In fact, though "Manhattan Bridge Piers" was played on TV for shock value, the video — which was uploaded by a YouTube member named kvertrees, whose work includes other silent films, of mushrooms and swallows — works better as a tribute to suspension technology.
Is MTV-style cutting, home-video camera work or shock-value footage more important than content?
Sign up for Thatbest of VICE, delivered to your inbox daily.
The shock value in the video was purposefully added, but ultimately the story was about oppression; and about following one's heart and the glory of being free.
"I believe there's a certain shock value to these videos that make them appealing to the masses," she said.
But Islamic State searches tirelessly for ever more baroque punishments to up the shock value, many of them meticulously chronicled in grisly videos.
The assignment was to make a viral video, and Rick used Natacha's Interior Semiotics as the direct inspiration for his viral strategy, since it "had the perfect combination of art, shock value, and perceived privilege to create a successful viral video that the internet would hate passionately".
"Those who give it that chance beyond the initial shock value get that point". Wisecrack uses the pixelated look of old-school video games to discuss philosophical issues.
The director's short films, adverts and music videos were also shown in between live performances, with his unsettling promo spot for Playstation 2 and his video for Nine Inch Nails, Came Back Haunted, retaining their shock value.
A sneak peek video of Oprah's latest efforts begins with the promise of shock value.
While Zarqawi's group has moved away in recent months from videotaped beheadings of foreigners, the shock value of the Berg beheading has created a race for more and more realistic video clips from Iraq.
