Tupac hologram at Cochella 2012--Respectful? Ethical? Creepy?

As you are possibly aware, through a combination of CGI, visual trickery, and God knows how empty of these people's souls, Tupac performed at the Coachella music festival last night, leaving many saying "cool!!" while many others said "WTF man." Personally, I think this is perhaps the creepiest, most soulless thing since they used John Lennon's corpse to sell laptops, but I'm wondering what your take is on this and the potential implications of it. Is this this going to cause a trend of concerts by dead celebrities? Should this even be allowed? If you (or a family member or close friend, assuming you or one of them was a celebrity) were the one whose corpse was being reanimated like this to perform, how would you feel about it?

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

I don't know much about the ethics of it, but I do know that the effects are pretty impressive. All they need to sort out is the effects around the feet.

And I guess that essentially being brought back as a performing ghost is a kind of back from the dead.

And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)

As long as his estate had no problems with it (I'm guessing they didn't), there's not really an issue. It's just a hallmark of how far technology has advanced.

I'm willing to bet still living bands and artists will follow suit and use this tech to have "concerts" in places they can't actually make time to visit in person. Imagine your favorite band, "touring" in three different cities on the same day.

Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)

They already have, it was mentioned in the article.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.

Hey, it's Pepper's Ghost! That's the same trick used to allow Gorillaz to perform live! (It's also used at Disney's "haunted mansion" to create some of the ghosts.)

edited 16th Apr '12 7:33:50 PM by feotakahari

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful

Meh. I though it was a cool demonstration of technology, but Japan's done it before. I don't like Tupac and rap anyway. The hologram itself is the only interesting part.

I'm baaaaaaack

My initial thought was that it was kinda creepy and uncool, especially with all the idiots that won't believe that he's dead. However, just speaking as someone who never thought hip-hop and rap was the same after Tupac's death and has all but quit listening to it, it did give me an awesome shiver and made me smile to see it happening in that link.

edited 11th Jun '12 12:15:30 PM by TheWanderer

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |

Maybe it was actually Tupac, and they just said he was a hologram?

Dracula allowed Tupac to preform, but only through holographic communication.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."

It's no different than having someone dress up like a different long-dead person, or a cartoon of it, or whatever. No one bats an eye when George Washington or JFK appears in a show, why would Tupac be different?

Oh God, if you look at the comments on the You Tube clip of it, at least half of them are saying that.

I think the difference there is that that's a fictional portrayal of them in their own historical contexts (or in hilariously mismatched concepts for the purpose of parody). This, though...like I said, this just seems like propping up his corpse on-stage. It creeps me out majorly.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

Man, people just wanted to see Tupac again. Personally I thought it was kind of morbid and creepy. Someone on Youtube said it was a test for Project Bluebeam, lol.

Hey everyone join my group Xxn 0 Scope Vapez420x X

This reminds me of an old Beatles video where they edited footage of John Lennon into the frame after he was murdered.

I just have no idea.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.

Meh: it's the way things are headed, anyway.

After all, get it really, really good, film and TV companies will use it should The Character Died with Him suddenly look them in the face. This is just the tour version. <shrugs>

I'm fully expecting Jacko to make a come-back, now. And, to be honest, I think it's the kind of thing that would've really made him giggle. More, I mean.

EDIT: Someday, I'll phrase my ideas the way I want them the first time 'round. And, I'll die of shock.

edited 19th Apr '12 5:34:21 AM by Euodiachloris

Theater could use this technology to do things that conventional special effects just can't do convincingly, also.

And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)

Okay, I can give you that. Ushering in a new age of somewhat realistic special effects would be pretty cool.

I don't think I've ever seen that O_o But on that note, it kinda reminded me of an old Archie comic I read taking place in the future, in which the future!Archies band is in a rut until they see a hologram of The Beatles performing, or something like that. Apparently, in the year 2525, if man is still alive and if woman survived, this will be very commonplace, so sayeth the writers of Archie.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

Elvis presley to be Digitally Recreated

On behalf of Digisafe inc. I would like to reassure the public that the hologramatic zombies will not be permitted to be together or allowed anywhere near humans. It is of course totally impossible for them to infect the living or mate and produce offspring, not to mention unimaginable and unconscionable, so dismiss that thought from your minds. Rumours related to staring into their eyes for over 4.8 seconds are unsubstantiated lies, though we respectfully suggest you do not do so.

Could anyone who was, or whose intimate partners were, in the front row of Tupac's Too Ghoul For School May event who reported feeling a wet mist land on their faces please contact us immediately. Thank you.

edited 7th Jun '12 5:50:11 AM by betaalpha

Who wants to start placing bets on a Kurt Cobain hologram?

Hey everyone join my group Xxn 0 Scope Vapez420x X

Looks like the Elvis Impersonators will be out of a job soon. Why have imitators when you can summon Elvis back from the dead with holotechnology?

edited 9th Jun '12 2:31:07 AM by GameGuruGG

Wizard Needs Food Badly

I can only imagine how David Grohl or Courtney Love would react to that.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

Cynthia McKinney was right! The government does have secret records on Tupac Shakur. How else would they revive him as a zombie?

Given that we live in a post-J. Edgar Hoover world, I'd venture to say that the government probably keeps tabs on most famous people. I mean, that sounds mind-bogglingly impossible to us—there are a whole lot of famous people, after all—for the largest government in the history of the world with functionally unlimited money and no accountability behind the scenes, it wouldn't be so terribly difficult.

"Can ye fathom the ocean, dark and deep, where the mighty waves and the grandeur sweep?"

So, it looks like Tupac was only the beginning. Next is Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

I still don't get why (aside from Money, Dear Boy), but...eh.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

Because Rule of Cool?

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian