Musings on art and modern audiences

  The Bikeriders : Digging under the surface Jeff Nichols’ recent film is inspired by Danny Lyon’s photobook of the same name: The Bikeriders . What Nichols attempts with this film is to translate Lyon’s still images not just into moving pictures, but to bring to the forefront the stories and the characters in front of the lens. It starts with some photos, and a series of interviews with a woman who knows who to tell a good story.  There’s an air of legend or myth around this story. There are many layers of storytelling we’re asked to pass through to get to the heart of the characters, this elite club we’re thrown into the midst of without any time to brace ourselves, and the photographic evidence of a group of experiences that feel impossible to tie down. This film gives us a glimpse into these people’s lives, putting various pieces together to try and construct a story. In many ways I feel that’s what our own life stories are like; we are patchwork quilts and jigsaw puzzles,...

  Spirited Away : Suspending disbelief When My Neighbour Totoro came to the West End, audiences were as enamoured with it as they were by the original film, so it’s no surprise that the stage adaptation of Spirited Away has received a similar outpouring of support and praise. I was lucky enough to watch Spirited Away during its West End run recently and it was just as magical as you might expect.  Puppetry is one of the best ways to adapt this Ghibli film for the stage. The unreality of Spirited Away ’s characters and magical lore is apparent to the audience in the puppeteers on stage. We can watch the puppeteers work their magic before our very eyes, and seeing that happen doesn’t break the spell but rather makes us appreciate the craft and skill which goes into making the magic happen. The magic originated with the animators and concept artists at Studio Ghibli, and now that task has been handed to the puppeteers and performers.  Spirited Away is all about us openin...

  Jurassic Park : When the nerds get it right Sometimes the nerds know what’s up. In the case of Jurassic Park , we see that knowledge is power, and can get us out of some sticky situations, however outlandish. Increasingly, I’m uncertain that a place like Jurassic Park can be safely contained in the realms of science-fiction for much longer. Companies like Colossal are already involved in precisely the kind of science that makes Jurassic Park happen. De-extinction technology is no longer science-fiction: it’s scientific fact. But Jurassic Park isn’t purely about the mechanics behind bringing dinosaurs back to life, its main concern is the ethics around that possibility. In the wise words of Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), “Life finds a way.” Just because you have the power and means to do something, does not mean you definitely should. So no, Jurassic Park is not just about nerds and their dinosaurs, it’s about how we use the knowledge that we have wisely. It doesn’t take long f...

American Psycho : the fine line of satire Satire is a genre notorious for being misunderstood and misinterpreted by audiences and readers, by its very nature. Satire is a form of social commentary that deals primarily in misrepresentations. It’s no wonder satire is so often misunderstood and taken literally. Our misunderstanding of satire from taking things too seriously: now surely that tells us something important about us humans and the way we consume art. If we take a story like American Psycho at face value, as if it weren’t satire, we would of course be deeply concerned by what we might find: explicit and horrific violence, viciously misogynistic treatment of women and sex with women by a man who is a psychopathic narcissist.  Even if we take these things at face value, ideally we are armed with enough critical thinking to critique those behaviours we see in American Psycho and realise we definitely should not take those behaviours into our own day-to-day lives. You don’t n...

  Percy Jackson and the Olympians : Imperfect adolescence Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson stories are all about learning and coming of age. Mistakes are made, lessons are learned, but it’s all part of a larger process. Yes, if you’re familiar with the story it might feel a bit predictable but (apologies for the cliché) it’s the journey that really matters. Percy Jackson is the main protagonist because he challenges the status quo and encourages his peers to do the same, without great aspirations for fame or glory. He simply sees the twisted and toxic nature of the world he’s entering for what it is and is unwilling to accept those standards.  The “woke” element of this show is something that has roused a fair amount of criticism and derision from some. Quite honestly, my opinion is that people with such opinions are often themselves unwilling to change their minds or be open to discussions, and therefore this show is really not for them in the sense that they wouldn’t be able to ...

Elvis and Priscilla Elvis and Priscilla are two films released suspiciously close to one another, so much so that I think it’s become quite difficult to mention one without the other cropping up at the same time. If you’ve seen one, the usual question is have you seen the other? The two films both concern the same people (roughly) and relationships (more or less) but they tell very different stories. However, rather than pitting them against one another, as is possibly very tempting, balancing them is a much more interesting exercise. The release of these two films so close to each other tells us something about the psychology of the characters as separate and yet interconnected people, of the filmmakers who constructed these stories for the screen, and of the audiences who go to see them. Firstly, these two films have obviously made starkly different decisions about whose story they tell. More than that, those decisions don’t just dictate who the main protagonist is but the very stor...

  Bridgerton : Escaping reality Frivolity does not culturally have great connotations. It is, however, sometimes necessary for our sanity to descend to such depths of misbehaviour and scandal. In the height of lockdown, what could be more welcome than Bridgerton ? An escape from the disconnected social lives we’d be leading online and at a distance, respite from depressing news reports and eye-roll-worthy government statements. Replacing all that with the burst of colour, romance, drama and excitement that we were all missing in our lives. In a world when nothing seemed certain but confinement and isolation, Bridgerton offered its audiences something to latch onto that was a safe bet, happy ending guaranteed, with garden parties and lavish balls to boot. Of course, it was and continues to be a stunning success.  Everyone loves gossip, but nothing is so satisfying (but also infuriating) as knowing all, where others know only snippets. What is curious about Bridgerton is its a...