- Sep 22, 2013
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Does media aesthetics remind you of the film The Puppetmaster?
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As I grew up in America after immigrating from India, when I was a young boy, I learned to value this country's embracing of media and social networks and toys and commerce and capitalism folklore. When capitalism-baron Donald Trump was elected as U.S. President, I realized that Americans were in love with the 'idea' of marketing. It was sort of an optimistic commercial 'daydream.'
As with any 'bright tale,' there comes a 'dark side.' Americans were obsessed with media scandals and controversies. There was the Fisher-Buttafuoco suburbia-scandal; the Menendez trial; the Clinton-Lewinsky impeachment-scandal; the OJ Simpson trial. Yes, American media dolls were as involved with commercial greatness and the American Dream as they were with the 'dark side' of the imagination.
I read the society-gossip regarding American super-celebrity Tom Cruise unhappy with his wife because of her seeming public lack of interest in his faith in Scientology (an unorthodox religion) and how he wanted to make an 'alternative-metaphysics' spotlight film about the iconic escape-artist/magician Harry Houdini. It dawned on me that media-dolls in the American landscape were like 'folklore diplomats.'
When the eerie crime-dramatization film The Strangers was released in 2008, it occurred to me that America's fascination with Halloween and masquerade and socialization festivities and trick-or-treating and cultural hospitality had stirred quite bizarre but rather entertaining stories/tales about incredible courage...and unholy evil.
I decided to make this stick-figure doodle of a Christmas 'siren,' an evil rendition of a holiday-season sprite simply named Evil Elf [EE]. To me, EE represented America's bifurcated fascination with both social rituals and shopping and bizarre anarchy-oriented imaginarium folklore (e.g., A Nightmare on Elm Street). Was America like a carnival?
Hollywood (USA) became obsessed with vigilantism-fantasy comic book adapted films in the new millennium. There seemed to be countless comics-adapted films including Superman Returns, Iron Man 3, Kick-Ass, and Marvel's Avengers. This was America's version of Sherlock Holmes --- Dick Tracy, Batman, Catwoman, Green Lantern, etc. Perhaps America was host to fantastic paranoia...
I found this old photograph of a man sitting with his daughter and his daughter's precious doll. I wondered why Americans were fascinated by folk-heroes such as Bonnie and Clyde, Harry Houdini, the Untouchables, and Evil Knievel. Perhaps this was America's version of metaphysics --- society gossip!
I was watching The Strangers on Netflix when it occurred to me that the reason Americans (I'm a U.S. citizen now!) loved dolls and masks and fantastic characters and 'super-heroes' was because America is essentially a land of great 'aesthetic negotiation.' While Europeans loved mythical-titans such as Count Dracula and Hercules, Americans were intrigued by
'bizarro-figurines' such as Leatherface and Darkman. America was a 'theatrical slideshow.'
I'm a big fan of Batman (DC Comics), and the eerie nemesis of Batman named the Ventriloquist is an odd butler-costumed 'gangster' who carries a gangster-doll named 'Scarface' with him at all times and 'speaks' through the doll to carry out his anti-social and malicious intentions towards society, a place called Gotham City. The Ventriloquist is like the Unabomber in that he's obsessed with disattached malice against the modern city. I realized the reason we Americans love programs such as The People's Court is because we love social 'campfires' (e.g., Amazing Stories).
After watching the mathematician-celebrity film A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard), I realized that even American academicians were fascinated by the 'concept' of social dances, so could the Biblical prophecy that the AntiChrist will surface at the End of Days to draw men away from duties be somehow...tangible? Could the AntiChrist be some kind of 'vanity-fair movie-star' (like Tom Cruise!) making culturally-incendiary movies about basic social angst (e.g., Minority Report)?
Anyways, the bottom line of this personal diary is to relate to you the discovery that media and social intellectualism (e.g., The New Yorker) requires a fair amount of 'aesthetics-exorcism.' The Ventriloquist (DC Comics) might tell you, "American media is like a big beauty pageant...a presentation of absolute craftsmanship!"
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As I grew up in America after immigrating from India, when I was a young boy, I learned to value this country's embracing of media and social networks and toys and commerce and capitalism folklore. When capitalism-baron Donald Trump was elected as U.S. President, I realized that Americans were in love with the 'idea' of marketing. It was sort of an optimistic commercial 'daydream.'
As with any 'bright tale,' there comes a 'dark side.' Americans were obsessed with media scandals and controversies. There was the Fisher-Buttafuoco suburbia-scandal; the Menendez trial; the Clinton-Lewinsky impeachment-scandal; the OJ Simpson trial. Yes, American media dolls were as involved with commercial greatness and the American Dream as they were with the 'dark side' of the imagination.
I read the society-gossip regarding American super-celebrity Tom Cruise unhappy with his wife because of her seeming public lack of interest in his faith in Scientology (an unorthodox religion) and how he wanted to make an 'alternative-metaphysics' spotlight film about the iconic escape-artist/magician Harry Houdini. It dawned on me that media-dolls in the American landscape were like 'folklore diplomats.'
When the eerie crime-dramatization film The Strangers was released in 2008, it occurred to me that America's fascination with Halloween and masquerade and socialization festivities and trick-or-treating and cultural hospitality had stirred quite bizarre but rather entertaining stories/tales about incredible courage...and unholy evil.
I decided to make this stick-figure doodle of a Christmas 'siren,' an evil rendition of a holiday-season sprite simply named Evil Elf [EE]. To me, EE represented America's bifurcated fascination with both social rituals and shopping and bizarre anarchy-oriented imaginarium folklore (e.g., A Nightmare on Elm Street). Was America like a carnival?
Hollywood (USA) became obsessed with vigilantism-fantasy comic book adapted films in the new millennium. There seemed to be countless comics-adapted films including Superman Returns, Iron Man 3, Kick-Ass, and Marvel's Avengers. This was America's version of Sherlock Holmes --- Dick Tracy, Batman, Catwoman, Green Lantern, etc. Perhaps America was host to fantastic paranoia...
I found this old photograph of a man sitting with his daughter and his daughter's precious doll. I wondered why Americans were fascinated by folk-heroes such as Bonnie and Clyde, Harry Houdini, the Untouchables, and Evil Knievel. Perhaps this was America's version of metaphysics --- society gossip!
I was watching The Strangers on Netflix when it occurred to me that the reason Americans (I'm a U.S. citizen now!) loved dolls and masks and fantastic characters and 'super-heroes' was because America is essentially a land of great 'aesthetic negotiation.' While Europeans loved mythical-titans such as Count Dracula and Hercules, Americans were intrigued by
'bizarro-figurines' such as Leatherface and Darkman. America was a 'theatrical slideshow.'
I'm a big fan of Batman (DC Comics), and the eerie nemesis of Batman named the Ventriloquist is an odd butler-costumed 'gangster' who carries a gangster-doll named 'Scarface' with him at all times and 'speaks' through the doll to carry out his anti-social and malicious intentions towards society, a place called Gotham City. The Ventriloquist is like the Unabomber in that he's obsessed with disattached malice against the modern city. I realized the reason we Americans love programs such as The People's Court is because we love social 'campfires' (e.g., Amazing Stories).
After watching the mathematician-celebrity film A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard), I realized that even American academicians were fascinated by the 'concept' of social dances, so could the Biblical prophecy that the AntiChrist will surface at the End of Days to draw men away from duties be somehow...tangible? Could the AntiChrist be some kind of 'vanity-fair movie-star' (like Tom Cruise!) making culturally-incendiary movies about basic social angst (e.g., Minority Report)?
Anyways, the bottom line of this personal diary is to relate to you the discovery that media and social intellectualism (e.g., The New Yorker) requires a fair amount of 'aesthetics-exorcism.' The Ventriloquist (DC Comics) might tell you, "American media is like a big beauty pageant...a presentation of absolute craftsmanship!"
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