Traceroute (film)
Grenzfurthner calls his film a "personal journey into the uncharted depths of nerd culture, a realm full of dangers, creatures and more or less precarious working conditions",[1] an attempt to "chase the ghosts of nerddom's past, present and future.
Traceroute is a reflection on Grenzfurthner's own roots of nerddom, an "On the road style romp across the United States as he visits icons of the counterculture, the outré, and the generally questionable.
And that all works for one simple reason: because I take a step forward, introducing myself and confessing my guilt like in Alcoholics Anonymous, only to then take off and visit the best whiskey distilleries.
The use of photography and drawings interspersed between the interviews with various people associated with nerd culture shows an artistic approach to the material and these images act as reflective snapshots of moments in time, reinforcing the importance of looking back to the past as well as looking forward to the future of the digital age.
"[7] Traceroute features interviews with Matt Winston, Sandy Stone, Bruce Sterling, Jason Scott, Christina Agapakis, Trevor Paglen, Ryan Finnigan, Kit Stubbs, V. Vale, Sean Bonner, Allison Cameron, Josh Ellingson, Maggie Mayhem, Paolo Pedercini, Steve Tolin, Dan Wilcox, Jon Lebkowsky, Jan "Varka" Mulders (of Bad Dragon), Adam Flynn, Abie Hadjitarkhani, Kelly Poots, and some special guest appearances (e.g. National Park Service spokesperson Vickie Carson, hacker Nick Farr and cultural curator Scott Beale).
The film features music by Peter Barnett, Kasson Crooker, Damien Di Fede, Matthew Huffaker, Brady Leo, Vera Lynn, Kevin MacLeod, Hans Nieswandt, Roger Sandega and Eric Skiff, among others.
"[18] Mental Floss' Chris Higgins writes about Traceroute: "As many nerds have noticed, there's a glut of nerd-positive documentaries out there, but they tend to be either too self-serious, or too focused on the trappings of fandom to actually say much.
Traceroute manages to be a real film, with humor and true insight (sometimes called out for us—and delightfully nullified—with a blinking 'INSIGHT' faux-HTML tag onscreen), primarily because it focuses on Grenzfurthner's personal journey, and he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Despite continual stimulus satiation, it is wonderful fun: the film tickles the synapses with a perfectly mixed cocktail of collectively shared context and quirkiness.
"[4] Patrick Lichty of net culture magazine Furtherfield calls it "magical (...) After watching Traceroute, I was left with a real exhilaration and a deeply reflective feeling at once.
(...) What Traceroute reveals is the tradition of alterity just beneath the surface of Western culture, and that it has a powerful effect on our mass consciousness, whether it is in plain sight or not.
(...) Traceroute deserves high praise because it represents an old-school definition of nerd culture, one that is never compatible with fintech, unicorn and iGod.
"[22] Diamond in the Rough Films praises Grenzfurthner's hosting and storytelling: "This doc works in some very unconventional ways, not the least of which is our plucky protagonist.
"[23] Blogger and sci-fiction author Cory Doctorow states about Traceroute that "Johannes is a brilliant lunatic of surpassing and delightful weirdness.
There's a healthy dose of sexuality in Traceroute, which one might expect, yet Grenzfurthner also immerses the film in politics, activism and social shifts.
[...] Refreshingly devoid of the pretentiousness so often found amongst truly intellectual films, Traceroute is simultaneously a pretty wonderful personal journey and an immensely satisfying cinematic experience.
[38] In a 2016 interview with Film Threat's Chris Gore, Johannes Grenzfurthner debated the possibility of a sequel, a trip to destinations in Eastern Europe with the goal to drive from Vienna to Baikonur Cosmodrome.
