J.G. Ballard Zen
"Superego," directed by Supervert, for Ballardian Home Movies: The Final Cut. (Via La Petite Claudine.)
JOHN: Big Ballard is watching you! And joined by a smaller version of himself. Ballard argues with himself over an unheard question. As we watch, we are given permission only to be refused a second later. We are eventually told ‘no’ twice and our audience is over. That the responses are from Sam Scoggins’s movie about The Unlimited Dream Company and the ‘90 questions from the Eyckman Personality Quotient test’ give the film a different meaning, that you’re being fed the results of a psychological experiment, while appearing to participate in one yourself.
SIMON: This film manipulates footage from the Scoggins film and is just a little disconcerting. It’s like being given a glimpse into a malfunctioning brain, with its psychopathology unashamedly on show, brandished like a weapon. Ultimately the synaptic process is unfathomable and the viewer, like all readers of Ballard, is left on the outer, able to only impotently guess at the intent, forced to fill in the dots herself…
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Uhm, No.
with a description of "arguing with himself over an unheard question", I guess I was ready to have some deep philosophical thoughts expounded upon. Something, perhaps, to creep out my reasoning abilities.
But what is it? Just this dude saying 'no' and 'yes'. No argument, and not terribly profound. Ultimately, I was left wondering what what left out to make this intriguing enough for someone else to post it to boing boing...
It's like something you might see at MOMA. And wish you could have your minute back.
It might be noted that this was an entry for Ballardian.com's 1st Ballardian Festival of Home Movies which had this very restrictive brief:
+ Shoot a film using your mobile phone’s video function, no more than one minute in duration, and using no post-production or processing — the film must be shot entirely ‘in camera’.
+ The theme: anything at all to do with either one or both of the Collins English Dictionary definitions of ‘Ballardian’:
BALLARDIAN: (adj) 1. of James Graham Ballard (J.G. Ballard; born 1930), the British novelist, or his works. (2) resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in Ballard’s novels & stories, esp. dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes & the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments.
If the commenters above can do better, show us.
The challenge sounds AMAZING, something I would love to try. I consider artificial constraints to make artistic endeavors, especially competitions/submission-based artwork that much more fun and interesting.
But at the same time, I think @1 is spot on. Simon's analysis sounds incredibly pedantic (does using the word "pedantic" make you SOUND pedantic, I wonder?).
"Steve is not happy..."
This is rubbish.
no
yes
mmm no
yes
As the creator of this rubbish, I'd like to clarify the context. This video was created quickly, submitting to artificial restrictions, with no intention of forcing a grand debut in the world of experimental film. I am not a filmmaker and have no desire to become one. I made the video to support the small community at a site I admire very much, ballardian.com.
In that sense, the video is less like something you'd see at MoMA and more like something you might find at an amateur porn site. Its artistic intention pales before the enthusiasm its creator brings to an esoteric activity or interest.
I like to think -- though perhaps you'll abuse me for the hubris -- that the J.G. Ballard who wrote glowingly of formalist films such as Chris Marker's La Jetée, and that the J.G. Ballard who wrote entire paragraphs consisting of lists in his experimental fiction, might understand that this little video condenses a sincere tribute to him and his work in the stark opposition of Yes and No.
Meanwhile I suspect that Ms. Breslin, who appended the Zen to her title here at BoingBoing, might have seen something else entirely in it...
the video is less like something you'd see at MoMA and more like something you might find at an amateur porn site
Didn't take you long to figure out how to communicate effectively with us.
"the viewer, like all readers of Ballard, is left on the outer, able to only impotently guess at the intent"
That's interesting. I never found myself 'on the outer' (?? Brit idiom?) or 'impotent' after reading Ballard.
As for guessing the intent ... maybe you should stick with stories that conveniently include a "Moral:" at the end? I happen to like 'verite' precisely *because* it only observes.
Thank you to the couple of commenters who took the time to point out the context of this work. The full mobile-phone competition is archived here:
http://www.ballardian.com/ballardian-festival-the-final-cut
For a bit more context, the 8 films, as an entity, were considered interesting enough as an illustration of Ballardian themes to be exhibited as part of the recent J.G. Ballard exhibition at the CCCB in Barcelona:
http://www.ballardian.com/letter-from-barcelona-exquisite-corpse
To JPhilby, thanks for your sage advice. At what stage did you think my comment was meant as a negative critique of Ballard's work? Can you recommend any stories with convenient morals that an ignorant person like me might like to devour? As the publisher of ballardian.com, however, I might just stick to Ballard for the time being if that's alright with you.
Simon, some degree of pendantry is inevitable, some is ineffable, some is even inspiring, but most is insipid.
I suspect someone misunderstood you, then you returned the favor, with a backhand, and a potentially interesting debate was missed.
no.
yes.