Thinking Movies

Hallo readers, am recovering quite well from the joint 30s of my bro and bro-in-law last night. Reflecting on the 3 movies a day idea, and that I'm willing to count not-at-the-movie movies I wondered if that wouldn't make things easer.

Today I got an email from someone on youtube, responding to a comment I made ages ago on a video clip called "Doll Face." Go watch the vid if you haven't, links here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8n9ZhtWfWU and then come back and read on. It's only about 2 minutes.

I think I would count that as a movie, because it has the start middle end modal and credits as well as being 100% special effect. Asthetics aside it also asks a big question of it's audience: is this just a robot who unfortunately breaks itself or is this us, in some way, struggling to get our own wants?

The tone of the piece (shouldn't that be palette? - Editor) and sound used really creates a somber attitude as Doll Face, a literal "jill in the box" watches TV and tries to emulate a face that appears with make up, and then coloured eyes/skin. This smacks of personal identity so much despite being so removed from the human being experience (we aren't robots, last time I checked).

Finding something to identify with, emulating it, then wanting more. It's all about that feeling of yes, I belong. It's why I wanna run movie nights at uni, it's why people dress in clothes at all. A lack of clothes itself is a statement, usually "I'm naked and a possible looney".

Regardless it's a gorgeous tragic little piece, and is sure to scare away half it's audience just because it's a human-faced robot with a long millipedic neck/body configuration. That's raises another interesting side effect of watching so many movies, you get to grow used to things and they cease to have an effect on you.

I'm talking specifically violence, the bizarre, and biggest of "horror". Horror hasn't ever worked on me, not the jump out the screen at you stuff. The violence though, it's present in every thing. I'm thinking deliberately Kill Bill, when Uma Thurman fights the Crazy 88. Apart from being a brilliant piece of action it's also a proper blood bath as limbs and feet and such are cut off, and many lives are ended. Yet we watch that without disgust or concern, because our heroine has done it, in the name of getting revenge.

So watching Doll Face I wasn't personally creeped out by the android human face, but I feel plenty of people would be horrorfied at the "cyborg abomination" they see. That's a problem movie makers face, the notion of potential audience turning away at the slightest sick-feeling in their stomach, heart or mind. I reckon I'll be happy if I ever hear about something like that happening, it means I've caused a response.

Enough wasting your time. Stole Clockwork Orange off my brother yesterday and also watching Frost/Nixon today. Alongside Doll Face that's 3, wohoo!