For anybody born within the Eighties or later, Keanu Reeves has existed within the cultural zeitgeist for his or her complete lives. Reeves kicked off his string of cult-classic movies with 1989’s Invoice & Ted’s Glorious Journey, which preceded a whole decade’s price of beloved cultural artifacts.
It culminated, after all, within the launch of The Matrix movie franchise in 1999. In recent times, he’s been in John Wick and Cyberpunk 2077, the latter of which birthed this now iconic clip.
To name Keanu Reeves a public treasure would most likely be an understatement. Nonetheless, with Reeves’ newest enterprise, some have determined to snuff out the torch they maintain of their hearts for the (impossibly) 57-year-old actor.
How out of character is that this, actually?
Regardless of NFTs and crypto being confirmed channels for fundraising efforts, giant segments of the overall populace stay skeptical of the know-how. That’s all effectively and good, as there have been a lot of NFT scams, points with insider buying and selling, and so forth. So long as the criticism is predicated on stable information, it’s totally comprehensible.
However the important thing factor is that it must be primarily based on information. As a result of simply as NFTs have been used for unwell, they’ve been used for nice good. This level is especially vital in Reeves’ case, as his entrance into the NFT sphere was by way of the launch of the Futureverse Basis and performed in partnership along with his longtime companion Alexandra Grant.
In shut cooperation with Non-Fungible Labs and FLUF World, this charitable basis hopes to supply alternatives for “underrepresented artists [to] exhibit their work on digital and bodily platforms,” as per the press launch.
Reeves himself is not any stranger to philanthropy. In truth, he has constructed up a fame for himself as some of the beneficiant folks energetic in Hollywood, bar none. Simply Google ‘Keanu Reeves philanthropy’ and also you’ll discover an limitless record of the lavish presents Reeves has given to co-workers, household, pals, and charities over his 30+ yr profession. So is that this transfer out of character in any approach, actually?
Based mostly on the entities he’s working with, most likely not.
FLUF World’s involvement on this basis is particularly promising, given their earlier fundraising efforts for causes corresponding to homelessness and the humanitarian disaster in Ukraine. Since its inception in 2021, FLUF World has raised over $2 million for causes like these, and extra. The humanities are slated to be their subsequent beneficiary, as Reeves and firm will work in direction of “creating a greater world for artists” by this basis.
Particularly, they hope to take action by creating grants aimed towards “assist[ing] various and underrepresented artists, and nurtur[ing] their distinctive artistry on world platforms.” Previous the launch of the Futureverse Basis, Non-Fungible Labs donated a sum of 100,000 euros to Oforiatta Ayim in assist of her distinctive curatorial idea for the Ghanaian Pavilion on the Venice Biennale 2022.
There’s nice hope throughout the basis that the work they’ll do shifting ahead will make waves within the artwork sphere – NFT or in any other case.
“Funding for the humanities is a problem for each artist and humanities non-profit. Dreaming up a brand new mannequin for arts philanthropy with the Non-Fungible Labs staff that may have an enduring impression in each the digital and actual realms has been some of the thrilling tasks I’ve labored on,” mentioned Grant within the press launch.
The chatter on-line
Sadly, regardless of Reeves’ purported intentions with the inspiration he’s helped arrange, some folks on-line stay dissatisfied by the information. Others appear to have missed the purpose totally, viewing Reeves’ involvement within the new basis as “leap[ing] on the NFT bandwagon,” so to talk. They appear painfully oblivious of the charitable nature of Reeves’ entrance to the house.
Over at Forbes, Dani Di Placido wrote about “pyramid schemes” and the need to make sure “that there’s a continuing provide of contemporary victims, primed to purchase into the ever-expanding rip-off.” Sure, the nice rip-off that’s charity.
In the meantime, some customers have additionally identified that Reeves himself laughed off the idea of NFTs throughout an interview throughout Matrix: Resurrections’ press tour. So what might have probably modified his thoughts on the topic? Effectively, to start with, Reeves wasn’t laughing on the thought of utilizing NFTs for charity. Moderately, Alex Heath requested him in regards to the thought of digital shortage and digital collectibles. Reeves laughed and famous that digital objects are simply reproduced.
In different phrases, he doesn’t assume that digital collectibles made a lot sense. Nonetheless, NFTs can be utilized for lots extra than simply collectibles. For instance, they can be utilized to fundraise for charity….which is precisely what Reeves is doing.
Or maybe, as one one who responded to our preliminary tweet on the topic recommended, he might have lastly “discuss[ed] to the proper particular person to know what [the community is] constructing collectively.” In any case, Reeves began working with NFTs to advertise charitable contributions. So it’s quite exhausting to see why the world is so upset.
