they don’t allow bees in here

I was thinking about the title of this blog, and how it’s rather negative…so here’s the video explaining the reference. It’s from the show Arrested Development, which aired for three seasons on fox. It’s widely recognized as one of the best sitcoms in the past…well, since TV started. It centers around the Bluth family, who have been made wealthy through their not so ethical dealings in the housing business. Michael Bluth is the main character and morale lasso for his family, who are selfish, shallow, just generally amoral. The best part of the show is the humor and plot elements which are set up early in the episodes and carefully woven throughout the series. Unfortunately, only the first season is able to do this flawlessly as the second season was cut short, and they were forced to rush through the story. The third season is even more rushed as they were no doubt surprised that were renewed, so it’s evident that are trying to cram the whole story in before they get canned for good.

Although it may be gone, there still is hope for tv. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is similar to Arrested Development in that it centers around a group of selfish and amoral people…except they don’t have the moral center to reign in their mischief.  The show is far edgier as they deal with subjects such a stealing, a murder, abortion, and baby tanning. Oh, and they swear on basic cable…how awesome is that?

While we were watching one of the Brothers Quay shorts, I was reminded of this video by the band PSAPP. Although it’s nowhere near as intricate or as dark as the Brothers Quay’s work, there are definitely certain moments that are reminiscent of it…particularly at about the -3:07 mark, with the screws and the spider creature that emerges.

With Street of Crocodiles, it’s interesting to see where someone like Tim Burton probably draws his inspiration from. Stylistically, there looks like there’s a strong link to Nightmare Before Christmas… at least in some of the way the characters move and in the general macabre feel of them.

Le Vampire - by Jean Painleve

This film seems to me to be an early version of what we might think of as a ‘National Geographic’ documentary. But unlike most educational films of the following decades though, this one is full of lush imagery and imagination. These creatures are being macro analyzed and personifying human emotion. In our daily routine, we rarely give thought to the tiny microcosms. We might glance over something as seemingly insignificant as a caterpillar, but in the film it is full of rythm and precision. The narrator compares the vampire bat to a crippled man hobbling along and describes how it administers its kiss of death. Suddenly we start to see the beauty in the subtle nuances that take place around us.

After viewing this film, I was left questioning why this is classified with the avant-garde films. It almost seems more romantic to me. But once again, I need to understand the context of when and where this film was made. After World War II, perhaps it’s a time that we look more closely at the world around us and appreciate what it has to offer.Avant-garde is about pushing boundries and challenging the norm, so I guess in a way I would agree that this film is just that.

*update 9/26*

I was thinking more about Le Vampire and the way it is narrated reminded me a lot of the movie Amelie. The intro to the movie seems that it may have been inspired by Painleve, in the way that they both have this rich narration that draws you in. Hmm….

We saw a bit of this video for ‘brain injury day’ in psychology class, and it is very fascinating. The part of Clive’s brain responsible for storing new memories into old memories was destroyed by encephalitis. He is completely a completely conscious, lucid, and intelligent human being, but he lacks any sense of the past or the future. Even stranger is that he has all his old memories in tact from before his disease, so every few moments for him is as if he’s awaking from unconsciousness. I couldn’t help but think how this might relate performance or video art. Perhaps they’re not so different from Clive himself.

“Clive’s world now consists of a moment, with no past to anchor it and no future to look ahead to. It is a blinkered moment. He sees what is right in front of him, but as soon as that information hits the brain, it fades. Nothing makes an impression, nothing registers…As soon as he’s perceived it, and looked away, it’s gone for him. So it’s a moment to moment consciousnesses, as it were, A time vacuum. And everything before that moment is completely void, and he feels as if he’s awakening a freshed the whole time.”

So, we watched this Triadic Ballet video piece for video class earlier this week. Sometimes when I see things from the past, I feel bad for not being as impressed as I should be. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been soaked in the influences of these things for so long? I’m sure if I were seeing the Triadic Ballet for the first time in the 1920’s, my monocle might have popped out and I might have fainted from the vapors. When I see it now, I can’t help but think I’m looking at Katamari Damacy dancing with MegaMan bad guys. I mean, don’t get me wrong… I still thought the video was gnarly. Despite not having any real story or choreography, the character design is so strong, that in of itself is enough to create some sort of story in your own mind.

This clip is from the HBO series “Flight of the Conchords”. I’s about two wannabe indie-folk rockers from New Zealand who come to New York to make it big. Brett and Jermaine take themselves and their music very seriously. It seems that there is a cultural barrier between them and their success. New Zealanders are portrayed as intensely serious and literal people. Their politeness and naivety is rivaled only by Canadians.

The interesting thing about FOTC is the integration of the musical sequences. They exist in Brett and Jermaine’s imagination, but they serve to advance the plot. The musical productions in their mind are usually more lavish and complex than what they actually perform, but the lyrical content is still simple. The video above is done in the style of the scopitones from the 1960’s. I love the old french fashion of the solid, muted colors. All this extravagance and the lyrics of the song are pulled from a first year french class.