Bone Tomahawk (s. craig zahler, 2015)
"This is why frontier life is so difficult. Not because of the Indians or the elements, but because of the idiots."
I'm going to start this piece with the word 'recently,' but please bear in mind that when I say 'recently' I'm actually referring to approximately 8 months ago. Anyway...
Recently I wrote and directed an advertisement, a 'branding spot' for a well-known chain of restaurants. People saw this and, if they knew I was involved, they got in touch and said nice things. Some people say very nice things. Some people say that one (meaning 'me,' not 'them') could even use this as a stepping stone to getting a 'real' career in the audio-visual side of things. You know. And this is lovely, and flattering, but here's the thing... someone *had* to make that branding spot. Think of it like this: there was a plan, a design, a layout, and I was asked to come in and put something in position within that plan. If I hadn't done it someone else would have.
Prior to this, as some of you may or may not know, I made a number of short films, and one feature, all of which I'm very proud of. But these haven't generated nearly as much excitement as the advertisement. To me it feels like this side of things is *more* exciting than the advertisement. Think of it this way: with the advertisement I was, as I have already said, filling a space in a pre-existing plan. With the short films and feature there was no design. I had to create that design first, and then decide, myself, how to fill it. Hell, if we're going to go with this kind of metaphor then let's be blunt: I had to pulp the wood to create the paper that the design was printed on. I had to bring everything into existence. I'm not saying that to sound self-aggrandizing, I'm just saying a true thing.
And yet, paradoxically, an advertisement that anyone could have made, and would have been made with or without my existence in the universe, generates more excitement. Oh yeah. Are you feeling it?
Lets talk about mimesis, or mimicry, for a second. Mimesis is the act of looking like something else. Impersonation. It's prevalent in nature, particularly among insects, so let's take an insect as an example. The Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar looks like a twig, or piece of wood, for example. "So what?!" you say "I've seen a bajillion bugs that look like sticks!" Trueness. But the Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar also uses pheromones to make itself *smell* like a tree too. As we all know, pheromones are king in the insect world, so predators simply stroll past the Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar instead of eating it. Pretty smart, right?
Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh yeah... the advertisement.
So here's the thing. The thing? I mean, my conclusion. Basically there's a form of mimesis going on here, and people who work within the audio-visual industries are only able to see something, or, let's be kind, see the value of something, when it is connected to commerce. If it's outside of that field then it's like a Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar, they simply don't see it. The sad thing is that these people would deny that assertion quite passionately, vehemently in fact. So let's talk to these people, and let's use the second person to make things a touch more personal.
You push your expensive lunch aside, unfinished, and turn to the screen. You log onto Nowness and look around for something to share on your preferred social media platform. You're torn, because you need this whatever-it-is to be endorsed first. You need to know that it is approved by the industry that you work in. But you're also obsessed with the idea of being first, of being the progenitor, You want people to see you as someone who finds these things as though you were wandering the aisles of an obscure curio shop in a land that none of your peers have visited. Finally you find it. And share it. And the likes and the comments come thick and fast. But in your quest you have lost yourself entirely. You are adrift. But will eternally believe the opposite to be true.
I'm going to start this piece with the word 'recently,' but please bear in mind that when I say 'recently' I'm actually referring to approximately 8 months ago. Anyway...
Recently I wrote and directed an advertisement, a 'branding spot' for a well-known chain of restaurants. People saw this and, if they knew I was involved, they got in touch and said nice things. Some people say very nice things. Some people say that one (meaning 'me,' not 'them') could even use this as a stepping stone to getting a 'real' career in the audio-visual side of things. You know. And this is lovely, and flattering, but here's the thing... someone *had* to make that branding spot. Think of it like this: there was a plan, a design, a layout, and I was asked to come in and put something in position within that plan. If I hadn't done it someone else would have.
Prior to this, as some of you may or may not know, I made a number of short films, and one feature, all of which I'm very proud of. But these haven't generated nearly as much excitement as the advertisement. To me it feels like this side of things is *more* exciting than the advertisement. Think of it this way: with the advertisement I was, as I have already said, filling a space in a pre-existing plan. With the short films and feature there was no design. I had to create that design first, and then decide, myself, how to fill it. Hell, if we're going to go with this kind of metaphor then let's be blunt: I had to pulp the wood to create the paper that the design was printed on. I had to bring everything into existence. I'm not saying that to sound self-aggrandizing, I'm just saying a true thing.
And yet, paradoxically, an advertisement that anyone could have made, and would have been made with or without my existence in the universe, generates more excitement. Oh yeah. Are you feeling it?
Lets talk about mimesis, or mimicry, for a second. Mimesis is the act of looking like something else. Impersonation. It's prevalent in nature, particularly among insects, so let's take an insect as an example. The Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar looks like a twig, or piece of wood, for example. "So what?!" you say "I've seen a bajillion bugs that look like sticks!" Trueness. But the Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar also uses pheromones to make itself *smell* like a tree too. As we all know, pheromones are king in the insect world, so predators simply stroll past the Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar instead of eating it. Pretty smart, right?
Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh yeah... the advertisement.
So here's the thing. The thing? I mean, my conclusion. Basically there's a form of mimesis going on here, and people who work within the audio-visual industries are only able to see something, or, let's be kind, see the value of something, when it is connected to commerce. If it's outside of that field then it's like a Giant Geometer Moth Caterpillar, they simply don't see it. The sad thing is that these people would deny that assertion quite passionately, vehemently in fact. So let's talk to these people, and let's use the second person to make things a touch more personal.
You push your expensive lunch aside, unfinished, and turn to the screen. You log onto Nowness and look around for something to share on your preferred social media platform. You're torn, because you need this whatever-it-is to be endorsed first. You need to know that it is approved by the industry that you work in. But you're also obsessed with the idea of being first, of being the progenitor, You want people to see you as someone who finds these things as though you were wandering the aisles of an obscure curio shop in a land that none of your peers have visited. Finally you find it. And share it. And the likes and the comments come thick and fast. But in your quest you have lost yourself entirely. You are adrift. But will eternally believe the opposite to be true.