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I really, really enjoyed that "Rainbow Roadtrip" short film that came out last year (almost one year ago from this upload actually). Not to turn this into a review, but part of me wishes that it would've been released in theatresm with a little bit more running time and a few more polishing touches here and there. It was fun. I didn't expect that the first time I drew a character from it, it would've been the Major of the town. I very much want to draw Kerfuffle, and I might some day. But yeah, it's relatively easy to draw comparisons between Fyre Festival and the Rainbow Festival portrayed in this short film, so the idea practically wrote itself.

Oh boy, where do you start with "FYRE"? I guess I will go right for the elephant in the room and comment on the "Fyre Fraud" documentary released by Hulu where Billy MacFarland was interviewed, though not to much insight. While the "Fyre Fraud" documentary did bring a good amount of information (like how the guys behind the Fyre app were actually well aware of the events in the island) it commits the sin of being too amateurish for the subject matter. Too many cuts to stock footage (and public domain cartoons for some reason), unfocused narrative, the interviews are pretty lame, and the use of the footage from the actual event is wasted. It's not horrible, it does bring up a few good points, but it's not all that worth your time. It feels more like a lifetime channel documentary than anything else.

"FYRE" on the other hand, while it doesn't put all the information on the table, is a constant barrage of punches (for better or for worse). This documentary goes to the jugular in many occasions, like the story about how they got the water back from the Bahamian authorities, the fate of Billy MacFarland, the way the team got torn to shreds on social media thanks to a photo of a cheese sandwich, and several more. It builds up from the hubris and clout that these laboratory celebrities carried onto this project, and when everything comes crashing down it makes it really satisfying to watch. So essentially this documentary is an extension of that feel of schadenfreude some of us had when looking at the event unfold in real time back in 2017, which makes it a very entertaining movie to watch but not really a fair portrayal of the events. The other side of the coin is barely covered, how the island of Great Exuma got financially fucked by this event, and how all the social media coordinators got no compensation from this fiasco.

So the issue here is the truth lies between the two documentaries, and if you want a bigger picture I'd say watch both of them, just be warned that the Hulu documentary is very drab and boring, but it will offer a few insights that the Netflix one glosses over. And while the Netflix documentary is more savage, blunt, entertaining and good, it doesn't cover the whole story and leaves a few things behind.

If you're up for some internet drama turned into real life, and you're tired of seeing YouTube videos on the subject (check out Internet Historian's video tho, it's great) check out this one. It's an hour and a half you won't regret spending.

Upvotes at import: 36 | Stars at import: 18
Posted previously at: 2020-06-23T16:13:00