Skip to content

METROPOLIS

“”

6/15/2012 New TIPOFF: THIS AIN'T CALIFORNIA

            Common adjectives for a documentary might be “interesting,” “informative,” or “stimulating,” but it's not so often that a nonfiction narrative is "explosive." The directors often seem to conform to established filmic patterns rather than using their full creative capacity to really explore their subject. This Ain’t California is an exception to the rule.
            The story, ultimately, is one that has been told before, being at its core a narrative on oppression in East Germany. The way it is related, however, is completely original. Director Martin Persiel explores the small but steadfast clan of skateboarding devotees in the GDR in the 1980s. Their movement, as described by one of the characters, is “the desire for freedom turned lifestyle,” and it’s a bizarre but extreme power this misplaced trend exudes. The film’s story is grounded in the narrative of a small skating troupe, beginning with footage the skaters filmed themselves through their childhood and adolescence. These clips are then complemented with interviews with surviving members conducted by Persiel in the present. The style allows the audience both to experience the raw highs and thrills of surfing a concrete city and then to reflect upon these emotions within their context.
            One might think that so many sources of footage would result in a jumpy or unclear narrative, but instead the patchwork quality, exaggerated to the ultimate effect, only works to the film’s advantage. Not only do the clips come from different time periods, but the forms varies from newsreel, to animation, to stills, to Super 8 footage. This makeshift visual style is the perfect form to fit the story’s function—skateboarding was a departure from convention, and the footage consequently reflects the experimentation of the period.
            The film is clever, and insightful, and beautiful all at once. Not to mention explosive.


5/22/2012 ONLY IN NEW YORK



1. MURAL DOWNTOWN
2. CRACKED CEILING: EDGAR'S CAFE- W. 92ND
3. LOUIS VUITTON PUMPKINS- CHELSEA

5/10/2012 Good night and good luck

Unbelievably, tomorrow I'm actually moving home for quite a while, and I'm not sure what to do. I'll sacrifice pithy alliteration this week to simply say: New York, I miss you already. I don't know when I'll be back again for the long haul, but I won't let it go too long. In the meantime, I'll be living it up on the Jersey shore and trying not to think too much. HAGS. Never change.

1. Salina- The Avett Brothers
2. The Fastest Way Back Home- Frank Turner
3. For the Summer- Ray LaMontagne
4. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)- Decemberists
5. How'm I Gonna Get Back Home- He's My Brother She's My Sister

(Lot of repeat offenders this time round. Next time expect innovation.)

3/04/2012 Not So Shuffled Saturday: Go on an' git!

Its that time of March again, and I'll confess to have begun collecting songs almost immediately on returning from winter break. Nevertheless, we're leaving school, we're coming back home, we're grudgingly starting term papers and failing to study for midterms. What better time for a homeward bound playlist, even if some of our destinations may be less than homey (I'm looking at you, Cancun). Count on another one come May--it's not as if it's an uncommon theme in either song lyrics or the life of an undergrad. And once again, while going home and  leaving NYC are synonymous for me, they may not be for you, and for that I apologize. Then again, I can only recommend moving to New York as a solution--if you're unconvinced, try last year's homeward bound playlist on for size. My advice: stay just long enough for that sunny-sweet homesickness to kick in. Happy Spring.

1. You're Going Back- The Tallest Man on Earth
2. Same Old Ground- Lemon Sun
3. So Glad that I'm Coming Home- Langhorne Slim
4. NYC--Gone, Gone- Conor Oberst
5. Within a Mile of Home- Flogging Molly

2/07/2012 Shuffle Tuesday: There but for the grace of god go we

Good evening, intrepid and intermittent METROPOLIS readers. Dwelling as we do in this metropolitan den of iniquity, I hope my fellow New Yorkers can find it in their constitutions to suffer another shuffle of a weekday. After all, devil music is surely a step in the wrong direction. Fear not! Assuming your moral compasses are as degraded as mine has become, take this 5-song playlist as a not-quite-as-good substitution for a spiritual awakening, a chocolate bar, or a long summer car ride with the windows down (that is, whatever your heart most deeply desires). If I knew a better way to guide you I would--in the absence of enlightenment, an ignorant iTunes mix will have to do. Ever in the face of adversity we must soldier on, and to that effect I reward your persistence with yet another lazy shuffle, equally lazily-introduced.

1. The Drying of the Lawns- Tallest Man on Earth
2. All My Friends- LCD Soundsystem
3. Whispers-Tsars
4. I'll Be Your Mirror- Velvet Underground
5. If Ever I Stray- Frank Turner

1/12/2012 Shuffle Thursday: What up, yo

Hey kids! Back from the grave and better than ever, METROPOLIS mini-revival at your service. Hold on to your headphones for a Thursday shuffle that will blow your minds, and not just because it's the first post in months. That's right, treat your last Thursday of vacation to some Saturday style. Let's call it fitting: one short week from today, Thursday night'll give you the semester's first taste of weekend freedom (from the higher education that is also freeing your wallet from the constraints of cash). Break monotony's overrated, or that's what we're telling ourselves. But enough banter! Back to my failure to get a jump on next term's reading and your enjoyment of this bangin' playlist, brought to you by iTunes®  and laziness. 

1.  Ain't No Rest for the Wicked- Cage the Elephant
2. My Own Worst Enemy- Lit
3. Valerie Plame- Decemberists
4. The A-Team- Ed Sheeran
5. I Remember- Devendra Banhart 

8/28/2011 British Boarding Brat Disorder

INSTIGATORS: St. Trinian's; St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold; Wild Child; Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging
SYMPTOMS: striped ties, pleated skirts, field hockey sticks, and attempts at mischievous pranking
DIAGNOSIS: British boarding brat disorder
DESIGNATED NAME: Josephine "Josie" Jones
SOUNDTRACK TO THE MADNESS: "St. Trinian's Theme"-Girls Aloud, "One Girl Revolution"-Superchick, "Oh My God"-Ida Maria, "What I Like About You"-Lillix, "I'm Not Your Toy"-La Roux, "That's Not My Name"-The Ting Tings, "Knock Em' Out"-Lily Allen


All boarding school films capitalize on a type of societal perversion. Humankind loves seeing supposed innocents misbehave. For the same reason angel and nurse costumes continue to be a hit year after year, we enjoy watching these supposedly straight-laced youths corrupt themselves. There is, however, a few definitive differences between the period and the modern boarding school film. The appeal of the 1950s boarding school film is generated by its superhero factor: Chaucer and Latin verb conjugation by day and barefoot revelries and illicit rendezvouses by night. Today's boarding school films don't bother a pretense of studiousness or virtue, they operate purely on the blatant misconduct of those who we know should be purer. It is their snappy insolence and mischievous pranking that generates the allure.

» » » Read more
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)