Subway: A 1985 film by Jean Luc Besson

[ SPOILERS: This blog contains spoilers but the film has been out for over 30 years, so if you wan to watch if first- a BluRay version of Subway has been uploaded to YouTube by some kind person. The entire film is now available online here ]

I don’t know if it has anything to do with the endless confinement of lockdown but the French film Subway popped into my head recently. An early film of Leon/Fifth Element Director Jean Luc Besson from way back in 1985, it also stars a young Christopher Lambert (dressed like Sting) and Jean Reno (playing drums).

Set rather eponymously in the subways of Paris –  Le Metro, the story follows a suave dressed thief fleeing authorities and encountering young territorial French musicians who hang about doing the usual activities associated with outlaws and rebels, running, hiding, fighting, loving and getting a band together.

The reason I write this blog is because when watching it again, I suddenly realised it would’ve been out about the same time as Crocodile Dundee. There are few similarities in the films other than sharing subway scenes set in major metropolitan cities in different parts of the world.

Subway was the third most popular film in France in the year 1985 bringing in 2,920,588 cinema goers, popular in one cultural climate but it reportedly only grossed $390,659 dollars in the American box office.

Within roughly the same year Crocodile Dundee became the second highest most popular film of 1986 grossing $174 million in the American Box office.

Both New York and Paris had issues with street gangs in the 1980s and both films acknowledge this but in very different ways. In Subway Christopher Lambert’s character Fred is a thief on the run, immersed in social circles with other thieves, gang members and EVEN musicians. His story is told in an open and honest way. Even though he is a kind hearted and conscientious thief that values life over using violence to obtain material reward (ironically).-The climax of the narrative includes an atypical karmic consequence – a repercussion of crime to suit a pro-institutional authoritarian agenda. i.e. live by the ‘sword- die by the sword’. Or even more simply ‘ Crime never pays’.

Pictures of street gangs from both New York and Paris in the 1980s-90s below – Can you guess in which city each picture is taken?

Crocodile Dundee acknowledged the ‘reality’ of New York Street Crime but only in a way that could showcase the main character ‘Crocodile Mick Dundee’ as the alpha male ‘Hero’ in this tale: The king of the ‘Concrete jungle’ in this ongoing metaphor. This probably seemed clever amongst the within the context of such a simplistic formula on display. This was probably encouraged by the studio intended to draw in a broad audience for a higher chance of vast commercial success. Many of these scenes have become iconic as illustrated in this very well known and endlessly parodied scene:

“That’s not a knife’

[Street gangs made a reappearance in a scene below from the sequel of Crocodile Dundee where Mick earned their respect by pulling another aggressive violent alpha male strategy. The second film didn’t dare stray too far from the original formula. A blockbuster film is more a sequence of previous cinema industry successes, rather than concerned with any artistic merit/truth.]

“Better than average”

Crocodile Dundee is made for American audiences that examines American ‘New Yorker’ culture from a distanced or outside Australian perspective.

Subway on the other hand was a French made film, presumably made for French audiences (The versions for American cinemas was dubbed or subtitled from French to English ). The narrative was more complex and broke away from a tediously binary good vs evil narrative at times. It found time to focus on the various relationship between members of ‘fringe’ community ( who were perhaps marginalised by French society at the time). The authoritarian figures were not heroic but rather often part of the comic relief. Two of the Police were even mimicked, referred to as Batman and Robin.

The reception of both films roughly equate to the same popularity in the countries of their projected audiences. Yet, Crocodile Dundee is unarguably the most recognised and known. Crocodile Dundee has proven to be culturally transferable to wider audiences but Subway has not. If not , why not?

It is not even a case of movie star pulling power because Paul Hogan was relatively unknown before the film and Christopher Lambert went onto star in the Box office success ‘Highlander’ alongside Sean Connery released within the same year. I am sure Lambert’s new found stardom would’ve given Subway a substantial promotional boost by mere back catalogue association . Yet to this day it remains relatively obscure in American cinema.

It could be that the language barrier was to blame but I suspect it is something far deeper. Lambert, Reno and Besson have gone onto make many English speaking Hollywood Blockbusters and work for the same industry and genre of happy endings since the 1930s that perpetuate storylines with preferences of myth over ( and killing of) reality.

i.e. The long standing tradition of going to the movies for escapism.

The comparison may be unfair with the studio behind Crocodile Dundee perhaps aiming to be more family friendly and accessible to mainstream cinema. However, three years later in 1988, even such a gritty drama of drug abuse and self excess/destruction like ‘ Bright Lights, Big City’: can be recognised by American audiences. This film was a modern day parable of drugs and excess and also set almost entirely on New York’s Manhatten island at the height of 1980s Yuppie fever. Yet, the film’s story remained critical of big city consumerism, easily produced for American cinema audiences received vastly greater Box Office yield of over 5 million dollars in its opening weekend, reaching over $16 million. Admittedly this had the star pulling power of Michael. J. Fox riding the Back To The Future trilogy but it wasn’t exactly pulling any punches in real life drama like Crocodile Dundee.

No. I feel Subway is something different and there is a clue: One of the songs featured in the film soundtrack below called ‘It’s Only Mystery ‘features some tantalising lyrics. One such interestingly line :

 “How can we keep on watching that Fucking TV? so bored, we don’t even care what we see… takes our strength away.. and never shows us the way … ”

Both films are a work of fiction, that is true, However, all works of fictions are a created as a product influenced by the social context of the times behind them from the creators perspective and how they see the world around them. Both films did well within their natives cultures. SO what DOES each film say about their respective cultures?

I am NOT saying that either film is the total sum of either country’s entire cultural landscape or cinematic spectrum at all.

What I am saying is after watching the end of Subway, can you ever imagine seeing the main character die at the height of potential happiness, set in a subway with a band playing behind him … in a Crocodile Dundee film? Most of the subway scenes diced with mortal danger only to emphasis Mick’s triumphant heroism. Some kind of larger than life jungle superman that seemed almost immortal compared to the other superficial, 2-dimensional characters in the film. The ending scene where he treads over huddled New Yorkers to ‘get the girl’ -Sue and win her over the other competing love interest (a rich New York businessman and her boss) is meant to illustrate some form of moral ‘victory’ for everyone. Where the audience roots for the hero and all the other characters are 2d dimensional and expendable. We never hear their story? It is just all about this Australian Ubermensch fulfilling his own happiness by literally standing on the shoulders of New Yorkers, crammed into one of the most overpopulated and gentrified cities in the world. ( Or is he meant to be keeping them down from realising how important their own happiness is?) The story only ever focusses on the hero’s individual journey and is never meant to be more complicated than following Mick’s journey, a hilarious collage of good natured cultural misunderstandings.

I always thought the line ” we jammed in like sheep” had vastly overlooked subt.xt,

We won’t see any gritty or depressing plot developments because the film is set in a genre of cinema that is only ever meant to reach a suitable climax that makes the audience warm and fuzzy. It is what is expected within contemporary western cinema. A happy ending, even when the consequences of Micks ‘out of town morality’ causes a dangerous New York pimp to pursue a vendetta and eventually get the best of him. Mick is rescued by his driver Gus (played Winslow) is in another glazed over plot escape from the reality of dangerous street crime.

Instead, the plot is welded up tight with a comedy interchange based on yet more superficial cultural misunderstandings. Escapism. To shut out the harsh grim reality of negatives experiences, like say, murder or death. Many are entitled to this luxury and have their reasons. Some deserve to come to the cinema and shut out their lives for a bit, perhaps more than others but on mass, what kind of social attitude does that encourage?

It wasn’t even enough to let Mick Dundee die in the second film, he HAD to be alive for the story to reach that proven established climax of a happy ending that audiences have grown ( or been groomed) to expect. A necessity to please the cinema industry that might argue is pleasing the market. Is this what real life is now?

My intention is not to knock the subtle cultural nuances of Crocodile Dundee for even one moment, (Mick had his own story to tell) but there has long been an acknowledged polemic gap in cultural attitudes between France and the USA, maybe even opposing attitudes to life in general. However the idea that the main hero of the story must always win, without repercussion or sacrifice, as in the example of Crocodile Dundee seems to align with one of the fundamental themes of Americans culture: comfort. The comfort of a happy ending.

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Crocodile Dundee [1986 ]was the second highest grossing film in the US box office with over $174 million dollars – Subway [1985]was the 3rd mos tpopular film in France for 1986 and mixed reports: grossing $90s in US Boxs office

The comfort of escapism, rather than reflecting on the true nature of mortality where in Subway, Christopher Lambert’s character Fred paid the ultimate sacrifice and unarguably the ultimate discomfort – he dies.

However films like Subway continue to contribute to a genuinely bigger picture, one of a more thought provoking and artistically prioritised, French cinema industry perhaps.  The ending of Subway was reportedly a testament to legendary French film Directors Jean Luc Goddard imitating the ending of his 1960 film; Breathless where the climax of the films leaves the audience as spectator, left hanging, never really sure where they stand.

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French philosopher Jean Baudrillard wrote how cinema can help highlight ‘the insignificance of the world through the image’ (Coulter [2010 ] P.7). It could assist in making the real world vunerable and thus actually real. In Crocodile Dundee, a larger than life character evades the significance of the world by ‘beating reality’ – a rehash of a superhuman character that everyone can live out their fantasy through. Perhaps even projecting their own narrative in an almost Narcissistic perspective. Making the vast biopic landscapes of nature where these narratives are set, such as the Australian outback or New York City seem insignificant, ignoring the overwhelming but fragile metaphors of mortality on display. Dundee evades the responsibilities that Fred faced in Subway.  Baudrillard said that American film “simply illustrates American life”(Coulter [2010] P.8). He also found American culture and lifestyles in general “like being in a film” (P.8). So is it an indicator of why American cinema in general opts for less thought provoking  and reflective content in favour of pure escapism?

 i.e. the murder of the real by the unreal.

At the very least, seeing how happy Jean Reno looks playing drums at the end seems to make it all worthwhile

– Look at his little smile.

Bless him.

Academic Sources:

Coulter, Gerry [2010] Jean Baudrillard and Cinema, from ‘Film Philosophy ‘[Online]

Available at https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/film.2010.0041

(Rozin. Paul, .Remick, Abigail.K.  . Fischler, Claude, [2011] ‘Broad themes of difference between French and American…’

Available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00177/full

Various articles on street gangs

Paris:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/feb/03/philippe-chancel-gangs-paris-80s-interview-another-kind-life-photography-margins-exhibition-barbican

https://www.vice.com/en/article/gq84aw/gilles-elie-cohen-del-vikings-photography-paris-876

Gangs of Paris by Yan Morvan

NYC:

https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/25180/1/gangs-of-new-york-style-tribes-of-the-80s

ttps://allthatsinteresting.com/new-york-subways-1980s

https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/style/best-dressed-gang-1980s-new-york/

Cyborg’dom.

[A fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body.]

The cyborg is not a new concept in western literature at all. Hari Kunzru takes the premise all the way back to Frankenstein’s Monster in the year 1818. The novel was famously a projection of Mary Shelley’s emotional distancing of the new life form grafted organically to her body i.e. her illegitimate pregnancy.

In my mind, the moment a cyborg was born into the mainstream social consciousness was in the 1987 film Robocop. Paul Verhoeven’s postmodern tale of a murdered Police officer called Murphy, brought back to life and enhanced with cutting edge technology. Murphy uses his newfound conscious awareness to slowly solve the mystery of his murder and piece his former life back together. The story could be considered a modern retelling of Frankenstein but with a new moral twist. The film is also a tale of the human spirit triumphantly breaking social confines of systematic repression and corruption, the victory of freewill and even the seeds of a moral debate around civic gentrification. The battle for Murphy’s organic identity (or ‘soul’) over the new corporate owned cybernetic Robocop persona, also contains a running parallel with the ‘soul’ of the city of Detroit. A city once driven by communities and local industry but now gentrified and beautified to avoid bankruptcy and commodified as an asset for the OCP corporation.

Paul Verhoeven’s 1988 film ROBOCOP

A great film on many levels. It also re-establishes Isaac Aminov’s Law of Robotics, adapted for cyborgs in the modern era. The 1984 film Terminator technically predates Robocop by featuring an onscreen cyborg but as a villain without complex morality. This issue wasn’t really addressed until the second film of the franchise ( T2:Judgement Day) arrived in 1991.

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner dealt with the morality of androids imitating humans but only on the surface as a clear cut negation of humanity. Below the cliché’d pantomime of good vs evil narrative veneer, there were moments of great reflection of the true fleeting nature of human mortality . 29 years later the sequel Blade Runner 2049 took the movement further with a cyborg featuring  as the main character and fed into a cybernetic uprising against a human led repression with technology as a yoke of social control, in a future dominated and monopolised by a private business entrepreneur. Even with an entirely cybernetic protagonist, the freewill of the ‘human’ spirit plays a part in Cyborg morality, at odds with a corporate regime that reduces life to a price. It would be nice to think that even cybernetic life-forms cannot be commodified.

In 2017 we finally saw a live action Hollywood production of the cult classic Japanese anime film; Ghost in the Shell [1995]. A film which came with a much more ready-made debate on the relationship between the intentions of progressive cybernetic technology and defining the true shape of humanity’s ‘essence’.

This territory of the idea of human-plus cybernetic evolution has also made its appearance in the serious academic world to. Donna Harraway’s Cyborg manifesto arrived in 1988. It subsequently opened up a debate on tackling the established toxic perception of humanity in a patriarchal society. The master-servant social paradigm is open for debate from many angles.

Follow the link for your own research but needless to say, their observations do not stray that far from the debates held in the aforementioned films: As this synopsis of Haraway’s book explains:

“Haraway’s cyborg is a set of ideals of a genderless, race-less, more collective and peaceful civilization with the caveat of being utterly connected to the machine. Her new versions of beings reject Western humanist conceptions of personhood and promote a disembodied world of information and the withering of subjectivity. The collective consciousness of the beings and their limitless access to information provide the tools with which to create a world of immense socio-political change through altruism and affinity, not biological unity. In her essay Haraway challenges the liberal human subject and its lack of concern for collective desires which leaves the possibility for wide corruption and inequality in the world. Furthermore, the cyborg’s importance lays in its coalition of consciousness not in the physical body that carries the information/consciousness. A world of beings with a type of shared knowledge could create a powerful political force towards positive change. Cyborgs can see “from both perspectives at once.” In addition, Haraway writes that the cyborg has an imbued nature towards the collective good.”

Many of the most popular classic Cyborg movies deal with this conscious uncoupling of pre- established moral and social norms with characters ranging from Robocop’s family orientated Police Officer; Murphy, to the psychotic replicant assassin; Batty, in the film Blade Runner. For anyone who has ever conducted decent quality social research, that external perspective is vital for reaching objective and critical observations, whilst being immersed into a culture that sometimes relies on coded cultural nuances. I guess Haraway is saying the Cybernetic elements represent both aspects of research. Analysing mortality from both a distanced, emotionless robotic perspective and also a mortal, human one. Verhoeven’s Robocop tackling the capitalists aspects like gentrification and toxic corporate sponsorship of moral institutions. 

Humanity’s dependency on technology is at a very immersive and sometimes psychological and physical manifestation of this bond. Much like the activity put forward in the Wachowski Bros’ Matrix trilogy and in a far earlier film starring Keanu Reeves called Johnny Mnemonic [1995] by director Robert Longo. Trying to make sense of things from a human perspectives often requires ‘rewiring’ the way our minds think.

Ghost in the Shell has perhaps seen more public discussion since the recent ‘whitewashing controversy‘ around the casting of Scarlett Johansson for the lead role: Major Motoko Kusanagi, who is considered an Asian (anime) role. However, creator Mamoru Oshii defends the decision stating that the character is a Cyborg and her ethnicity is irrelevant. This enforces Haraway’s thesis on an ethnographic level.

The synopsis is basically a evaluation of how human memory and spirit can be contained and preserved in a cybernetically-enchanced individual made for robotic purpose, regardless of the manufacturer’s intentions. (The same way that Peter Weller’s human memories was retained in the original Robocop film). Stepping off from this future ‘golden age’ of cybernetic civil rights is a recent film currently circulating on Netflix called Elita: Battle Angel: A former 25th century cybernetic soldier is reconstructed as a second generation cyborg not only retaining memories but also physical traits and learned behaviour in the form of martial arts reflexes etc. This film contributes to Cyborg legend by bringing with it a practical take on a ‘deity’ presence, in the form of a ‘ancient’ being with higher technology and resources living in a floating city. The ‘everyday’ society is a fallen one of scarce resources and competitive scavenging of ‘lost’ but ( to us) futuristic cyborg tech. Bringing with it the realism of diminished capacity for consumerism to provide for and maintain a society. Once again, in this tale, the morality of the human spirit once again outweighs the harsh socio-economic conditions. What Alita: Battle Angel offers best is a rational perspective the logistics of human nature and ontology in general.

The Netflix series ‘Altered Carbon’ is in its 2^nd series and continues to push the boundaries of the  human- cyborg relationship with human bodies being representative of  reusable ‘sleeves’ and the only established form of solid human consciousness/ former life memories are retained in a residual form of a hard drive computer file. Thus flipping the cybernetic paradigm that balances human and machine: The ‘organic’ body is the replaceable sleeve and the ) is the ‘true’ record of the human essence. The show continues to find ways to push the boundaries of this myriad, in ways not seen since Blade Runner in its day.

On these often dystopian futuristic scenarios, the ( often western) social values remain typically unchanged and unchallenged but the centre of the moral compass is brought back to this notional cliché that is the undefeatable human spirit.  Cybernetic lifeforms are still capable of making observational moral judgements though, as in the dark subjects of prostitution and murder brought up in the series one finale of Altered Carbon. It seems even in a society with cybernetic technology that can bring unlimited lives, barbaric primal urges are still present and the good old human spirit is still corruptible from a primitive but universally understood form of  ‘evil’, especially by the rich and privileged.

I highly recommend the following films as ‘Further viewing’:

1. Robocop [1987]
2. Blade Runner [1982]
3. Ghost in the Shell [2017] ( the anime was in 1995).
4. Alita: Battle Angel [2018]
5. Altered Carbon [2018] ( Both series are on Netflix.)

Top 10 Coronavirus self-isolation films

So we are all locked down ready for the Coronavirus to pass us by and we have accepted it is going to be a fair few weeks. By now, you will have probably been through the usual Sci-Fi franchises; the Terminators, the Total Recalls, the Aliens and/or Predators, the Mad Max(uses) . . .maybe even the Zombielands but there is gonna be a few weeks left yet.

Personally, I enjoy setting the mood with dystopian apocalypse films that either reflect or exaggerate the ‘end of the world vibes’ that are floating around outside somewhere. So, here are my personal Top 10 recommendations . . .

#1 The Running Man [1987]

One of the first dystopian sci-fi films I ever saw growing up in that morally bankrupt era we called the 80s. The film’s message has stood the test of time. A dark, violent and gritty tale of a future society eroding from poverty that is ruled by TV. A society where civil rights mean prisoners get court-appointed theatrical agents. The entire film is a life lesson in believing authoritarian media manipulation. There are scary prophecies in how far TV entertainment can corrupt our social moral fabric. In her 2017 book; ‘No is not enough‘ Naomi Klein wrote that televised US airstrikes in Syria were described as ‘after-dinner entertainment’ at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s luxury holiday resort in Florida. (P. 57). A toned-down performance from Arnie with minimal one-liners managed not to eclipse an intelligent and thought-provoking storyline. Extra star credit with wrestler Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura. To the 3 people out there that didn’t know this already, the film was based on a book written by Stephen King under the alter ego, Richard Bachman.

 #2 Escape From New York [1981]                       

Kurt Russell’s second most significant film of the 1980s and easily his most adult. Eerie and chilling digital scored soundtrack from John Carpenter helped transfer essential euphoria from the Halloween films. The back story itself is inspired enough to carry the film but it also contains a zeitgeist that simply couldn’t be re-created in the sequel set in L.A. 20 years later. The front cover artwork pretty much screams apocalypse, too.

#3 Original Blade Runner [1982]

Ok, so not technically dystopian but just an amazingly clever PoMo sci-fi futurist film. Although, you could argue that the nihilism of killer androids questioning the fabric of their own reality is kinda dystopian.  Worth watching just for the late Rutger Hauer’s epic closing monologue.

#4 Robocop [1987] 

Not really an apocalypse film but is it awesome and more importantly, there is a vital message about the rapidly approaching consequences of gentrification in our society. Coronavirus has already reminded us to appreciate the human spirit over adversity. It has taught some to learn to value people over profit and so will Paul Verhoeven’s classic digital age morality tale. Watch Robocop 2 [1990] if you must but please not the 2014 reboot. It solves nothing.

#5 The Domestics [2018]

A fairly grim and dark post-apocalyptic road movie starring Kate Bosworth. What makes this one different is the lack of larger than life hero personalities. A banal tale of ordinary people trying to survive in a desolate barren wasteland that is a mixture of Americana and American gothic. Suitably nihilistic with no overwhelming moral stance. There is no great good vs evil narrative just survival and ordinary hope. Available on Netflix.

#6 Night of the Comet [1984]

 A charming almost cartoony 80s style low-grade zombie movie attempt ..but without zombies. Starring Catherine Mary Stewart from The Last Starfighter (if you know, you know) it brings a perspective of ordinary understated realism to the end of the world. The opening scenes have this great atmospheric Purple glow over the sky with wide-open landscape camera shots of a huge abandoned city. Almost similar to the opening scenes of The Omega Man.  Nothing special but not too bad either. Currently available on Netflix I believe.

#7 The Last Man On Earth [1964] 

The original dystopian narrative film starring vintage Horror legend Vincent Price. It still has the bleak atmospheric feeling of abandonment that carries the viewer effortlessly through so many scenes in the film. The storyline obvious to everyone who has already seen I Am Legend but is still worth watching to see how far cinematic technology has taken us. Upon further reflection, there are still some things they do better in the simple low-tech cinema of old. Available on YouTube.

#8 The Omega Man [1971]

The second reboot of the quintessential dystopian apocalypse formula we all know and love. Remade only 5 years after The Last Man on Earth but with a much larger budget and Charlton Heston at the helm. A similar ending but the 1960s ethos has infected the spirit of the apocalypse. A great watch still but there is a strange multi-culturally insensitive subtext that should really be extinct in a post-apocalyptic narrative. It dates the film hideously. The scale of the opening scenes is still pretty impressive and they have obviously upped the production form the former effort.

#9 I am Legend [2007] 

It is the year 2020 and everyone has seen and enjoyed I AM LEGEND but I wonder how many have seen the true beauty offered in the more positive alternative ending. It makes for a far superior film. It’s sadly predictable why the studio opted for the more traditional formula that we saw in theatres. The film was based on a book and is the third cinematic adaption made, the first two #7 and #8 respectively. In these opening scenes, you can see the influence taken from Omega Man but more epic and iconic architecture is used to send the message home: The world is abandoned,

#10 Elysium [2013]

This film is possibly the most realistic dystopian film available. The basic plot deals with an exaggerated continuation of our current society if current social and political trends continue. Matt Damon’s performance is somewhat eclipsed by the hectic chaos of Sharlto Coplay seemingly given artistic free reign. A great visually jaw-dropping film with a stark warning about where post-Trump/Republican humanity is headed if it isn’t stopped soon.

Finally, if you have Netflix check out the 2019 series Daybreak – a satirical PoMo take on the classic Lord of the Flies/Hunger Games formula but from the perspective of a millennial era American high school. An interesting take and also guest-starring the original Ferris Bueller – Matthew Broderick.

Whatever it takes to keep you away from the chaos outside

The New Star Wars Film

So at Star Was Celebration in Chicago the teaser trailer for episode IX  was released.

Already the film has typically been deconstructed frame by frame and Abrams and Disney are not giving much away just yet. You get a bit of Jedi trained Rey. You get a bit of of Lando back in the Falcon driving seat. You even get a bit of Finn & Poe, ‘the gang’ back together. BUT the real revelation comes along with the audio at the end. ..

 

 

 

 

Measuring postmodern history

Here are some Captain Marvels comics from the year I was born:

I have been collecting comics since my teens, which were about the early 1990s. Ironic, considering the Captain Marvel film was set at that time.

The film itself, provides a great example of how brands and consumer iconography are used to depict an era or epoch of contemporary history (i.e. the placement of the Blockbuster video store in Cap Marvel) . Brand placement are sometimes the only way to signpost that point of time in western history.

Many places in many parts of America will probably STILL have the same types of buildings and structures existing over the last 30 or so year. Aside from the odd obscure landmark, the only change we might see are recognised brands; companies or shop names or even old models of cars. The very street you live on may contain the same buildings and structures with only different shop names or wind displays. The main thing is a popular company brand can signify the passing of time in a modern location where only consumerism drives purpose and existence. Yet, in a film like Back to the Future – everything had to be changed to convince the viewer of a time period pre 1980s because the aesthetic of the 1950s ( compared to the 1980s) was significantly different than the difference between the 1980s and the year 2015. Buildings remain relatively similar and Fashion trends have probably come full circle. However, a person dressed like someone from the 1950s probably blends into downtown Los Angeles as much as Captain Marvel would in a bright space suit. This is because although history apparently repeats itself or fashion travels in circles, consumerism doesn’t actually seem to go backwards.

This is likely because western consumer culture has changed very little in the last few decades with relatively little cultural evolution. Only the progression of brands and trends.  The only technological sophistication in the film was the presence of dial-up internet as a joke, to signpost the pre-wifi broadband age of the internet.

However, seeing comics like the ones above (from the year I was born) creates an interesting way of visualising my own lifetime. Even though the comics are only ever an account of a fictional story set in space. I can date my own existence and monitor by comparison the trajectory of my own life experience ( and hence my mortality) upon that era of comic book history.

I remember as a teenager in 1996, excitedly finding a cheaply priced Daredevil #26  A silver age comic from 1966, from a time, long before I was born. The comic looked so dated and old fashioned, much like how the Captain Marvel comics seem now, in the light of the millennial age. The same amount of years has passed between 1966 and what was then 1996, as the time that Captain Marvel returned to earth in the 1990s, to indicate the passing of time in the film made in 2015. The aesthetic has changed so little, it required a globally know brand from the past to ( not convince) but signpost the epoch of that era. I guess society has changed little since, the most convincing theatrical device to instigate the passing of history was the lapse in modern technological advancement, the aesthetic had changed very little.

The point is this; comics from a certain decade have an aesthetic quality that projects the relevant epoch. The style of the artwork, sometimes a renown style acts in the way that fashion does within an era. To the initiated, it can signify an era within a hobby, entirely fictional that somehow connotates the structure or zeitgeist of an era comics that represent times gone by. When Marvel or DC comic books are made into films reaching a wide mainstream commercial audience, it can flatten and stretch the relevant timing of the original events in comic-book history. This nothing new for the Batmans or SPider-Mans who have years of numerous tv franchises. The presence of Superman on the silver screen is nearly reaching a century in itself and has thus lived through and already met considerable cultural changes in the 20th century like WW2. However, with a relatively unknown character like Captain Marvel, it is quite a new thing.

It may just social reflections or sociological observation with subtle critique, hidden within the narratives of the comic. Or even something far more blatant like the example of what is called Historiographic metafiction. The storyline of one particular Spider-Man comic breaks the fourth wall and depicts the struggle in the aftermath of 9/11. (Amazing Spiderman #477). This brings the reality of New York into the comic world and breaks the fourth wall. A bit like how WW2 was brought into the Captain America film, yet despite how the film merges reality and fiction, the actual comic was created as a reaction to the war in 1941.  The captain Marvel film has had to create the illusion of being set in the past and can only do this by using the now-defunct Blockbusters video store as a signposting device, in a relatively recent era where little has changed since.

Essentially, it is now only a fictional aesthetic value . in the form of a shop brand or logo that signifies the passing of time because we know that Blockbuster videos no longer exist. Yet the stores probably live in with other businesses in them. For some parts of America this is perhaps, a way of measuring history. That is just how postmodern our current cultural climate is.

The Death of Superman in the 1990s made national and global news headlines and for the first time, a main comic book protagonist was killed. The reality of the superhero myth being infallible had been challenged. The impact of this could be perhaps credited to the connotations of Nietzsche’s views on the death of god and the comic characters long interviewed history with the Ubermensch etc. ( Or the Freudian interpretation of the concept).

However, the truth is that fictional comic book narratives can now be considered a means of measuring sociological observations and even document the passing of history in postmodernity.

Bandersnatch

So I am rewatching Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch on Netflix to explore the unexplored options. The first question about the cereal seems a meaningless choice but it does draw attention to the emphasis on branding and how brands logos are used to signpost within our contemporary collective consciousness. For instance, Coca-Cola and Pepsi were once accessories of the American dream of ‘freedom’ used as propaganda for their foreign policy. Now both brands are recognised as global icons within their own respective corporations.
The option of the choice to accept Tuckersoft’s offer is a valuable gift from Black Mirror, illustrating the need to stay true to artistic integrity and retain creative authority in projects. Sadly, any non-conformist ideology is ridiculed from here on in.
The second choice between listening to Thompsons Twins or  ‘Now, that’s what I call music- 1980s’ compilation in the Walkman is equally inconsequential but probably emphasises the bland choice of musical diversity commercially available at the time. Incidentally, I have restarted several times with both options …. Colin is still not impressed by either choice.

“The concept of taste is outmoded” because “the subject who could verify such taste has become as questionable as has the right to a freedom of choice which empirically, in any case, no one any longer exercises.”

Adorno’s argument that repetitive music acts as a form of enforcement for collective consciousness, serving the socio-cultural-economic agenda of mainstream society is alive in Colin’s non-conformity. Basically, taste is irrelevant as conforming to generic music serves the capitalist purpose of the industry.

The 80s decades itself has been of fascination to recent TV programmes and sitcoms; anything from cheesy sitcoms The Goldbergs and camp films like American Pie to numerous rehashed sci-fi epics like the new Star Wars and Terminator sequels. All these things leave pop-cultural footprints and at the very least, establish consumer brands and franchises. Such action strengthens the power of cultural hegemony that serves the commodity fetish agenda.
I think what Black Mirror successfully identifies in Bandersnatch is the birth of computer coding and the parallel relationship between its effect on contemporary culture and making life choices based on the distribution of artificial reasons.

The reference to coded computer games like Pacman during Colin’s acid rant isn’t as far-fetched a metaphor as you might think. If you consider it calmly without drugs, even though Colin’s refusal of reality is entirely erratic and his confusion of complex spirituality misguided. The idea of rejecting mass consumption as a guiding moral compass still has merit. The idea of making life choices outside of consumption .. outside of brands and business guided narrative is inspiring and obtainable. Even now in 2018, the ‘grow your own’ trend has been adopted by neo-yuppies and hipsters as a rejection of mainstream commercialisation. In 2018 it is everywhere you look from craft fayres to micro-breweries.

1980s era entertainment also had something else as a major ingredient of its legacy: Patience and Potential.

I can remember having an Amstrad CPC computer and loading video games on cassette tape, waiting for ages for what would be the most minimalist graphics but the overall experience was so original and advanced at the time. The combination of anticipation and imagination probably held more artistic merit and reward than the final result of the gaming product. Such anticipation naturally stimulated imagination and thus creativity, a whole decade before instantaneous Sega/Nintendo 8 bit action and soon the extravagance of 16-bit graphics consoles smothered these qualities.
Was there a relationship between the passivity of consciousness created from beautiful and mesmerising graphics and a lack of patience for imagination? In that era, there was (arguably) also the popularity of dynamic comics and magazines over traditional literature. The use of Disneyfication in video gaming. Has this led into our contemporary lethargic dependence on consumer comfort over real progression of cultural change? All of this slowly unrolled before the arrival of global dominance of instantaneous internet connectivity.

The part in the film where they play the demo in the Tuckersoft office, they met the demon Pax in the Bandersnatch demo and Colin says ‘Worship him’.. Stefan replies; ‘No, don’t do that he’s the thief of destiny….”

Coded cognitive signposting in computer games

Is this actually a coded signpost? Storytelling narrative designed to prompt the viewer, hinting at them to make the appropriate choice? Implying that worshipping the thief of destiny, is the same as accepting the Tuckersoft business mogul, Tucker’ s offer: Worshipping a metaphorical demon in the form of corporate conformity against the freedom of creative integrity?

Too farfetched? Well, remember the entire film is a fictional narrative.

A lot of the new Star Wars films purposely used ‘seeding’ techniques as subconscious prompt for fans to speculate where the storyline is headed? Do we need such propaganda, long before actual final products are released. Is it no longer enough to wait and see, or enjoy the anticipation?

Well, anyone who has read the most basic reading on structuralism can see a somewhat minimal alignment with Guy Debord’s arguments in the Society of the Spectacle [1967].
Yet, how far from everyday cultural reality are the relative truths of the Bandersnatch storyline? Hint: Postmodernity. Marc Auge’s claim that in (post/super) modernity, as consumers we are likes passenger in our own lives failing to retain enough consciousness to make choices ( 1995: 103). The extreme escalation of Colin’s demise is erratic but probably known to most as the ultimate 80’s drugs fuelled urban myth. The result of ‘protagonist’ Stefan murdering his father is to be disregarded as a climax of a dramatic narrative (or even distraction). But this climax presented as a metaphor rings true with consequence of nihilism due partially from the ‘schizophrenia of postmodernity’ in capitalism. (This was well documented – See Frederic Jameson). There are numerous Baudrillardrian hyperreal/simulation references embedded throughout the entire concept also. There is some excellent fourth wall breaking later on keeping within the true spirit of postmodern tv comedy shows like Family Guy and Red Dwarf to name but a few.
However, the main postmodern feature of Bandersnatch, in a commercial, commodity-driven non-academic sense ..is the interactivity.

Anyways.

The point is that the 1980s was a time when imagination and vision proceed technology. It was decades before the internet and years before the arrival of instantaneous entertainment and escapism found in Nintendo/Sega games consoles. Even back then, boredom existed and society looked to enter the sanctity of virtual ethernet to be entertained.
The Star Wars trilogy and other likewise films took us into further into escapism and far away space battles for adventure but the boring and scientific reality is that Nasa’s Voyager 2 Probe launched in 1977 failed to reach ‘outer space’ until 2012. During its 35 yr voyage, no even remotely exciting discoveries were declared that could even scratch the exciting surface of sci-fi entertainment. Even well into the lifespan of web 2.0 internet. That era from 1977 up until the late 90s was a bland world of vision and imagination where cultural myths preceded the distraction of the internet. An era where we still had the mental capacity for social change. Gaps in our collective inevitably bridged and by Advertising.

Try not to think about what the western world would’ve been like without Advertising though.

One would hope Black Mirror have devised a way to claw some of the self-identity back for the individual, as a means for the passenger of supermodernity to regain the ground lost by Auge’s argument of passivity. Auge’s idea that lack of community meant a loss of facilities for civic interaction and then hence traditional, non-capitalist fuelled collective identity. Thus the postmodern world aided with heightened digital technology sponsored by a social infrastructure that follows the capitalist agenda has inevitably created non-places of civic interaction..” in transit sites where people are suspended between other activities but in a way certain of its own reality” (Delanty, 142). The uninspired consumer without imagination or vision becomes the ‘passenger’ of our own subconsciousness without individualised thought or consciousness would naturally follow this order. (Auge 1995: 103). According to Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida; with no opposition to the “centrality of subjectivity”.. “postmodern community being beyond unity” (Delanty, 142).
In a more scientific, less theological sense, research has in fact concluded that 95% of all cognition is adaptive unconsciousness. Is this the way society is heading? No thinking, no criticising,  just spectating, without action or even objection. The ultimate passive Consumers.

“Fuck you I won’t do what you told me”.- Rage Against the Machine

Cobra Kai: YouTube ‘Show No Mercy’

When I first saw the movie trailer for Cobra Kai last year I was very excited. I grew up in the 80’s so The Karate Kid was more than just a film, it was an ideology. I  even remember trying the ‘Dannyboy’s crane shit’  in a schoolyard fight. Of course, it didn’t work . . everyone had seen the film by then.

I did think Cobra Kai might arrive as a film coming to cinemas. The failures of previous films since made me thing they had finally realised a return to the original formula would bring back the loyal fanbase.

I was not expecting multiple TV episodes . . I was expecting it on Netflix, or YouTube .

. . .I was certainly NOT expecting to pay for it on YouTube.

The first two episodes are free and as wicked as you could hope, offering refreshingly alternative views on what has always been an old-fashioned  Us.vs.Them saga. For me, the original film was a metaphor of the toxicity of American foreign military campaigns and wars.  It was about the ongoing systematic oppressive violence and bullying in western society that contradicted the true meaning of marital arts. That meaning is a pacifist ideology that instils self discipline, self-confidence and this always seemed obvious to me. The film wasn’t just about the nerd getting the hot girl and kicking the school bully’s ass.  It was about accomplishment and balancing yourself within nature.

It was about the look on Miyagi’s face in the closing freeze frame.

 

Cobra Kai adapts to the new globalised world order well though, incorporating some Nietzschean style perspectivism, pitting both sides of the story together and really questioning the open ended balance of humanity. There are even some subtle Trump supporter nuances, which we can all appreciate.

The price isn’t extortionate, especially in this day and age compared to the cinema or online film rental prices. But it does make me wonder if YouTube are heading down the same road as Netflix, trying to take on Hollywood. 

Why 1982 Blade Runner was ahead of its time

The original Blade Runner film is a sci-fi cult classic telling the story of a bounty hunter turned detective tasked with hunting and terminating killer cyborgs (or replicants as the film labels them). Ridley Scott’s dystopian digital-age fable was famed for its futuristic vision and has been academically revered as a cinematic embodiment of postmodern culture. Within it is a critical narrative of human mortality and purpose. A sequel has now been released in worldwide cinemas titled Blade Runner 2049. However, whilst science-fiction is exactly that, the film conjured up images and concepts of a future digital fantasy world that is now part of our everyday lives over 30 years later.

 

5 Ways Blade Runner predicted Digital Culture

 

1)    Videophones

The scene with Deckard calling Rachael from the bar and speaking to her face to face over a videophone may now seem standard in our current age: Where every iPhone has a camera and everyone communicates via skype or Facetime. However you have to remember, back in 1982 when the film was released, people were still using dial-up telephones. Mobile phones weren’t even a thing yet, way back then. To give you some context this film was released almost a year before the first ever commercial mobile phone was available on the market.

 

2)    Retina scans

Used briefly in the replicants interrogation scenes, scanning someone’s eyes was deemed sci-fi hocus pocus but for some, it’s now the highest form of corporation building security access. Now you can even get software that scans your face to log into your laptop!

 ( Did anyone notice how the opening scenes panning into the huge pyramid shape Police station climaxed in a huge eye?) 

3) Digital photo enhancement

The scene where Deckard scans the crime scene photo and enhances the image to capture the reflection in the background is achievable in this day and age with top-notch hi-def graphics. Heck, people can even scan images and enlarge via Photoshop. Admittedly the tech in the film seems very advanced for free built-in Microsoft or apple software but the techniques are probably standard for high-end crime investigation. Again, remember this film was made over 36 years ago. Interestingly the actual device perched on top of the TV screen Deckard uses looks very similar to numerous TV/Video packages sold in the 1990s.

4)  Digital Advertising

The animated sky-high neon-lit billboards in the film were probably jaw-dropping back in 1982. In a time before HD digital quality CGI animations even existed in advertising. This is because back then most billboard adverts were static posters and even in prestigious premium spots like Piccadilly Circus, you wouldn’t ever imagine a flickering, bright flickering animated advert casually appearing over your head as you walk. Nowadays, the very nature of such casual brand placement and marketing is just second nature. Much like the characters in the film, pedestrians rarely blink an eyelid when going about their everyday lives. Even the neon luminous product placement of Coca-Cola and the TDK signs in the background of the ending rooftop chase seems glib compared to the oversaturated branding of today’s modern marketplace.

Compare the image above from Blade Runner to the image below of the London’s Piccadilly Circus in1979. The gap in digital advertising technology is huge. 

 

The sequel Blade Runner 2049 takes the digital advertising even further into the future with larger than life animated holograms. As the original set the bar for many sci-fi films decades later like Fifth Element [2000] and Ghost in the Shell [2017]. Much of the original was so influential that most of the trademark features like camera shots and backdrops have been nicked and reused by numerous imitation films since. I wrote earlier this year that in light of Ghost in the Shell’s excellent holographic level advertising backdrop Blade Runner 2049 to up its game. But did it? ( We think it did).

5)   A.I. (artificial intelligence)

The basic premise behind the storyline is about replicated cybernetic humans becoming self-aware of their own existence and questioning their place in society. This has been the backbone of almost every sci-fi killer robot reboot film for the last century and is even a serious concern in modern-day robotics. It was reported that Facebook recently switched off its a.i. software due to signs of it becoming culturally self-aware, generating its own language. Gadgets we use every day like Siri and the Google Home smart speaker, or even the sat navs in your car run from some form of self-generating intelligence. We all know how Skynet went down. Google’s recent a.i. experiments apparently showed aggressive tendencies. much like the runaway Nexus replicants in Blade Runner:

                                                                    AND . . .  Flying Cars

OK. So we don’t have flying cars hovering up and down the road or outside your local co-op just yet but we do have electric cars. The classy upwards sliding electric scissor doors on the Police vehicles are likened to the Lamborghini Countachs and DeLoreans of the era but they are still not in widespread commercial use. The film was set in 2019 though, only two years from now so who knows what the future holds. We might have them by then.

Remember the 1999 film Bowfinger?

This one.

Checkout this clip from it below . . . .

Heather Graham is one of the actors who has come out against Weinstein but perhaps this was her form of protest back then? People still paid to watch the film though?

Eddie Murphy did a film that pretty much slagged off Scientology amongst other things. I bet people who watched this just took it for granted as a parody of Hollywood.
Now, the parody is hitting the headlines but this film shows how the successful films industry works. Weinstein MAY be a flat out rapist and there is a BBC listing of many actors who felt intimidated by his influence and a very strong chance that most women had given (semi) consensual permission just to get their careers started. Nobody should be harassed or feel intimidated at work in any way or form, of course. However, it’s not every person’s god given right to be a Hollywood actress? So addressing this inequality within the movie industry hardly impacts everyday people worldwide.

Were the women he abused threatened with their lives? or just their careers?

There is room for a debate like this in all everyday fields of industry though. I just feel it is better held as far away as possible from the glitzy but grimy atmosphere of the entertainment industry.

Removing the toxic messages of our pre-programmed patriarchal society would be a lot easier without dependency on material gain and rewards as a means of success. This is pretty much what gave Weinstein his power.

You can be disgusted at a rich film producer for his immoral and potentially criminal behaviour but you can also be disgusted at going to see films that show a hot young women getting her kit off. . . most of the time, it is unnecessary to the reality of the film storyline. THIS would be real change.
We should question the society we live in that goes to see films like this as it’s the same society that encourages and generates the demand in the industry?

Either way, You won’t carry the entire complexity of this debate in a Hashtag or a Tweet with a max capacity of 148 characters.

Valerian: The City of a Thousand Planets

Legendary director Jean Luc Besson’s latest Sci-Fi venture graced UK cinemas this week. The film is endless eye candy.  The creator of Leon and Fifth Element hit a bit of a bad patch with his last film Lucy, despite starring Scarlett Johanssen, the film somehow failed to ignite for me but did provide record breaking financial success for the French film industry. I read it was an ongoing script nearly a decade in the making and perhaps missed its natural time in space etc . However Besson has easily made up for lost ground in this latest venture. I personally found Valerian to be a visually spectacular appealing journey from start to finish. From pans-dimensional chases to multiple planetary settings the visual continuity of the story is mind blowing in itself.

Even this small snippet shows how picturesque and complicated the sci-fi universe Besson has created. Quoting James Oster;  ” a rich and jaw-dropping world.” 

In the long list of classic futurist sci-fi/action masterpieces Besson scored highly in his film Fifth-Element, arguably ( in my opinion) borrowing from Vlade Runner and taking the crown from Ridley Scott. Earlier this year I wrote how the live feature film version of Ghost in the Shell borrowed a lot from Ridley’s 1985 classic. It seems the ball is safely back in Besson’s court now after this fantastic cinematic voyage. With Blade Runner 2049 heading to our cinema screens next month, we will have to see how this year turns out.

The Fifth Element is probably considered a sci-fi classic by most. The rich and deep artistic quality of the universe Besson created for us is reunited in many parts of the City of a Thousand Planets.

Even the concept is great and the opening sequence leads to a utopian intergalactic idealism that can lead to helpful futuristic reflection. Besson has always been a bit of a futurist but also a humanist and I really like that Valerian in a thoughtful message of social critique along the lines of Fifth Element. The added benefit of Cara Delevingne’s presence on the screen for over 2 hours adds to the charm. The faux-American accent of both Cara and former Harry Osborn/Green-Goblin Dane Dehaan may have been unnecessary but she can act and is given a character with more space to flex her theatrical muscles after the restrictive portrayal of June Moon/Enchantress in Suicide Squad last year. If that was enough to quench your sensual appetite, halfway through the movie Rihanna arrives making the experience visually stunning in more ways than one.

I really cannot overemphasise the extensive and incredible beauty of the film’s scenic locations and settings. It is an ongoing creative journey that refused to slow down. I suspect the viewer is graced with a new unique and original background setting almost every 5 minutes of the film. It really is a “sci-fi treat”.