Video: “Where the hell is Matt (2008)?”
posted at 1:14 pm on June 21, 2008 by Allahpundit
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In which an exuberant tribute to the common humanity of the world’s cultures drowns in the viewer’s own acid brew of jealousy and provincialist inadequacy. Suggested alternate title: How the hell did Matt find the time and money to do this?
Everyone knows who this guy is, yes? It occurs to me that I may be assuming too much, but with 600,000 views for this in one day and almost 10 million for the one he released two years ago, we’re probably all on the same page.
Update: It’s worth clicking over and watching this in high quality, as the resolution’s dramatically better. Just hit the link below the number of views.
Update: Aha. Per his website, this latest trip was sponsored by Stride Gum. Which means, in terms of creating an enviable lifestyle for himself and getting someone else to pay for it, he’s a genius of almost Hefner-ian proportions.
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I’ve been watching Matt’s videos for a long, long time.
The money came from personal savings at first, but he has since received sponsorship from various parties.
This guy’s living a dream, and props to him for it!
ChePibe on June 21, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Ah, Matt’s back!
Stride Gum!
See, this is why America is so great…you travel around the world on a low budget vacation to get away from your burned out, dreary life as a software engineer, and invent a silly dance that you post on a web site and a chewing gum company comes along and sponsor’s you to do this for the rest of your life…
AUINSC on June 21, 2008 at 1:25 PM
dmz korea was kinda creepy
lorien1973 on June 21, 2008 at 1:25 PM
His first video/trip was self-financed. His second, and presumably, now his third was/is sponsored by the Stride Gum Company. He answers this on his FAQ at his webpage.
aquaviva on June 21, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Y’know, the world is an incredible place.
Originality points: zero.
Sentimentality points: infinite.
SteveMG on June 21, 2008 at 1:31 PM
I noticed he missed Fort Worth. That’s probably for the best.
Limerick on June 21, 2008 at 1:32 PM
DMZ Korea IS kinda creepy, for real.
I loved the kids in this.
Maquis on June 21, 2008 at 1:34 PM
AP answered how the 2nd trip was paid for.
Entelechy on June 21, 2008 at 1:35 PM
College is overrated.
No, I’m not advocating not going to college.
Entelechy on June 21, 2008 at 1:35 PM
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.
He gets the what-a-guy award from me.
Mojave Mark on June 21, 2008 at 1:36 PM
Kind of inspiring I think. And I actually have never seen any of this. I do live in a cave but it has Internet access and I still missed it.
kahall on June 21, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Entelechy on June 21, 2008 at 1:39 PM
This touches something primordial in you, something tribal, if you will.
The crooked timber of humanity isn’t entirely bent.
SteveMG on June 21, 2008 at 1:40 PM
Nor did I. I thought it was a Matt Lauer post at first.
lorien1973 on June 21, 2008 at 1:41 PM
How the heck did this guy get in the Korean DMZ?
Eh, it’s interesting, but that ain’t dancing. More like a Wii Fit commercial.
JetBoy on June 21, 2008 at 1:42 PM
His journals (on his webpage) are very interesting. There’s alot on that page…it kept me up very late one or two nights.
This viewer’s “acid brew of jealousy and provincialist inadequacy” runs very -VERY- deep.
aquaviva on June 21, 2008 at 1:46 PM
It makes me smile :-)
A glimpse of Heaven I think. People from every tongue and every nation dancing in the presence of the Lord forever!
Ordinary1 on June 21, 2008 at 1:56 PM
YES. Made the rest of it all the more poignant, though.
The word “awesome” is overused to the point of cliché, but this video gets in the territory of what that word really means. Thanks, Matt!
RushBaby on June 21, 2008 at 1:56 PM
OK…I’ll admit to being jealous.
flipflop on June 21, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Yeah, that was great. Don’t underestimate the skill of locations, photography, and organization/social skills in getting enthusiastic people to join. Two things, though: “Los Angeles” was actually Santa Monica, and East Jerusalem isn’t considered in the West Bank by those who have sovereignty over it (the Israelis). But of course we know that.
As for the DMZ, it’s a tourist site. Also, I was amused to see the maid cafe at 2:08.
calbear on June 21, 2008 at 2:11 PM
I think the video conveys the feeling of joy quite well.
It sure made me smile and laugh and not the laugh at them way, but laugh with and enjoy the experience.
First time of seen or heard about this. I must not be surfing the intewebs enough at work. I’d better get on that ;)
aikidoka on June 21, 2008 at 2:20 PM
I don’t care…it makes me smile.
stonemeister on June 21, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Not to kill the buzz, but could one’s reaction to this video be a Rorschach test of sorts?
I think I shall conduct an experiment to test my hypothesis.
aikidoka on June 21, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Maybe he went to get some gnarly Clash boots.
Maybe he went to get a Vespa scooter.
Sorry – I was channeling Camper Van Beethoven and my misspent 80’s youth.
HawaiiLwyr on June 21, 2008 at 2:27 PM
I’ve never heard of this guy.
Mr. Bingley on June 21, 2008 at 2:31 PM
There might be hope for us yet.
Rhinoboy on June 21, 2008 at 2:36 PM
If we can just keep everyone dancing, we’ll be okay.
Once the music stops, then well……
That’s a metaphor for something; but I’m not sure what.
SteveMG on June 21, 2008 at 2:42 PM
You’re not alone.
Connie on June 21, 2008 at 2:44 PM
I hadn’t heard of this guy either, but God bless him.
Michelle: how bout a couple weeks off and two tickets to Tora Bora for AP? And maybe you could send Kirsten — or MKH, or both! — along with him for a little therapy for his provincialist inadequacy.
Purple Fury on June 21, 2008 at 2:47 PM
Who? He did what? Hire the man for the marketing department. He got his finger on the pulse of generation
X,Y,Z, whacko.TheBigOldDog on June 21, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Obama: “If I am elected President I will send Matt to Iran to do the dance with Ahmediniedinedijahad”!
Visualize whirled peas
Ordinary1 on June 21, 2008 at 3:37 PM
I don’t think it is, but the room/building he was in looks a lot like the one which straddles the Military Demarcation Line, where all the truce negotiations were carried out.
When tour groups are allowed in from either side (though not often from the North) the other side seals its doors and posts guards outside the windows on its end of the building. I have pics from my visit, of NK guards peering in while we were allowed to cross onto the north side of the line – the only time I suspect I’ll ever be allowed in North Korea.
Russ on June 21, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Oh, and by way of critique, I much preferred the backing audio on the first of the Stride-sponsored videos. It’s gut-grabbingly beautiful.
Russ on June 21, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Oh, and when I said “I don’t think it is” I meant “not the same building,” emphatically not “not in the DMZ.”
Just to clarify.
Russ on June 21, 2008 at 3:51 PM
The hippy in the Paris, France shot is awesome. Interesting way to take something so incredibly trite and silly and transform it into something more.
darclon on June 21, 2008 at 4:31 PM
I’m insanely jealous of this guy. I can only imagine the stories he has to tell. I bet sharing a beer with him is a lot of fun.
By the way, the DMZ part of the video was taken from inside the South Korean end. If you are interested in a video (series) of a western filmmaker who actually was able to go visit the DMZ from both sides, I cannot recommend this video enough. 14 parts around five minutes each, all worth watching.
VBS Goes to North Korea
Tman on June 21, 2008 at 4:39 PM
Never heard of him.
But then you could recite the names of all the American Idol (Idle) winners and I’d probably be just as ignorant.
I can, however, name all of the Supreme Court justices and tell you whether they are Constitutionalists or liberals, Name the President’s cabinet members, half of my states Legislators and all my town council’s members… Useless stuff like that.
And and recite the opening soliloquy to Richard III quite convincingly.
LegendHasIt on June 21, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Nope, never heard of him until now.
Seriously.
clancy_wiggum on June 21, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Not only had I never seen this, I’d never heard of it.
Anyway, some airline or travel agency should have sponsored this because I guarantee a lot of college-age kids will be taking time to travel the world as inspired by this video.
Nessuno on June 21, 2008 at 5:12 PM
So, armchair psychologists, please tell me why that is so uplifting…is it because it shows that the little kid in all of us is allowed to come out and play? And if you do, you’ll be like a magnet for like minded joy seekers? Whatever it was, I liked it! :-)
JustTruth101 on June 21, 2008 at 6:04 PM
Because it affirms for us two things we’d really like to be true:
1. Deep down, we’re all the same.
2. Being a dorky dude who can’t dance very well ain’t all that bad a thing.
Purple Fury on June 21, 2008 at 6:29 PM
I suck
ronsfi on June 21, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Its absolutely beautiful,okay,now whats it about again,
kidding,hey,if you can do it,and enjoy it,why not! :)
canopfor on June 21, 2008 at 8:02 PM
Matt is dancing in the conference room in the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea.
http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/south_korea/index.html
Several times a day, tourist buses from Seoul bring visitors to Camp Bonifas for the official tour.
I took the tour and can confirm that he is dancing in the conference room.
slp on June 21, 2008 at 9:46 PM
By gosh, it’s true: Blacks and Latinos can dance, Whites and Asians can’t. Indians are on the cusp, as befits their interestingly-dual identity of having affinity with Americans (as anyone in IT can attest) and having their own extremely distinct culture: one guesses that they can’t dance in general, but they have stylized forms that transcend the problem. One hates to stereotype, but it does tend to leap out of these videos, Berke Breathed’s example of Fred Astaire vs. Colin Powell notwithstanding.
Splunge on June 21, 2008 at 9:58 PM
never saw him–never even heard of him ’til now; didn’t watch, don’t care…
urbancenturion on June 22, 2008 at 12:21 AM
urbancenturion on June 22, 2008 at 12:21 AM
u should watch it, (not to get all hippy) but it shows that we are all made of the same stuff,
and after reading day in and day out how terrible the world is, us normal people need nice reminders that the world isnt all bad
a simple video of people of all nationalities dancing with an american should make u see hope in the world,
even if its for a few seconds to do the video. people all over the world left their differences and views behind them and just did a stupid dance
now im no philosopher but if u accomplish that and put it on video, it is not only art but beauty as well
cougfan on June 22, 2008 at 4:58 AM
Beautiful.
Tanya on June 22, 2008 at 10:03 AM
I was stricken by the “dancers” of Turkey.
Their manner and colorlessness, when contrasted with everyone else in the vid, is pro’ly a reflection of their culture. They seem to have had the joy sucked out of their lives (or maybe they’re just afraid to show it.)
.
Oherwise the joy of being alive (no matter where they are and what circumstances they might be in) pretty much jumps off folks on screen.
Thanks for posting this, AP.
least1 on June 22, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I was excited at first, I thought we were going to fillet Matt Lauer for his retarded “Where in the world is Matt Lauer” segment on Today Show…but I never heard of this guy.
It’s the new age version of “Buy the World a Coke” type commercialism…meh.
Wyznowski on June 22, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Nice. Reminded me a little of Phil Collin’s Take Me Home video.
Marc01 on June 22, 2008 at 2:20 PM
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