What did I just watch?
15 Nov 2009 1 Comment
In Everything Bad is Good for You Steven Johnson talks about the proliferation of what he calls “mind benders”. He defines this microgenre of film as movies that purposely disorient the viewers. I was really very pleased when he brought up this subject, as these are some of my favorite films. I have been on a sort of binge over the last year to track down and view such films. Johnson cites these as proof of the sleeper curve at work. They challenge the viewers to keep up with the events of the film and make sense of it all. The best examples though, are the ones that really don’t make sense no matter how hard you try. I agree entirely that these movies seem to exemplify the complexity and ambiguity that many ask of their modern entertainment. This shows just how far we have come as a society. We now accept films that go out of their way to make us question the world around us.
I have included a list of mind bender films that I found online that I really like. I haven’t seen all of the films on this list, but the ones I have seen are fantastic. Best of all, he has been kind enough to include a video demonstrating the craziness you can expect from each film. My favorite clip is the “Winkie’s Dream” sequence from the David Lynch classic Mulholland Drive. I really like this scene because it breaks all the rules of suspense and horror. It takes place at a well-lit dinner in the middle of the day. Regardless of this, it is incredibly tense. The second you first see that wall he’s talking about, you know something really creepy is about to happen. What’s best is that it really doesn’t make any sense. That’s what this genre is all about.
Great list of such films:
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/reviews/mindfuck_movies.php
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