, the soundtrack would never survive a first look at the potential copyright clearance budget. This video series is never going to be pieced together and released in a longer form that is as that we experience it now. What's more is that despite the Reem team's attempt to not use too much UFC footage (see the multiple jumps between video sources for the Brock Lesnar fight), Zuffa might have some qualms about such commercial usage of their product.
All of that combines to drop The Reem down my list of favored combat sports narratives. At the same time, it opens the door for lesser knowns like Stuart Cooper and for random self-released videos like those of Jon Fitch and Pat Barry.
Cooper, the British videographer, recently released The Rise of Toquinho, which was in full color, showed rare glimpses of training footage and had extended interviews with newsworthy figures in the life of Rousimar Palhares - all without music copyright violations or going all greyscale on us. Unfortunately, Cooper's last two videos - the Evolution of BJJ for Braulio Estima, the reigning ADCC Superfight champion, and Jeff Monson's Time for a Change - have gone greyscale (perhaps in response to The Reem). Given Cooper's access and connections, I would not be surprised if Cooper works with more fighters like Rafael dos Anjos to make more "Road to [Fight[" serials.
How many of you saw the Pat Barry/Cro Cop singalong video? Jon Fitch chopping down the tree with his shin? These two fighters are perhaps the best at showing the randomity of life beyond the training and the cage. However, the audience has responded much more viscerally to Barry for whatever reasons - perhaps for his back and forth fights - and the sly humor of Fitch goes almost unnoticed. Seriously, why isn't Fitch and Dave Camarillo playing Skyrim and interacting with fans in a surprisingly honest way a bigger deal? My point is that the fighters themselves, with their Twitter accounts, video cameras and easy access to fans, have the power to build their own narratives and Overeem and Barry seem to be connecting well with people despite using very different approaches.
Very few people lead simple enough lives to be fully encapsulated by a 30 second promo video. Nick Diaz certainly is not one of them, but his aggressive and insolent fight style lends itself well to snap judgments that go against his perceived character. His in-fight trash talking and unorthodox style fit the role of an antagonist better than anyone in recent MMA history. The promotional videos have made full use of this heel bonanza and the media frustrations with getting Nick to open up or to turn down his ornerniness level have led to a self-perpetuating cycle in which Nick believes everyone is making him out to be the bad guy and he is made out to be the bad guy because he rarely ever lets people see his good side or his interests outside of fighting and repping the difficulties of life in Stockton or Lodi, California.
The missed press conference appearances, the unwillingness to talk to anyone outside his group of trusted friends and family and the occasional cuss word directed at a nameless or faceless audience that hates him or wants to see him lose all perpetuate this cycle. When other fighters jump on the "Nick Diaz is a bad guy" bandwagon, as GSP did, the resulting media attention probably drives Diaz nuts.
This is where the Primetime series comes in - those videos are the single best chances for Nick to show that he is a multifaceted person who deserves to be spoken of with the same respect a "true" mixed martial arts athlete gets. Unfortunately, Nick doesn't care. The lack of give from Nick means that the people behind the Primetime series are having trouble constructing an easy-to-latch-onto narrative for Nick, so they try to split the difference and hope something sticks. Thus we get contradictions like Cesar Gracie telling us with those cold blue eyes that "Nick does not enjoy hurting people" while earlier, the narrator extolls Nick's brutal fight-winning patterns. What Cesar is telling us may be the truth, but it doesn't fit the narrative well and probably would have been left on the cutting room floor by a more unscrupulous editor. At least we have Nick as the bad boy to fall back on.
The same thing is happening with Carlos Condit. His career has been primarily one of knocking people out or submitting them, often after a slow start and putting his all into highly entertaining bouts. Yet, he is not a mega-star within the promotion and his personal life is as diverse and unreducable as Nick's is. The Primetime folks have yet to figure out how to reduce Condit to something easily digestible. The nickname has never fit and seeing Condit do grown-up things like renovate a house and keep strong ties with his extended family only serves to diffuse the narrative into a nearly incoherent mush.
Perhaps the approach of GSP is better: show nobody any hint of a personal life and focus all public attention on the incessant pursuit of mixed martial arts like some sort of real world Ivan Drago. The only problem with that is that the storyline is completely manufactured and the audience can turn on those Potemkin narratives as they do all the time in pro wrestling and other sports.
The careers of both Condit and Diaz are littered with Fight of the Year contenders and nearly every performance both have put on in the last three years has been stellar, savage and hopefully star-making because both fight in a way that MMA fans seem to gravitate towards (primarily stand-up, but gets a high number of finishes on the ground or standing). The problem with these two is that to reach the next level of visibility and stardom, they themselves have to get involved in and comfortable with creating narratives that the masses can understand - or become Brock Lesnar. I suspect that shift in attitude will never happen with Diaz and the jury is still out on Condit waking up in that respect.
Lest I seem facetious, I admit that creating a narrative with true stickiness is tough and the competing narratives put out by the aforementioned quartet can clash or blend to become a babble few pay attention to. Some narratives are more successful than others and short taglines and videos seem to dominate the format of the most effective pitches. Thus it is understandable that the biggest MMA promotions in the world try so very hard to attach some set of easily recognizable storylines to each event and record hype videos. Remember those taglines attached to the early numbered UFCs1?
The tagline for UFC 143 should be "Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit". However, it is coming off more and more like "The next guy to fight GSP".
1UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams is my favorite, as it conjures up the bizarre mental image of some kind of event held in a cornfield where the bloody spikes of Ty Cobb would have been perfectly at home.
7 recs | 88 comments
sorry dude
but why did u have to write such a LOOONG article??? without highlighting and etc…
who reads it all? anyway, I’m not an editor in a magazine or anything, but as a reader. advice, write shorter stuff, highlight and etc. make font bigger or something. Godspeed n party on!))
Nodir Shermatov - February 1, 2012
I'm Hindu
so… Godsspeed? Does that work?
I will take your comments under consideration.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Ben, It’s fine like it is, if people want short stuff they can hit up Twitter
basvanderwolk - February 1, 2012 via mobile
I read it all.
Machiel Van - February 1, 2012
High five!
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
...from a Videography stand point.
From a “videography” point of view, their choice to go black & white is likely because they are using source footage with many different resolutions. The Reem is shot and encoded in HD. However a lot of the archive footage is Standard Definition. Also, they’ve used video pulled from the internet (YouTube 720-240p) on many occasions. Try encoding HD video with 240p resolution source footage and it will look like you are watching Tetris – Blocks-on-Blocks. I’ve notice extreme pixelisation on many shots, but it would more noticeable in colour.
By making it black and white you minimise the appearance of pixelisation. It also saves the editor a lot of time with regards to colour correcting. Having to colour match all that footage will just take more time. Easily solves by just going black & white.
higgledy-piggledy - February 1, 2012
I understand that usage of the old footage makes black and white more attractive.
But what about the overwhelming majority of the footage being shot in the modern day?
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
B&W makes the footage less unattractive and not “more attractive”.
And to comment on the why the “modern day footage” isn’t in colour, I’d say the editor made a choice, to not continually switch between colour and B&W. Keeping the look of the documentary consistent was more important. I’d have to agree with his choice too.
The lighting isn’t controlled, its run-and-gun shooting. One moment they’re in a car, then hotel room, then arena, etc. Not once were they ever in a studio or able to control their lighting fully. The videographer can’t control any of the lighting at the 90% of the locations. There’s so much blown out footage, but we don’t care or notice because the storytelling is good and engaging.
higgledy-piggledy - February 2, 2012
did you just miss his entire point? yeah you did
Desmoglein - February 4, 2012
Get better at reading.
bigstupidsmile - February 1, 2012
Not being good at reading isn't the point.
Sectioning off a long article with headers, quotes, and an occasional picture makes it much more appealing to most audiences.
OMGitsME - February 1, 2012
Okay. Get better at paying attention.
bigstupidsmile - February 1, 2012
to be fair
that last bit is a good point. Good blog articles should be more than just the writing. It’s something I need to get better at as well.
Cory Braiterman - February 2, 2012
This is a blog.
Tim Burke - February 1, 2012
pornflake - February 1, 2012
The illiterate?
Patrick Wyman - February 1, 2012
How are things at Tiger Beat these days?
menckenstein - February 1, 2012
Shitty article, clearly you like to talk too much as well and hold yourself in higher regard...
than others do around you. What the hell have you done lately.
You suck Ben! You remind me of friends of friends who have nothing to do, are desperate for attention and respect and approach everything the wrong way.
Back to the drawing board, on this and with your life.
Syncro - February 1, 2012
I’M DRAWING, GOTDANGIT, I’M DRAWING!!!!!
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
lol
darkotto23 - February 1, 2012
I have to agree here
The narrative in this article dragged a bit for me. Three paragraphs summarizing society before a fighter is mentioned.
Alanhull1 - February 1, 2012
not really that long
but it was a long read, the line length is a little daunting and the new paragraphs didn’t really break things up very well. It was just paragraph after paragraph
scratchface - February 1, 2012
I'll start by saying the truth, I love the op eds at bloody elbow
I’ll also say I write for another site… But I agree, this “article” dragged on forever, and moreover never really made a point. Not to mention, the second u question ANY writer on elbow, they get defensive and ban you. Take criticism, we r here because we enjoy the site, just being honest
mma_lover - February 1, 2012 via mobile
You are exactly the person I don’t want to see on BE
bcpjkell - February 1, 2012
Interesting you would talk about great storytellers
to lead into this behemoth.
Stiff Jab - February 1, 2012
The narrative here is a bit jumbled
Goes from criticizing the artificial nature of storytelling in MMA, to reviewing the production values of The Reem. I will say, however, that I truly enjoy your writing style in contrast to some of the more forced editorials I read from other writers on this site. So keep it up.
On the topic of exaggerated personalities in MMA.. I say, keep it coming. We’re all some more embellished version of ourselves in our lives and careers in front of a larger audience. Some people shrink away, sure, but fighters are not generally those types (and sure, you’ve got Jim Miller’s and Gray Maynard’s to bare the flag for that lot). I say, let them be loud, let them go over the top, let them entertain. The constant dissection of what’s genuine of their public personas is the only overwrought thing about them, if I’m honest. We don’t need to put every word and action under a microscope for fear that a Nick Diaz is actually a lot cooler around his friends and family than he is front of a lens. For every Diaz and Sonnen there is a Rampage or Couture who are known to be unfriendly at times, but are well loved by MMA fans. I don’t care or understand the need to analyze the disparity between their personal and public behaviors. Just enjoy the show.
Charles Awad - February 1, 2012
Earnest
is what I’m going for.
Thanks for the thoughts. This is the quality discussion I’m looking to start.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Ben, great article on narratives but too long
Seriously this is an academic level piece and was a joy to read. I hate just complimenting and not adding to a dialogue as well examined as this but im stuck on the phone and busy.
That said in the mode of a blog like BE this should have been broken into two posts, one about The Reem and the videos put out about mma fighters and one about Diaz vs Condit fight building.
Cocytus - February 1, 2012 via mobile
Good idea. I was trying to point to successful fighter-led narratives, which would work better for Diaz, but perhaps two separate posts would have been better.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Good article, Ben I enjoyed it.
Two seperate posts would have been easy to digest, I think.
Interesting points about The Reem episodes – I wasn’t sure if The Reem episodes were shot in black & white to mask the poor quality of some of the footage – ie. some looks like it was shot with proper camera equipment, and some looks like it was captured on a phone. So maybe this helps blend the two together and give consitency, maybe?
@KatanaClothing - February 1, 2012
I’m not sure I agree with your analysis. The hero vs. villain pair up is certainly a common and successful narrative, but it’s also the kind of thing that is completely devoid of subtlety and works primarily on children and the less intelligent adults in the world. I don’t think MMA should go the way of things like WWE, where you have to turn everything up to 50 in order to maintain the drama and interest.
MMA’s main appeal to me is its complexity, and how it aligns well with the growing complexity of human lives and human intelligence — how you have to know how to do a million different things and then be able to choose the right one at the right second, second after second. They specialize in being superhuman. So if the personal narratives of the fighters are hard to distill, that’s okay with me — I think one of the biggest things most random people I know have a hard time connecting with in MMA is what they perceive as rawness, and the interesting narrative for storytellers to examine there is probably more about the conflict of abstraction (that which transcends human experience) vs. reveling in the raw physicality & emotionality of fighting.
mollcutpurse - February 1, 2012
I would be hesitant to say “children and less intelligent adults”. Sometimes, a good middle-brow story is just what’s needed.
Armageddon is never going to be listed amongst the greatest movies of all time, yet it entertains solidly in a goofy, visually impressive and occasionally dramatic fashion. I rate this movie five times higher than I do Avatar.
I can’t always be watching Community or Breaking Bad, nor would I expect a large portion of the potential audience to do so. Sometimes, sitting there and turning your brain off is a good thing (although the trap of always doing that is ever present).
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Okay, I am having a really hard time parsing this comment since I have never seen any of the movies or tv shows you mentioned. My impression is that you think there are tv shows that are too complex or mentally challenging for casual viewership which I find absolutely baffling. Since they’re, well, tv shows.
mollcutpurse - February 1, 2012
There absolutely are TV shows that are too complex for the biggest part of the audience to gravitates towards. Community, despite being a great episodic comedy, somehow falls into that category. It’s apparently too witty for the masses.
Two and a Half Men was the highest rated comedy on TV because it went for lowbrow dirty jokes at every possible opportunity and you always knew that one of the three main characters would be chasing women, another would be screwing up and the third would be irrelevant.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
wow that's depressing
Sounds like we have two completely different audiences in mind then.
mollcutpurse - February 1, 2012
Ok. I’m at work like many other people and I’ll probably come back and read the post in its entirety.
Here’s some notes.
Ben, I appreciate the effort. I will read the rest of this post because it sounds very interesting. Personally I don’t need a bad guy or a good guy. I know both of them are probably fake personas anyway. I like my MMA to be a little bit more complicated, visceral and real.
VeeisAnimated - February 1, 2012
Jon Fitch does yardwork.
Pat Barry sings California Dreaming with Cro Cop.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Thanks for the link!
Barry said he pranked Cro-Cop with that vid.
VeeisAnimated - February 1, 2012
The Reem is in B&W cause it looks awesome.
It’s an artistic choice. Relax & just let it look pretty.
The Hamburger Pimp - February 1, 2012 via mobile
not only this
but it’s done out of necessity to make video from tons of different sources look more consistent.
Rob Young - February 1, 2012
From most feedback that I have read, most people are intrigued and like the black and white effect of The Reem videos. I am surprised actually that this article took it to task as this article/writer are quite honestly the first person/article that I have read that takes issue with it.
chrisbboy82 - February 2, 2012
Nicely done
I don’t think it is too long at all, it is an article on a particular subject which explores it to a conclusion. Just because we have become a society that only can keep attention beyond a 140 characters doesn’t mean this should be shorter. Well done sir.
HeadKickOfDoom - February 1, 2012
'preciate it.
Your signature is hilarious.
Remember Diaz’s axe kick from the Noons fight that was pure showboating?
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Loved that shit.
One of the cooler in fight moments of his career.
Luke Nelson - February 1, 2012
Hahaha
I do indeed! He just wanted KJ to know it was part of his arsenal!
HeadKickOfDoom - February 1, 2012
Nicely put HGOD.
Machiel Van - February 1, 2012
*HKOD
Machiel Van - February 1, 2012
Hey Ben
Excellent article, but I still love The Reem because I have a man crush on Overeem and think everything involving him is extremely awesome.
NickaG - February 1, 2012
Since the length of this article seems to be an issue for quite a few readers..
Could I recommend the use of captioned images to distract from the sheer size of the editorial? Writers here make great use of float/clear imagery when featuring animated gifs, but rarely (if ever) make use of mere jpegs in the body of their stories. I think it would go a long way in a case such as this.
Charles Awad - February 1, 2012
It’s a good idea. I’ll work on it for next time.
Also been wondering if my Matwork! columns are too long as well.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Illuminating article
I agree with you that narratives are really important, but I don’t think the UFC has to go to great lengths to sell Nick Diaz’s story. That guy is a walking storyline. He’s like Chuck Liddell, all you need to do is look at what he does from the moment he walks out through to when he gets his winning photo taken. You can fill in the rest of the gaps yourself.
Bill P. - February 1, 2012
Sorry but,
The Reem is as awesome as I think it is.
andrew861 - February 1, 2012
I dont get any of your hate on The Reem.
CVD - February 1, 2012
Damn
A lot of hate on reading in here.
WheelieMonkey - February 1, 2012
Reading is for suckers (sarcasm font)
It now goes hand in hand with actually writing out full words. If it can’t fix in a 140 character limit, it apparently isn’t worth reading or writing.
HeadKickOfDoom - February 1, 2012
*If it can't fit
Goddamn it, I cannot type today
HeadKickOfDoom - February 1, 2012
Not actually contradictory
" Thus we get contradictions like Cesar Gracie telling us with those cold blue eyes that “Nick does not enjoy hurting people” while earlier, the narrator extolls Nick’s brutal fight-winning patterns. "
This isn’t contradictory; it’s more complementary.
Gracie says Diaz doesn’t like to hurt people. At another point, Diaz says hurting people is his job. The narrator says Diaz is good at his job. For it to be contradictory, he’d need to have said something along the lines of ‘Nick Diaz loves hurting people’.
jasvll - February 1, 2012
Actually, the narrator does say a variation of “Nick likes hurting people” in part 1.
Tim Burke - February 1, 2012
What’s in the article still isn’t contradictory, and now we can add ‘poor quote selection’ to our list of grievances. :)
jasvll - February 1, 2012
Aw man, Festivus just passed. Can’t air those grievances until next December…
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
I’m already training for the feats of strength.
jasvll - February 1, 2012
As far as using UFC footage in The Reem
I would almost guarantee that Overeem put it into the contract when he signed with the UFC that he was allowed to use actual fight footage for his documentary, otherwise the latest episode never would have aired without drawing the attention of Zuffa’s legal department. While there was a stipulation that they couldn’t film back stage during the fights, the fact that they freely used the fight itself it suggestive of some kind of agreement between the parties.
nomomrnicekyle - February 1, 2012
Some good comments here...
…and some thoughtless ones.
Good article. Internet surfers generally have the attention spans of young children with attention deficits. I love to read and am glad to read quality stuff like this.
Keep putting long articles out, at least periodically. Not every article should be this long I guess, since there a fair number of people brought it up in this comment seciton, but believe me there are people who enjoy longer stuff.
As for the content in the piece, I love sports because of the natural, organic stories that develop. In all sports that are 100% rooted in competition and achievement these stories are easily seen as natural and organic. Sure, the media puts their own spin on things but for the most part I don’t see it as “contrived storytelling”
Pro Wrestling is at the other end, where all the storylines are fictional. MMA certainly teeters on the brink of natural organic stories and contrived fiction, what with all the promotion and the PPV model.
One of the reasons I like Nick Diaz so much is because the lines are blurred. Is he consciously playing a part in a greater story? It would seem no, because he doesn’t make any attempts to tell any part of any story whatsoever. Then again, maybe that in itself is the story.
Luke Nelson - February 1, 2012
^This
Luke has put it better than I can…some folks like to read, and I had no trouble at all in following where you were going. I think the topic of narrative needed a bit of building up, to show how it applied to the upcoming fight.
My only umbrage is at the comment about The Reem glossing over Overeem’s various nightclub troubles over the years…the arrest after UFC 141 is the first I’ve heard of Overeem having these troubles…link?
RobtWeaver - February 1, 2012
Remember the bouncer brawl he had with his brother that put him out for a long time and nearly caused the loss of his hand due to an awful cut?
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
That makes two times.
I mean, he’s a fighter who stands out. To think that he hasn’t been the target of some complete assholes is a little naive.
Bas Rutten has told some pretty epic stories of bar brawls he’s been involved in, which I’m sure you are familiar with. Do you think that is a dark aspect of “El Guapo” or would you admit that it’s part of the deal?
(Not to say that I condone pushing a woman, which Overeem currently stands accused of. Whatever the story is, that is pretty shit.)
Luke Nelson - February 1, 2012
A Big Presumptuous
“Lest I seem facetious, I admit that creating a narrative with true stickiness is tough and the competing narratives put out by the aforementioned quartet can clash or blend to become a babble few pay attention to. Some narratives are more successful than others and short taglines and videos seem to dominate the format of the most effective pitches.”
At first I thought you were summarizing your own piece. Extremely ineffective, scrambled, contradictory, and diluted. How can you say so little with so many words?
Douglas Vincent - February 1, 2012
'G' and 'T' are awfully close together
jasvll - February 1, 2012
I enjoyed this more than the article
Douglas Vincent - February 1, 2012
Is it just me or does that speak volumes about you?
Luke Nelson - February 1, 2012
Ben.
you been faded!
nickrodamous - February 1, 2012
TL;DR
RobtWeaver - February 1, 2012
All these complaints on the length of the article,
I thought the “Xfinity Inside the Octagon” logo at the top left would draw some ire. It’s funny if you click the logo it takes you to Xfinity’s website where they openly (and shamefully) declare “XFINITY gives you the most ways to enjoy UFC!”
Machiel Van - February 1, 2012
SO LONG!!!!!!
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F.U.B.A.R - February 1, 2012
I haven’t slept all night (almost 1PM here), if I read this, I’m fucked.
spectaa - February 2, 2012
Good article Ben. Keep em’ coming.
butt.bar.bandit - February 1, 2012
“All of that combines to drop The Reem down my list of favored combat sports narratives”
I stopped reading right there. Over-analysis much?
brad23 - February 1, 2012 via mobile
Nice article, i don't agree with it all, but i have to give you a rec since its so well writen.
Another MMA documentary i recommend for you guys is the whole Miami Hustle series made by Genghis Con. As far as i know he uses all original music.
Unfortunately some of their full episodes have been taken down from youtube (i’m still not sure why, it might have something to do with a planned DVD release)
anyways, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GenghisConFIlms/videos
Sample vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZQKPfp0ck&feature=plcp&context=C36f9f42UDOEgsToPDskJo4pNTXIJ4eQ7sgeqPacCo
darkotto23 - February 1, 2012
YEEAAAAAH!
That’s the one I missed. I knew there was another awesome series out there that I was forgetting.
Internet points for you!
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
tl;dr
jhf884 - February 1, 2012
"... showing the randomity of life beyond the training and the cage. "
The appeal of The Reem is the artsy, high production quality of it and the unique window into the preparations of Alistair Overeem. Most of the other stuff out there is just the same sort of crap everybody uploads to the internet and is of worth to a few people (I really liked Gonzaga’s banana instructional) but is merely slice-of-life stuff. Fitch kicked a tree? Wow. This guy uses his teacher as a heavy bag.
http://youtu.be/U7vCqwHzGGc
ToffeeA - February 1, 2012
the Palhares documentary is a documentary documentary... The REEM is meant to be all sizzle and some steak
it’s like apples and oranges
it’s more of a road documentary / what Alastair wishes to present publicly
also you actually think he would try and release this where people in the mainstream would sue him for copyright? He is flying under those radars for a reason
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - February 1, 2012
Cogent point.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
Storylines take effort to write
Personally, I think the UFC really sucks at marketing fighters. Every fight is invariably set up as some kind of schoolyard rivalry even when none exists.
If you want a good example of storyline, I would refer you to K-1. Storyline and marketing saved Badr Hari’s career and helped build him into the phenomenon that he is today. If he was in the UFC, Dana White would have cut him and the world would have forgotten about him. Instead, Hari was written as this angsty bad boy with personal demons holding him back from the championship—he was spun as redeemable despite being completely unprofessional. In hindsight, it was a brilliant move, and if you watched the audience during his appearances at It’s Showtime, you know exactly why. Alistair Overeem has been smart enough to cultivate his image and popularity; he willingly played heel to get into kickboxing and came out a face when Hari went mental. The Reem is just another element of an incredibly well played marketing campaign, one where Overeem has seized the initiative to write his own storyline. That’s why he comes in with so much more hype than the other guys.
magnetic - February 1, 2012
Great comment.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a candid Hari interview. Should hunt for one and see how he comes off in person.
Ben Thapa - February 1, 2012
look no further...
http://youtu.be/s5zsAC7ZbEs
higgledy-piggledy - February 2, 2012
Great read.
This was a long piece as everybody has mentioned but completely worth the time it took to read it. I personally love the reem series but without a doubt love Stuart coopers work much more. I may be a little biased as I got chance to meet him when he filmed short documentaries on lagarto and leao marinho at our Gracie barra gym in Preston.
MJB! - February 2, 2012 via mobile
holy shit. I got referred here by someone who said you were rippin The Reem videos for no good reason
You say the Reem is bad because they use black and white and you have a problem with copyrighted music? Why the F’ does the viewer care if its copyrighted or not. And the black and white doesn’t hurt at all. Yes it makes it seem more historic/epic but that’s the point. You feel like The Reem is a beast. And he is. If you want Bas’s view watch a Bas documentary. Its not like they sidestepped his fight with Werdum they very clearly show him not happy with it. But that’s how the Reem comes across in all his interviews. He’s been remarkably consistent. And that was no different in the video. They haven’t shied away from criticism. They interviewed several ppl pre Brock fight saying he would lose.
But the most ridiculous statement you made was that his black and white vid leaves the window open for people like Jon Fitch’s home movies to come up. You’re fucking retarded if you believe that. Jon Fitch’s videos are absolute shit. What fitch eats for breakfast can’t compare to the Reem videos. Are you f’ing serious. The Reem is a K1 champ, strikeforce champ, a fuckin UFC title contender, a fuckin superstar with monster popularity. Of course his videos are gonna seem epic. Its not a diabolical plot
Desmoglein - February 4, 2012
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