I have noticed that this class has a theme of really freaky, creepy stuff. This week in particular was rather daunting. I warn in advance that I was writing a rather dramatic and hellish novel at the time I saw these things, which may have amplified it, but still… The movie Brazil is a good example. Although I am fairly jaded as far as freaky or violent stuff goes, I was fairly shocked by Brazil. Perhaps it was just the way it was done or the way that everyone in the movie accepted the demented lives they lived, but the ideas contained within it were a mite unsettling. I was shocked that I was shocked when I realized it was directed by a Monty Python member and especially so when I recognized some of the style. I believe I have to go see that movie in its entirety now.
There were lots of freaky projects show in class. Plastination and the Visible Human project were a bit unsettling, but they did look relatively educational. Ironically, I saw something called “Bodies” when I visited UCSD the other weekend, but didn’t have time to actually go in. I am fairly sure it is the same type of deal. I’ve never been a fan of medical-type stuff or ripping up bodies (though dismemberment in video games doesn’t really bother me), so it’s understandable why this would creep me out a bit. The pencil mask was a bit freaky too, but perhaps it’s just because the mask itself looks a bit BDSM-esque. When Lis described the actual art made with the mask, I wanted to actually see it, but the one picture she showed did not show it. Unfortunately, Google did not uncover any of the art. The mobius strip clothing was more trippy than freaky, but definitely far from the stuff you see in everyday life. The laser-like lights on clothing was interesting. It seems like it would fit well in a dance club or industrial club. It reminds me of cyber clothing, but not quite as futuristic. I have been trying to get a cyber uniform for awhile, but they are expensive. I found this blood scarf on the internet awhile ago. I thought of it in class. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because it’s just as freaky as all the other stuff we’ve been seeing. Anyway, essentially, you’re supposed to fill this scarf up with your own blood. You stick a needle in your hand and it pumps through the scarf. Apparently, it is very warm, but damn, if that isn’t disturbing. The bread faces took the cake (pardon the pun). They were freakishly life-like for bread. I couldn’t imagine taking a bite out of one of those things. I imagine it would taste good but make me feel sick at the same time. The girls behind me in class were obviously disturbed by it. “Eww!” “That’s so gross!” Perhaps I make them sound preppy, but I agreed. I showed it to my dormmate and he was creeped out as well. Both of us were confused as to how he actually made bread look like that.
The electroconvulsive therapy was an interesting subject. I likely would have found it creepy as well, had I not already seen it in so many forms in different types of media. It was in Requiem for a Dream when a drug-overdosed elderly woman was having hallucinations. I highly, highly recommend that movie. It is by the same guy who did Pi, but it is likely a hundred times more shocking. The style is similar. Anyway, we also read about it junior year of high school in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”. The book is about people in a mental asylum. When they are deemed “bad” by the system that runs the asylum, they are subjected to ECT. That was a good book too, would recommend. I did a little research on ECT and found that a LOT of famous people have had it done to them. Ernest Hemingway, for example, committed suicide after it was done because it messed with his mind. John Nash had it done to him. He’s the main character in “A Beautiful Mind”. As a result of seeing him on this list of people, I was surprised that it wasn’t in the movie. That could have been some commentary on its own. Sylvia Plath also had it done to her. I don’t know how famous she is, but my friend is a huge fan. I’m fairly detached from the world, so if I recognized some people that have ECT done to them, likely others would recognize more.
At any rate, just because this class is rather unsettling doesn’t make it bad. I argue that it makes it far more interesting to pay attention to in lecture. This kind of stuff sits with you for awhile. Rarely have I wanted to share so much stuff my friends (read: creep out) from one class before. I’m both excited and daunted by what may yet be to come.
Art, Science & Technology 