The Spectacle of Risk: From “Free Solo” to Netflix’s “Skyscraper Live”
The line between athletic achievement and entertainment has blurred, raising questions about the ethics of broadcasting extreme feats of physical endurance. This tension was vividly illustrated by Alex Honnold’s recent climb of Taipei 101, streamed live on Netflix, a performance that echoes the anxieties explored in the Oscar-winning 2018 documentary, “Free Solo.”
The Intimacy of isolation
in “Free Solo,” Honnold, a world-class rock climber, openly expressed discomfort with the idea of being filmed during his attempt to scale El Capitan. Honnold’s motivation isn’t driven by a desire for fame, attention, or financial gain. Rather, it’s a deeply personal quest to overcome his own fears and prove his capabilities. Introducing cameras into the equation, he feared, would compromise the authenticity of this internal struggle.
The Burden of Witnessing
The ethical implications extend beyond the climber. The film highlights the internal conflict experienced by the filmmakers themselves, all experienced climbers, grappling with the appropriateness of documenting such a perilous undertaking. As one member of the crew noted, “It’s hard to not imagine your friend, Alex, soloing… and you’re making a film about it, which might put undue pressure on him to do something and him falling thru the frame to his death.” This anxiety was palpable even in the film’s climax, with footage showing a cameraman, Mikey Schaefer, visibly unable to watch Honnold’s ascent, turning away from his lens.”I can’t believe you guys actually can watch,” he confessed to his colleagues.
From Granite to Glass: The Rise of Live Spectacle
The contrast between the intimate,considered documentation of “Free Solo” and the global,real-time broadcast of “Skyscraper Live” is stark. On Saturday night,Honnold scaled Taipei 101,one of the world’s tallest buildings,for a Netflix streaming event. The broadcast evoked the disaster movie tropes of the 1970s, like “The Towering Inferno” and “Airport,” where calamity befalls built environments. Though, unlike those fictional scenarios, the potential disaster in Honnold’s case would be self-inflicted and broadcast to millions.
The event sparked immediate criticism, with one Reddit user describing it as “sensationalism for the sake of shock and awe, like verging awfully close to Colosseum type entertainment.” This sentiment was echoed by concerns that the promotional material, emphasizing the stakes-“If you fall,” Honnold says in the promo, “you’re going to die”-bordered on exploitative.
A Calculated Risk, or a Step Too far?
The postponement of “Skyscraper Live” from Friday to Saturday due to rainfall in Taipei offered a degree of reassurance, suggesting that Honnold and Netflix were exercising some caution. However, the inherent unpredictability of the environment remained. Concerns were raised about the potential impact of changing weather conditions, including rain, wind, and even seismic activity.
During the event, presenters like Mark rober, a popular science YouTuber, acknowledged these risks, noting that they were “monitoring earthquakes!” The commentary team, including Netflix sports anchor Elle Duncan, rock climber Emily Harrington, and W.W.E. fighter Seth rollins, offered a surprisingly bland and affable tone-with Duncan remarking that “the goosebumps are goosebumping”-that felt incongruous with the life-and-death nature of the climb.The atmosphere, some observers noted, resembled a less-engaging Olympic sport rather than a harrowing feat of human endurance.
The evolution from the introspective exploration of risk in “Free Solo” to the globally-streamed spectacle of “Skyscraper Live” raises basic questions about the boundaries of adventure, entertainment, and the ethics of witnessing extreme human endeavors.
