Mr. Freeman

Mr. Freeman is a Russian animated web series named after its main character. The series appeared on YouTube on September 21, 2009 and got considerable popularity in Runet.^[2] The main content of the series is monologues which in a harsh manner criticize the lifestyle of modern everyman.^[3] As of August 16, 2012 there are 19 episodes published. The total number of views is more than 50 million.

The earliest five episodes were dubbed by the Russian actor Vadim Demchog. On November 14, 2010 Demchog officially announced his immediate relation to the project.^[4] After that, the production of new episodes temporarily ceased, but on January 11, 2011 a new video was released. Since the episode "Me?" Vadim Demchog dubs the series again.

It is also known that an animator Pavel Muntyan worked on the first series.^[5]

A possible prototype of the series is believed to be the main character of "Franky-show", broadcast from 2003 to 2011 on the Silver Rain Radio, which is also dubbed by exactly Vadim Demchog,^[6] and the script writer of some episodes is Pavel Muntyan.^[7] Many episodes of the program have been transferred to the cartoon, for example, the text of the ending of the episode "Franky-show. Cicciolina"^[8] is almost completely identical to the third episode of Mr. Freeman's "Part 03. Will Sell Myself Expensive".^[9]

General synopsis and subject

The animated series contains many symbols and hints. For example, Freeman may appear as a shape containing the stereotypical traits of some specific individuals or social groups (for example, while saying "I've placed everything under my will", Freeman is standing on a pedestal in a cap-cornered hat, holding his hand at the chest level). There are also hidden frames in the series, which contain elements of a larger image. In addition, there are details, insignificant at first glance, such as numbers 21.12.12 into which the ECG transforms in the first episode, which are the estimated date of completion of the current era according to the Maya calendar. These and many other details nourish many versions about the identity of Freeman and his goals.

Dubbing

Within the end of 2010 and early 2011 translations of two episodes of the animated series appeared on the Internet, in the English^[10] and Ukrainian^[11] And Kazakh languages. English and Kazakh dubs was made by starting Kazakh actor Bulat Dzhumashev. In 2015 four episodes were translated into English^[12] (part 0, 48, 57, 58) and published on youtube, voiced by Swedish actor Klas Zetterlund.

List of episodes

Video questions

Other appearances

Awards

• On April 15, 2010 in Berlin at the international Weblog competition The Best of Blogs the blog "Mr. Freeman" was voted Best Videoblog.^[14]

Facts

• Each episode is numbered, but the numbers are not in consecutive order. It is noteworthy that initially the episodes were released twice a month (on the 6th and the 21st), but now they are published once at the end of the month. At this rate, it is thus safe to assume that the identity of Mr. Freeman will be revealed on December 21, 2012, if there are 64 clips in total.
• All episodes except for Part 0 have two identical frames containing a hidden piece of some puzzle.^[4]
• On March 31, 2011 at 18:30 on the official site a video "Walking on by" appeared, in which Mr. Freeman rips the heart out of Mirax Plaza and takes it himself. At the same time the company Mirax turned off a 10-meter heart, which had been beating in that building for two years as an advertising campaign of Mirax "The heart of the city."

Speeches

• May 31, 2010 in Moscow took premiere of part 49 at 3, Bolotnaya naberezhnaya, with the support of «Cyberbrothers».^[15]
• On June 15, 2010 Mr. Freeman appeared on the television. Episodes are broadcast on channel 2x2 every Monday and Friday at midnight.
• On June 23, 2010 at the 17th transpersonal congress^[16] a welcoming performance was organized for members of the congress by Mr.Freeman.

See also

• Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

References

1. ↑ Mr. Freeman at 2x2tv.ru
2. ↑ Yuliya Eydel (January 5, 2010). "Умница Mr. Freeman" [Clever Mr. Freeman] (in Russian). Частный Корреспондент. Retrieved August 9, 2011. 
3. ↑ Semyon Kvasha (November 6, 2009). я не проповедник, я голос [i'm not a preacher, i am voice] (in Russian). F5. Retrieved August 9, 2011. 
4. 1 2 Передача "Попутчики" / Воскресенье, 14.11.2010: Вадим Демчог (in Russian). Радиостанция «Эхо Москвы». November 14, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2011. 
5. ↑ Sergey Yefimov (November 16, 2010). Мистер Фримен: "Что ты сотворил, кроме г…на?!" [Mr. Freeman: "What have you created but shit?"] (in Russian). Комсомольская правда. Retrieved August 9, 2011. 
6. ↑ Letter of the general director of Silver Rain Radio LLC, D. V. Savitsky
7. ↑ Franky-show, August 9 on the official blog of Palev Muntyan
8. ↑ Where does Mr. Freeman come from (Franky-show, 2006)
9. ↑ Mr. Freeman, part 3
10. ↑ Mr. Freeman, part 0
11. ↑ Mr. Freeman in the Ukrainian language
12. ↑
13. ↑ Видеоролики MF on the official website
14. ↑ В число лучших блогов в мире вошли три русскоязычных дневника
15. ↑ Urgent! Mister Freeman's address - aired by CyberBrothers
16. ↑ The 17th International Transpersonal Conference "Consciousness Revolution: Transpersonal Discoveries That Are Changing the World", Moscow, June 23 - 27, 2010

External links

• Official website (Russian)
• Official channel at YouTube
• Official LJ-page
• Official blog at Twitter (Russian)
• Fun's page