Posts Tagged ‘theater of the absurd’
reflections of a bored post-modernist
May 26th, 2009
confessions of a bored post modernist, originally uploaded by s t e r n f a h r e r.
the band is on stage. sound check is over with. the lights fade out. a spotlight illuminates a little, where all was once light. the drummer starts a marching beat. the bass kicks in. half the concert is actually over. the lead guitarist and vocalist stepped out for a smoke half-way through the performance. the bassist steps out now. it’s just the drums.
the audience is listening, the audience is watching. this wasn’t part of the script, but it is. there’s an IPL game going on at the other end of the room. well, it was. this was weeks ago. i’m sitting three tables down from the stage. i’m sipping a Long Island Iced Tea. not really my drink of choice, but then again, i’m a little phlegmatic towards drink selection today, and i’m focused on the music anyways.
the drum solo continues. someone shouts out for Rock On (by the drummer, are you kidding me?) someone else shouts out for Moby Dick (the Led Zeppelin track, not the whale. probably). people are shouting for the rest of the band to get back into the venue and on stage, the drummer’s shouting, too! the Rajasthan Royals are back in the game. against Mumbai. pity, really, i like both teams.
‘guys, get back in here’ shouts the drummer. they’re outside. they can’t hear him. ‘keep going’ shouts the audience. they’re loving it. they were here for a performance. they’re getting one. scripted, or maybe unscripted. who knows? the band comes back on stage. they’ve got to play another hour. they invite friends on stage to perform.
this is not quite a rockshow. it’s not quite a performance. it’s not quite a cricket match. it’s not quite a dinner. it’s not quite an evening out. it’s not quite a rockshow. it just is. definable, undefinable.
there are no questions, but one, no answers but one.
are you entertained?
yes.
confessions of a bored post modernist, originally uploaded by s t e r n f a h r e r.
the band is on stage. sound check is over with. the lights fade out. a spotlight illuminates a little, where all was once light. the drummer starts a marching beat. the bass kicks in. half the concert is actually over. the lead guitarist and vocalist stepped out for a smoke half-way through the performance. the bassist steps out now. it’s just the drums.
the audience is listening, the audience is watching. this wasn’t part of the script, but it is. there’s an IPL game going on at the other end of the room. well, it was. this was weeks ago. i’m sitting three tables down from the stage. i’m sipping a Long Island Iced Tea. not really my drink of choice, but then again, i’m a little phlegmatic towards drink selection today, and i’m focused on the music anyways.
the drum solo continues. someone shouts out for Rock On (by the drummer, are you kidding me?) someone else shouts out for Moby Dick (the Led Zeppelin track, not the whale. probably). people are shouting for the rest of the band to get back into the venue and on stage, the drummer’s shouting, too! the Rajasthan Royals are back in the game. against Mumbai. pity, really, i like both teams.
‘guys, get back in here’ shouts the drummer. they’re outside. they can’t hear him. ‘keep going’ shouts the audience. they’re loving it. they were here for a performance. they’re getting one. scripted, or maybe unscripted. who knows? the band comes back on stage. they’ve got to play another hour. they invite friends on stage to perform.
this is not quite a rockshow. it’s not quite a performance. it’s not quite a cricket match. it’s not quite a dinner. it’s not quite an evening out. it’s not quite a rockshow. it just is. definable, undefinable.
there are no questions, but one, no answers but one.
are you entertained?
yes.
Tags: Dinner, Friends, Not Just Jazz By The Bay, philosophy, reflections, Rock, theater of the absurd, Workshop
Posted in Photography, random musings, reflections | Comments (1)
Movies May 20th, 2008
Had written this for another site long ago; had been lying in my drafts section, figured I’d publish it.
L’Annie derniere – Marienbad (Last year at Marienbad) is one of those exquisite New Wave films that utilized the concept of the Stream of Consciousness. It follows the attempts of one character, a man (we never find their true names) trying to convince another, a married woman, that they met the year before at Marienbad, or maybe Frederiksbad, and planned on eloping this year. The year is in doubt, as is the location, as are the identities, memories, and the story itself. Masterfully executed with a screenplay that holds your complete attention, and visual movements and devices to further aid the fluid process of the interaction of memories, this is a must watch film.
Dr.Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Kubrick has never truly been credited enough for his contribution to Cinema. Dr. Strangelove tells the story of a deranged Scientist who plots a nuclear Armageddon in order to stop the Communists “stealing precious bodily fluids”. It is perhaps the most hilarious end-of-the-World movie you will ever see. The film is all the more brilliant because of the time when it was made – at the beginning of the Cold War era, when the hawks we see in the film would have been more the norm than the exception. Kubrick’s efforts are often overlooked by the better known New Wave artists when it comes to the proponents of the renowned Theater of the Absurd. His combination of visual artistry, a flair for fluid screenplay, and biting cynicism inspired by Nietzsche and the existentialists can be compared perhaps, only with Jean-Luc Godard in cinematic history.
Those who are acquainted with Godard’s work will know that he is usually rather angry, or rather, pissed off. There is an even sharper edge to the bleeding cynicism inherent in his commentary in Weekend. What is Weekend about? The film follows the journey of a married couple through the country side. It also happens to critique bourgeoisie society, the counter-culture, cannibalism, sex, adultery, consumerism and Cinema as a medium itself, all at onego. “What a rotten movie. All we meet are crazy people” says the husband at one point. Communists, capitalists, fascists and psychotherapists… no one is really spared in this film, and it is certainly one of the best (if not the best) films ever made, and certainly a leader in the New Wave.
Tags: godard, kubrick, movies, nouvelle vague, resnais, theater of the absurd
Posted in Film, Opinion | Comments (0)
