INTERVIEW: PANOS APRAHAMIAN
INTERVIEW BY SERENA EL HADDAD
PHOTOGRAPH BY JINANE CHAAYA
So after watching your work, would it be safe to conclude that you and society don’t get along really well? Why is that?
and more accessible the flow of information becomes the more dependent on it we become.
Let’s say we do get along but not that well. The reason is that I don’t like the idea that I have to behave in a certain way and sacrifice certain things just to fit a norm that was set without my consent. I would say that I live by a “code” rather than a set of rules.
Inthe ending ofyour short film,your character is invaded by technology. You are criticizing technology, while actually using it to convey your message, it’s a bit contradictory don’t you think so?
What do you think would be the perfect way to mend this broken relationship?
I’m not criticizing technology as much as I’m depicting a present phenomenon. We are becoming more and more dependent on technology. It is actually fascinating cause we have somehow become these hybrids, who in order to fully function in their daily lives, do not only depend on their bodies but on machines and electronics. It’s like we’ve all become Inspector Gadget.
The way would be to create spaces where the rules and norms of traditional society are altered. These places do exist already. Like the little westernized bubble that you, the people reading this and I, live in. Though they tend to end up saturated and with their own set of oppressive rules. That’s when you know it’s time to create a new one. The title of my film Bashir Was To Them What Bowie Was To Me depicts our westernized bubble. Your short film is divided between standard filming and stop motion. Why did you use these two mediums to portray your message? In the first part, where I created a spoof of a television commercial, I wanted to use the same method of filming that is generally used in classic advertising. In the second part I wanted to give life to the objects and I wanted them to interact with the character, since the items populating the room are so important in the life and evolution of the character, which in its turn represents postmodern society. And the best way to achieve that was through stop motion. When working on a new project, what usually inspires you? Other forms of art, specially music and also politics. Politics in the broader sense of the term, one that involves identity, society, economy and lately ecology. I think, for now at least, I can only make politically engaged films. What is the purpose behind your short film? My film depicts the evolution of pop culture and mass media in late capitalist society, which is 1945 onwards, and the technology that supports and distributes it. I also tried to show that the bigger
Are you aiming your philosophy at a specific generation? I’m aiming it at my generation, because that’s the one I know and can communicate with the best. We have this amazing tool that is the Internet and I hope we use it it wisely, to share our knowledge and creations. Were five minutes really enough for you to portray your message completely? I guess not, but I’m not done working on this theme yet so maybe a couple more works can convey the full message. Which David Bowie alter ego mirrors you the best? I would like to say the alien rock star Ziggy Stardust, but I’m more like the astronaut who wandered very far and got lost, so it would be Major Tom. “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do”. Which snapshot out would you choose out of it to summarize the whole work? The one from the end of the film, where our main character’s face is fully covered in computer parts. It shows that the mutation is complete; he is now fully dependent on technology.
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