watching this left me with a strangly hollow and lonely feeling. whats seemingly just a random pile of snapshots from day to day life in america managed to, in my opinion, perfectly encapsulate what america is to me and probably a lot of other people. it may not seem like it at first glance, but the film contains a few recurring themes; the american flag found waving in almost every place imaginable, perfectly embodying the shallow nationalism that sweeps through all the states, leaving no one untouched; the shots of isolated plants in desolate desert landscapes that are made to survive there, that are made to survive not only the weather conditions but also the constant lashes coming from society; the immigrants that came to america most likely in search of a better, promising future but really dont seem all too happy to be there.
all this, combined with the other seemingly out of place - but still fitting the overall vibe perfectly - clips, only reinforced the stereotype ive always had of a america as an uber-capitalist society. a nation doomed to always blaze the trail of europe, but never manage to achieve the same level of natural charm that europe has, instead resulting in a weird surrealist mess of a country.
the cherry on top in this film for me was warhol eating that burger, as ive always had a deep love for him and his work (quite the controversial opinion, i know i know).
i loved this film, from the opening scene in which a lonely american flag was playing in the wind, until the last shot of the distorted reflection of the flag in a body of water. i think it should be mandatory for everyone whose actively romanticizing america to have watched this at least once, just as a reality check.
(been kind of experimenting with longer reviews lately. i feel like ive also couldve opted for just a funny one liner here, but i dont think that wouldve done justice to the brilliance of this work.)
watching this left me with a strangly hollow and lonely feeling. whats seemingly just a random pile of snapshots from day to day life in america managed to, in my opinion, perfectly encapsulate what america is to me and probably a lot of other people. it may not seem like it at first glance, but the film contains a few recurring themes; the american flag found waving in almost every place imaginable, perfectly embodying the shallow nationalism that sweeps through all the states, leaving no one untouched; the shots of isolated plants in desolate desert landscapes that are made to survive there, that are made to survive not only the weather conditions but also the constant lashes coming from society; the immigrants that came to america most likely in search of a better, promising future but really dont seem all too happy to be there.
all this, combined with the other seemingly out of place - but still fitting the overall vibe perfectly - clips, only reinforced the stereotype ive always had of a america as an uber-capitalist society. a nation doomed to always blaze the trail of europe, but never manage to achieve the same level of natural charm that europe has, instead resulting in a weird surrealist mess of a country.
the cherry on top in this film for me was warhol eating that burger, as ive always had a deep love for him and his work (quite the controversial opinion, i know i know).
i loved this film, from the opening scene in which a lonely american flag was playing in the wind, until the last shot of the distorted reflection of the flag in a body of water. i think it should be mandatory for everyone whose actively romanticizing america to have watched this at least once, just as a reality check.
(been kind of experimenting with longer reviews lately. i feel like ive also couldve opted for just a funny one liner here, but i dont think that wouldve done justice to the brilliance of this work.)
