DEATH REBORN
APOCALYPSE WOW!
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Conor Shearman questions the Hollywood obsession with apocalyptic themes
Apocalypse, apocalypse, apocalypse. When will it end? Modern culture seems infatuated with that pesky notion of the end of the world. It seems impossible to escape a day without a fresh drudge of films and literature which revolve around a zombie outbreak, nuclear warfare or some large meteor headed for earth. If in the past the haranguing hand of religion preached matters of rapture, Hollywood has now been officially passed the flaming beacon of doom. It is this reason that society’s underlying preoccupation with apocalypse is arguably far more intriguing than any actual portrayals of apocalypse. After all, there are only so many times (typically four) you can watch a zombie unravel someone’s guts before it becomes tedious. The practical usefulness of such films is also at best questionable; hiding in a fridge is not going save you from a nuclear bomb, thank you very much, Mr Indiana Jones. The advent of modern science, in particular that of the nuclear bomb, can be traced as the dawn of society’s interest in imagining new and increasingly elaborate methods of destroying itself. The realisation that a technology now existed which could wipe out the entire population, rather than simply mediocre chunks of it, triggered concerns that have never really faded even to this day. Today though, even technology designed to aid humanity has potential for disaster. Just as Jesus transformed water into wine, so too Hollywood transforms miracle vaccines into triggers for a mass zombie pandemic. If killing one another isn’t enough, then technology now offers an awareness of a potential apocalypse which previously didn’t exist. Asteroid collisions, global warming and solar flares are all part of a wave of scientific possibilities, in which life as we know it could end. Technology alone, though, is not responsible for apocalyptic fascination; the search must be widened to discover its accomplices. The banality of modern life sticks out like twerking at a Garth Brooks concert. Contrary to the waves of outrage which scream from certain tabloids everyday (e.g “KILLER FOOD BUG HITS BRITAIN”), life in general is a lot better than it was in past generations. In the Middle Ages, for example, there simply wasn’t time to imagine clever methods of apocalypse as they were too busy with the actual eradication of mankind through plagues, wars and general medical care. By contrast, if one’s greatest priority is to get an 11 o’clock skinny chai tea latte, then it can’t be a massive surprise that people endeavour to look for an adrenaline rush somewhere. Boredom is just another flavour on the palate of a human’s appetite for destruction; however, it is precisely this morbid fascination towards death that perfectly captures the enchantment with the apocalypse. Freud claimed humans possessed an innate drive towards death, and in many respects this fascination makes perfect sense. Death is the one certainty of life; to be obsessed about with such an all-encompassing force is perfectly natural. In fact it would be rather disappointing if humans weren’t so interested in such a vital force. The ancient Greek proverb, which may or may not have been coined by Socrates, helps to sum up the situation: “don’t hate the playa, hate the game.” It is human nature to be obsessed with the idea of an apocalypse and it seems that there is to be no end in sight.
Film and TV Editor Robert O’Sullivan discusses the documentary A Band Called Death April, 1976: The Ramones released their debut eponymous album. December 1st, 1976: The Sex Pistols (and their entourage) went on the Thames Television Today show, using words like “shit,” “bastard,” and “fuck,” and thus punk was brought into British homes and the mainstream. August, 2005: Canadian band Nickleback release their song Rockstar. All of these are watershed moments in punk. Yet, in Detroit in 1971, three brothers formed a band, a punk band, before any other. A band called Death. The story of Death is told in the 2012 documentary A Band Called Death. The documentary begins almost in media res. We are introduced to the remaining Hackney brothers as they look for the masters of a demo they did in the early 70s. We then go back to 1964, when the father of the band made them sit down and watch The Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The three brothers immediately took up instruments; in the middle of Motown, they decided to form a band. While initially forming an R&B group, the group started to play more rock n’ roll after seeing the likes of The Who and Alice Cooper play. They played gigs in their garage and around Detroit, and despite the time-period they played in, and the people they were playing to, they developed a following. They even had the president of Columbia Records paying for their recording session. With all of this going for them, you’re probably wondering: why didn’t they reach greater success? Throughout the documentary, there is a near-constant theme of the name of the band. It seems
that at almost every step of their career, someone told them to change the name. “Death” isn’t exactly the most marketable name. When they refused to change the name for the president of Columbia Records, he cancelled the rest of their sessions in 1974 and so the band broke up in 1977. The documentary not only chronicles the discovery of the band (and of their 7-track EP in their mother’s attic) but also their sudden cult status among record collectors and hipsters. One of which was one of the Hackney brother’s son. After getting over the shock of hearing his dad and uncles on an obscure 70s protopunk record (two of the brothers formed a reggae band, while the third brother died of lung cancer in 2000), he decided that people had to hear the music. The last part of the documentary records the revival of Death in two ways: the three sons of one of the Hackneys, and the original band reforming. The emotional crux of the movie can be found in its finale, when the two remaining brothers reform the band to play their old songs. A Band Called Death is an incredibly interesting subject on the face of it, but when you delve into the brother’s back stories, the loss and discovery of their music, you see the actual quality of it; their EP, For The Whole World To See, is surprisingly competent! The Story of Death is probably one of the greatest ‘What If” stories you’ve never heard about. The film itself echoed the eerie words of David Hackney, the brother who is sadly no longer with us: “Someday someone will come looking for this music.” And thankfully, they eventually did.
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OSCAR SNUBS
WORDS: BRIAN CONMY There are a lot of decisions the Academy have been criticised for over the years. Even in the run up to the 2014 Oscars, notable films have failed to see expected nominations including The Butler, Saving Mr. Banks or a personal favourite of mine: James Franco for Best Supporting Actor in Spring Breakers. So here’s just a few of the biggest snubs from the Oscars over the years.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -BEST PICTURE-
ELLEN BURSTYN -BEST ACTRESS-
Starting with a pretty recent pick is the gay romance piece from Director Ang Lee, staring the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Despite winning a number of awards including Best Director for Ang Lee, an award that usually comes paired with best picture, the 2006 Oscars instead gave the best picture nod to Crash. Crash has been so completely forgotten about and retroactively disliked that it makes the choice more egregious, with many citing homophobia as the reason Brokeback didn’t win when it had its chance. At least it’ll be more fondly remembered than the actual best picture winner.
In 2000 Ellen Burstyn starred in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream as Sara Goldfarb and despite being the character with probably the least screen time, gave the best and most unexpected performance in the movie. Chronicling a downfall into addiction and mental unrest, she was a scene stealer opposite the now Oscar tipped Jared Leto. However, the movie itself and in particular Burstyn’s performance went unrecognised during award season with her performance earning her a nomination for Best Actress - which she lost out on to Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich. When’s the last time anybody mentioned that movie?
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
STANLEY KUBRICK
One of the most beloved and renowned directors of all time was nominated for Best Director five times and never won. What makes this worse is that these nominations weren’t earned for some of his best movies. This stands as an embarrassment to the Academy but is not surprising: how many classic movies or artists that’ve stood the test of time were never recognised by the Academy in their day? Many of Hitchcock’s greatest works, including Vertigo, widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, never received a single Academy Award; compounding the idea that the Academy voters often get things wrong.
Much in the same vain as Hitchcock, Kubrick is a beloved and respected director who was never been recognised with an award at the Oscars, even honorary, to this day. His greatest movies, while sometimes nominated, never won a best picture award, including 2001: A Space Odyssey-which lost out to My Fair Lady - mind boggling.
PULP FICTION VS SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Perhaps the most contentious snub on this list was the 1994 race for Best Picture which featured Tarantino’s classic Pulp Fiction and Darabont’s public favourite Shawshank Redemption. Forrest Gump took home the award that year and while some say that was the right choice, this was a race that is still being argued about in movie circles. Personally I have to go with Pulp Fiction.
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