Techno Viking

A man offers an inverted bottle of water to the Techno Viking.

Techno Viking is an internet phenomenon or meme based on a video from the 2000 Fuckparade in Berlin, Germany.

The 4-minute video shot by experimental video artist Matthias Fritsch at the Fuckparade on 8 July 2000[1] begins with the title "Kneecam No. 1" and shows a bare-chested man wearing a Thor's hammer pendant grabbing the arms of and pointing his finger at another man who has just shoved a woman, drinking from a bottle of water offered to him inverted by another man, then dancing down Rosenthaler Straße (52°31′33.8″N 13°24′13.2″E / 52.526056°N 13.403667°E / 52.526056; 13.403667 (filming location)) to techno music.[2] Fritsch intended it to raise questions of whether the action was real or staged.[1]

Fritsch uploaded the video to the internet in 2001.[3] In 2006 he uploaded it to YouTube, and it went viral in 2007. According to Fritsch, its popularity began on a Latin American pornography site.[4] After being posted on Break.com, it peaked on 28 September at more than 1 million views per day and was watched by over 10 million people over 6 months. More than 700 responses and remixed versions were posted.[1][5][6][7] It was the #1 clip on Rude Tube's series-three episode Drink and Drugs.[8] Mathew Cullen and Weezer wanted to include Techno Viking in their compilation of Internet memes for the "Pork and Beans" music video but were unable to.[9] Techno Viking was also rendered in oils as part of a series on internet memes.[10] By mid-2010, the video had generated over 20 million hits on YouTube alone;[3] as of January 2013, the original version had more than 16 million views.[4]

Fritsch mounted an installation and the online Techno Viking Archive "to research the strategies of participatory practice in digital social networks"[11] and presented lectures on the reception of the video. His Music from the Masses project was suggested by the Techno Viking experience: it explores web collaboration by providing silent films for artists to provide soundtracks.[1][3][6][11] In response to legal action by the man featured in the video, access to the Techno Viking video itself has been restricted and annotations on YouTube blocked since late 2009.[1]

Identity Claims

Fritsch did not know the man at the time of filming.[4][6][12]

In 2008, fans claimed MMA fighter Keith Jardine was Techno Viking.[13]

In 2009, a man who appeared in the "Bodybuilding" broadcast of the German television show segment Raab in Gefahr[14] was taken to be Techno Viking in a YouTube upload.[15]

Legal Battle

In 2009, Technoviking's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Fritsch, who immediately stopped taking payments from YouTube.

Three years later, the Technoviking and his lawyer decided to sue Fritsch outright. Fritsch summarized the lawsuit as follows: "I am being accused for creation and publication of images connected to the Technoviking, therefore infringement of personality rights. They also say I am earning a lot of money by that. They argue that [I] gave him the name Technoviking, create 3D characters, comics and more to constantly increase the popularity in order to market Technoviking and therefore cause damage to the protagonist."

The court case against Fritsch concerning infringement of personality rights opened in Berlin on 17 January 2013.[4][16][17] In June, a decision was reached for the plaintiff and Fritsch was ordered to pay the man €13,000 in damages, almost all he had made from YouTube ads and sales of Techno Viking merchandise, plus €10,000 in court costs, and to cease publication of his image.[12][18][19][20][21]

Crowdfunded Documentary

Fritsch was put into debt by the decision.[22] He used the occasion to start a crowdfunding campaign to make a documentary about the whole case. The campaign was successful, resulting in the 2015 film The Story of Technoviking. [23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Matthias Fritsch, The Technoviking Archive, Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe.
  2. ↑ The two tracks are "Navigator" by Can-D-Music and "Save Changes And Exit" by Winstan vs. Noia; Fritsch, The Technoviking Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 Astrid Herbold, "Youtube: 20 Millionen Klicks für den 'Techno-Wikinger'", Tagesspiegel 23 July 2010 (German) This includes an embedded version of the video.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kevin Morris, German court to decide the future of Technoviking", The Daily Dot, 17 January 2013.
  5. ↑ KNEECAM No.1 at The Technoviking Archive
  6. 1 2 3 Carmela Thiele, "Das Musik-Video Technoviking", Corso, DLF Cologne, 5 May 2009, interviewing Matthias Fritsch (mp3) (German)
  7. ↑ We,TechnoViking at WorldNews.com.
  8. ↑ Clip 16, position #1; E4 transmission 17 December 2008.
  9. ↑ "Weezer's 'Pork & Beans' Director on the Band's Viral Hit, Plus Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Video", Rolling Stone June 16, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Techno Viking in Oil – Painting Internet Memes", Crackunit.com 11 March 2008.
  11. 1 2 Judith Staines with Ghislaine Boddington, Interview with Matthias Fritsch, Excited Atoms: an exploration of virtual mobility in the contemporary performing arts, On the Move April 2010, p. 43 (pdf)
  12. 1 2 Leonhard Dobusch, "Interview zum erstinstanzlichen Urteil im Technoviking-Prozess [Update]", Netzpolitik.org, 20 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013 (German)
  13. ↑ Keith Jardine Talks Thiago Silva Fight, Brock Lesnar, and Techno Viking", MMA Fighting, 25 August 2008, retrieved 1 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "Bodybuilding" (Sendung 8888), Raab im Gefahr 20 February 2009, TV Total, Brainpool, 2011, retrieved 7 February 2011 (German); the man calls himself "Harry the old Teuton".
  15. ↑ Technoviking on "Raab in Gefahr", uploaded to YouTube 1 October 2007, removed 25 December 2009; documented at YouTomb with screenshots; YouTomb presents him as being Techno Viking and says he calls himself "Harry the old Viking".
  16. ↑ "All Heil Technoviking! Der Technoviking verklagt seinen Schöpfer", Zeitjung.de, 18 January 2013 (German)
  17. ↑ Leonhard Dobusch, "Der Technoviking-Prozess: Urheberrecht und Internet-Memes", Netzpolitik.org, 21 January 2013 (German)
  18. ↑ Ana Samways, "Pronunciation Sought", Sideswipe, New Zealand Herald, 1 July 2013.
  19. ↑ Olivia Solon, "Filmmaker gagged by the Technoviking, bankrupted by legal bills", Wired.co.uk, 27 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013.
  20. ↑ Henry Steinhau and Till Kreutzer, "Technoviking: Ein Internet-Mem vor dem Berliner Landgericht", iRights.info, 25 June 2013, retrieved 1 July 2013 (German), with link to verdict (pdf) (German)
  21. ↑ "Where Are They Now? Techno Viking"(2015, July 20). Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  22. ↑ Olivia Solon (27 June 2013). "Filmmaker gagged by the Technoviking, bankrupted by legal bills". Wired. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  23. ↑ Attila Nagy (20 October 2015). "Here is the Crowdfunded Film about Technoviking, One of the most Popular Memes". Gizmodo. Retrieved 23 October 2015.

External links

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