#57: "I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want"
Welcome to issue #57 of THIS NEWSLETTER CANNOT SAVE YOU.
Before we dive into my recommendations for this issue, I’ve got a couple contributions of my own to share. Last weekend I was one of the writers for 14/48 - the World’s Quickest Theater Festival - here in Seattle. If you’re unfamiliar with the festival, take a quick look at the “how it all works” section on their site. I wrote two short plays: “Fanatic of Love” for Friday night (Janet denounces the dark ways of her parents, who expected her to follow in their bloody footsteps), and “Rolling Back” for Saturday night (a software company releases an update to the simulation without testing it first, resulting in dire consequences for civilization).
My 14/48 plays usually don’t see another production after the festival, and none of them are in print. But if you like those two pieces, you might browse a little bit on Scottoweb, where I’ve archived my favorites from many years of writing for this event. Maybe try “Exactly What You Would Do” or “The Malware” to get started.
Okay, enough about my stuff — let’s get to the other stuff!
Scottovision
“Lucid” (2021) - There’s a monologue in the middle of this short film about an art student’s struggles that is so sharp and cogent and powerful that it’s almost worth the price of admission alone. The topic is “this is what your bad art does to people, me especially” and it’s delivered by one of the student’s instructors after some particularly questionable performance art went down. If you’ve never been on the receiving end of a “your art is bad and borderline so are you” speech, maybe this won’t resonate. But the film successfully rides the line of sympathizing with the student’s struggle to produce sonmething worthy while not letting her off the hook for dodging self-awareness about her own motives. Directed by Deanna Milligan, written by Claire E. Robertson.
“Coreys” (2024) - In prolific mad genius Conner O’Malley’s new short film, he plays Corey, a bored and frustrated suburban dude who can barely manage a trip to Target with his wife, and he also plays Corey, Corey’s drug-and-sex-soaked alter ego who begins taunting him from an outpost somewhere in Las Vegas. Corey heads to Vegas on a spirit quest to confront his alter ego, and when the two meet, hijinks definitely ensue, including O’Malley taking to the streets of Vegas in character, proselytizing to the public about the grand future that Corey will bestow upon society. O’Malley was born to chew scenery like this, and although the portrayal of Corey’s split psyche is crude, it’s also psychedelic and surreal.
“The Enigma” (2023) - Director Yeva Wu envisioned this dystopian commercial for “a futuristic external uterus [that] allows women and men to share child-bearing responsibilities.” The piece uses “the distinct visual style of ‘90s Chinese TV advertising” in the service of “satirizing the reproductive pressure placed on women in contemporary China.” The style is effective enough that some of the commenters on YT and IG seemed alarmed that this was a real product, but no, it’s merely a tight little parody with just enough teeth to it.
“Eli” (2020) - Writer/director Nate Milton describes his animated short film as “a true story within the realms of High Strangeness, Magical Thinking and Manic Delusion.” The film’s protagonist, Eli, becomes attuned to a specific frequency that he begins to hear everywhere, thanks to a meteorite sliver implanted in his ear by a shadowy racoon, and his efforts to harmonize with it to cancel it out ultimately deliver him to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. To say more would reveal the nature of the mystery that Eli seeks to grasp. He’s an unreliable narrator, sure, but you still root for him to crack the alien code that haunts him.
“The Subject” (2018) - Animator Patrick Bouchard created this strangely visceral animated short film over the course of four years, painstakingly recreating his own body with moulding clay and using it as the foundation of an impressive stop-motion autopsy. The body isn’t merely dissected, however; it unfolds like a clockwork golem, machinery erupting and expanding from burst seams while a scientist or doctor tries to keep a handle on the proceedings. You could say this is a commentary on how technology dehumanizes us, or a metaphor for how artists wrench creativity out of themselves, or you could take it at face value and marvel at the intricate imagination of the work itself.
“Caller Number Nine!” (2024) - The official description of this short film from writer/director Sandy Honig: “A telemarketer with a severe anger problem accidentally calls into a radio show. He wins a radio contest and enters a standoff with the unhinged host.” The host is played by comedian Patti Harrison, and the battle of wits between these two anachronistic workers is hilariously over-the-top. Honig’s comedic style is relentlessly absurd and I love it.
“Uncanny Alley 01: The Screening” (2024) - Adult Swim, a network perhaps better known for surreal comedy, is running a new animated short series firmly set within the realm of atmospheric horror, and it’s joltingly good. The stand-alone episodes - three so far, each just a couple minutes long - are weird slices of dawning dread for the unlucky protagonists as well as the audience. This is animator Rodrigo Goulão de Sousa’s first credited work as writer/director, and it’s executed with menacing skill.
“Twins In Paradise” (2020) - Marcie & Darcie are tennis champs practicing for their next big match against the backdrop of a pending nuclear apocalypse. Their problems are more immediate, though, as one of them begins abusing her antianxiety medication and opens a portal to another dimension. Animator Victoria Vincent aka vewn utilizes a crude and zany 2D style and minimalistic dialogue to convey the unique pressures these twins face.
“Bicycle Race” (1996) - Performed as Freddie Mercury never could’ve envisioned: at 180 beats per minute. It’s a cover by German pop star Jasmin Wagner aka Blümchen, also known as Blossom when she released albums in English.
“Daybreak In The Universe” (2024) - Julius Horsthuis is a master of fractal animation, and his latest piece is a gorgeous, immersive 25-minute “3D Fractal Meditation” that washes over you and takes you on a journey if you manage to put your phone down, put it on its highest resolution, and relax into it. I have a feeling I’ll get a lot of mileage out of this one.
Exit Music
Sending you out this issue with a tune by electronic pioneers Orbital, who played a rousing set at the recent Glastonbury Festival. A highlight was their unofficial remix of the Spice Girls track “Wannabe,” which they’ve been playing out for the last year at least. It’s called “Spicy” and this time they had a special guest: Melanie C from the Spice Girls joined them onstage to sing her part. It was a great moment in the set, the remix is super fun, and the performance is worth a look before the BBC inevitably takes down the video.
Here's the YouTube playlist with this issue's recos. Please enjoy responsibly.
Until next time, I remain your friendly correspondent, thinking of you,
ScottoScotto Moore is the author of WILD MASSIVE, BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES, and YOUR FAVORITE BAND CANNOT SAVE YOU.
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