filmic dependency

I went to the Third Annual Filmic Dependency Film Festival. I'm not clear what Filmic Dependency is but curiosity sent me out there. It's a two night fest put on by Mongoose Productions. The Architecture Building has an outdoor amphitheater layout on one side. They point an LCD projector at one side of the building, have two speakers set up in the front and play DVDs. You bring out a blanket and lay on the grass and watch movies. Maybe snuggle with the one you love. It's a cool setup.

As with many things unusual, this one requires a certain patience. {My Guy and I saw this opening band Gomez. Their set was shaping up to be pretty boring and then My Guy stepped out to smoke a cigarette at which point they busted out some really decent songs - only to revert to mediocrity when he returned. This happened for each of three smoke breaks and he still does not understand why the crowd on the floor was so psyched to see this band.}

The first night I went by myself. They showed black and white short films. A few silent films. A few of those educational films from the 50's. One made for GM called "Round and 'round" which was basically capitalist propaganda. One called "duck and cover" aimed at teaching school children what to do when an atom bomb is dropped. I left before the second half (I don't know why. I guess I felt antsy.) which was films from the internet. (I'll bet it was cool. I wish I had stayed)

The second night I dragged B with me. {B is 18 and very lonely right now as her best friend Z is gone for a month. I am not an adequate substitute for her other self but since we are each at loose ends (My Guy is off visiting his family) I insisted that she accompany me) The first half was films from SIUC. They were on the whole pretty bad. Some clever ideas with poor follow through. B got bored and sleepy and asked me to take her home.

I went back for the second half which was films by Sam Adler with Mongoose productions which were cute, more mainstream. Mostly it was parodies of television. One of them was a very funny sendup of Elimidate called Dismissadate in which a self-absorbed himbo named Brad has to choose between a hottie named Amy, a guy named Brad, a dog, and a Broom. I have never seen a man kiss a broom with such passion. And I hope to never see anything like that again.

The Best of the Fest was the last film entitled "The Cause." It was a documentary of an empassioned protest on campus for "the cause". The soundtrack was a Jimi Hendricks-like guitar instrumental. People are wearing plain white t-shirts and holding up blank poster board which they point to saying: "This tells you everything you need to know about why we are here!" They make empassioned speeches about their outrage and the impact that "the cause" has on the world. They march down Green Street and across the Quad. They shout and chant and pass out blank leaflets. They bring people in and invite them to join, ask them how they feel about "the cause." And it's spot on. It like every rally or protest that I have been to in this town. Except with a better turnout and more enthusiastic participants. Uncanny. Hilarious. And very discouraging. You never find out what "the cause" is or if there actually is one. Which I find devastating. If you take out the slogan all protests are the same. If you are not informed. If you don't care about the cause for protest it's just a crowd of weird angry people holding up blank signs.

Like the end of "The Sleeper" when Woody Allen has sucessfully stolen the Leader's nose assuring that the revolution is sucessful and he tells Diane Keaton that years from then they will be plotting to steal Erno's nose (leader of the revolution.)

Such that one film argues that social change is not really change because human nature does not change. The other film suggests that protest does not persuade in quite the way it once did.

If this is the case "What is to be Done?" My goodness, what a downer this post has become.

Uh ...
at any rate take any opportunity to see movies outside and snuggle with the one you love.