Hail Satan? is a 2019 American documentary film about The Satanic Temple, including its origins and grassroots political activism. Directed by Penny Lane, the film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The film shows Satanists working to preserve the separation of church and state against the perceived privilege of the Christian right. (wiki)
“As in the 16th century Tupinambá bellicosociological cannibalism as well as in the Araweté funerary cannibalism, the crucial question is “What is it that is eaten?”. Because it is neither the objectified body nor the subject of the enemy that is being eaten, but the enemy’s point of view.”
timespace coordinates: alternative present-day version of Oakland, California
Sorry to Bother You is a 2018 American absurdist dark comedy with aspects of magical realism and science fiction inspired by the world of telemarketing written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer.
Boots has maintained that the film offers a radical class analysis of capitalism, rather than a specific analysis of America under President Trump, clarifying that he wrote the initial screenplay during the Obama administration, and that the target was never any specific elected official or movement, but rather a broader look at “the puppetmasters behind the puppets.” While the majority of the final script remained the same, minimal changes were made prior to shooting in order to avoid the film appearing to be a critique of Trump specifically, including removing a line where a character says “Worry Free is making America great again,” written before Trump would use the line in his 2016 presidential campaign.
The title of the film has a double meaning, referencing both the phrase’s use by telemarketers and its general usage when telling a person something you know they might not like to hear, such as the Communist themes present in the film. According to Boots, “…the other side of it is, is that often when you’re telling someone something that is different from how they view things, different from how they view the world, it feels like an annoyance or a bother. And that’s where that comes from.” The theme of the strike was used to reflect the need to “organize people in the workplace” and for workers to recognize their power. When asked on his choice to cast Armie Hammer as Steve Lift, Boots stated that Armie was a “lovable dude,” whose casting reflects the current state of “new capitalism,” where the realities of working conditions are hidden, referencing lines such as “I’m not your boss, I’m your friend.” (wiki)
“Don’t stay here. This boat is full of corpses.” // “It doesn’t matter. The whole world is full of corpses.”
Sweet Movie is a 1974 avant-garde comedy-drama film written and directed by Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev. An international co-production of companies from France, Canada, and West Germany, the film follows two women: a Canadian beauty queen, who represents a modern commodity culture, and a captain aboard a ship laden with candy and sugar, who is a failed communist revolutionary.
The film created a storm of controversy upon its release, with scenes of coprophilia, emetophilia, (a performance by Otto Muehl and his commune of Vienna Actionists) implied child molestation, and footage of remains of the Polish Katyn Massacre victims. The film was banned in many countries, including the United Kingdom – it is still banned in many countries to this day. Because of her role in the film, Anna Prucnal was exiled from her native Poland for 7 years.
Mühl later renounced the film in an interview as being “downright kitsch” :p
spacetime coordinates: 2010’s Stockholm
“The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.”
The Square is a 2017 Swedish satirical drama film written and directed by Ruben Östlund, and starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West and Terry Notary. The film is about publicity surrounding an art installation, and was partly inspired by an installation Östlund and producer Kalle Boman had made.
(development) Originally with the performance artist who entertains the affluent patrons, Östlund was considering modelling the character after G.G. Allin, but deciding that that would be too “extreme”, he fell back on his interest in animal imitations. In crafting the scene, his concept was: “this internationally recognized artist is pretending to be a wild beast. What happens when he enters a room full of people in tuxedos?” The scene was inspired by a real incident with the artist Oleg Kulik, who performs as a dog and had attacked people at a notorious event in Stockholm. Other artists parodied in the film include Julian Schnabel, Robert Smithson and Carl Hammoud.
Oleg Kulik “Reservoir Dog” Zurich 1995
