The Daily Seed&Spark

Speak Up: Satire and Dr. Horrible

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:30:45 -0400

At Seed&Spark there’s very little that interests us more than art which has something of relevance to say about the world we live in, and one of the great and hallowed venues through which to do that is satire. Satire, while so very potent, is a slippery realm to dwell in. A good example of satire that seems like it may very well be slipping about in all sorts of directions is 2008’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog.”

In the famous (and in some circles, infamous) hall of Joss Whedon’s “strong female protagonists” one stumbles upon a peculiar outlier: Penny. Passive, precious, pristine Penny. The immediate reaction to a character so lacking in agency is to dismiss her as a the product of a writer so focused on his male hero/villain/anti-hero/anti-villain/NPH-in-adorable-goggles that he never bothered to develop his lead female character into much more than an object for the protagonist to react to. This is a valid interpretation, but not necessarily the only valid interpretation.

Joss Whedon is a gifted deconstructionist, and nearly every facet of “Dr. Horrible” is thoroughly committed to the dismantling of superhero conventions. Penny’s bottomless well of empathy, all her saccharine perfection, it renders her functionally a caricature of the comic book love interest and idealized target of geeky “nice-guy” affection. One wonders though, is satire and meta-commentary a suitable justification for her lack of depth? Is this a clever way of exploring a certain male attitude towards women, or just rationalizations for problematic representation? Though “problematic representation” must be getting a wee bit tired now as far as phrases go, so let’s give the fellow a break: a certain male attitude towards women, or… wankery?

There is a noticeable trend when it comes to satire, in which the audience is liable to either proclaim it some unassailable force field against all potential criticism, to find it in places where it arguably does not exist, or to simply ignore it completely, taking the subject matter at face value. We’d love to facilitate a more nuanced discussion on the form. We’re curious as to what people think of the role, limitations, and possibilities of satire, and if anybody has any interesting points to raise, we’d gladly host their thoughts on our blog. So c’mon, let’s TALK AAAARRRRT!

NRITYAGRAM: For the Love of Dance by Nanette Melville After...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:02:17 -0500

NRITYAGRAM: For the Love of Dance by Nanette Melville

After seeing a guru performing Odissi Indian dance, Flamboyant Bombay socialite Protima Bedi gave up everything to became a dancer. In 1988, she built the groundbreaking Nrityagram Dance Village near Bangalore, a place where nothing exists, except dance.” These beautiful dancers are her legacy.

WATCH THIS FILM ON SEED&SPARK

The Sound of Small Things by Peter McLarnan Sam, a hobby...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:01:09 -0500

The Sound of Small Things by Peter McLarnan

Sam, a hobby musician and copywriter, and Cara, a survivor of a mysterious accident resulting in a loss of hearing, are navigating a fragile young marriage. A series of secrets and interlopers begin to blur the borders of truthful communication between them, upsetting the delicate balance.

WATCH THIS MOVIE ON SEED&SPARK

Stumptown by David Lawless Surrounded by both life and decay,...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:01:55 -0500

Stumptown by David Lawless

Surrounded by both life and decay, unsure of what is memory and what is reality a man travels through an unfamiliar city struggling to separate thought from confusion, a fog of recollection that overwhelms his assumptions about past and present.

WATCH THIS MOVIE ON SEED&SPARK

Percival’s Big Night by William Sullivan. The...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:01:55 -0500

Percival’s Big Night by William Sullivan.

The idiot’s guide to getting your life back on track when the only tools at your disposal are a half-assed BA in Fine Arts, a part time job as a bartender, some really dank weed, a bow tie, and the love of your life who has never noticed you. Until now.

WATCH THIS MOVIE ON SEED&SPARK

Tick Tock Time Emporium by Morgan Faust. Max’s mom never...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 19:01:08 -0500

Tick Tock Time Emporium by Morgan Faust.

Max’s mom never has enough time. In a strange pawn shop on the edge town, Max finds a man who buys and sells time of all varieties, but getting “enough time” will cost her more than she anticipated.

WATCH THIS MOVIE ON SEED&SPARK

True Colours by Barney Elliott. Neil picks up his wife Sharon on...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:01:59 -0500

True Colours by Barney Elliott.

Neil picks up his wife Sharon on the way to the supermarket. She can see he has a fat lip, and she’s not buying his story. Inside, Neil’s threshold is tested and Sharon finds him in yet another impossible situation - this time changing their family unit forever.

WATCH THIS MOVIE ON SEED&SPARK

The Black Balloon by Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie. In a film...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:01:59 -0500

The Black Balloon by Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie.

In a film intended to be for children that turned into a sci-fi urban fable, a stressed man accidentally loses a bouquet of a hundred balloons. In that bouquet, a lone black balloon scurries free from the rest. It dies and comes back to life, returning to the city, cruising for a companion.

Winner of Sundance’s Short Filmmaking Award; this movie can now be watched at SEED&SPARK

Mana’olana: Paddle For Hope by Eve M Cohen. Join the...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:01:16 -0500

Mana’olana: Paddle For Hope by Eve M Cohen.

Join the Mana’olana Pink Paddlers of Maui as they undertake a journey to another Hawaiian Island in traditional outrigger canoes. These women have survived cancer and now their next challenge is to cross the ocean together.

Cafe Regular Cairo by Ritesh Batra. A young couple find...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:01:39 -0500

Cafe Regular Cairo by Ritesh Batra.

A young couple find themselves speaking about things they have never spoken about before as they try to find their own place in a changing world.

140 by Frank Kelly. Calling “action” via text...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:02:16 -0500

140 by Frank Kelly.

Calling “action” via text message on June 21, 2009, Frank Kelly activated 140 filmmakers from around the world to film 140 seconds of “Connection.” The result: a stunning, 80-minute visual poem capturing poignant and personal moments from 23 countries in a single moment of time on planet earth.

Bomb by Ian Olds. A would-be love story set on the edge of an...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:01:00 -0500

Bomb by Ian Olds.

A would-be love story set on the edge of an old Air Force bombing range.

THE MASTER CLEANSE When Jim falls in love with Brook, an...

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:00:00 -0500

THE MASTER CLEANSE

When Jim falls in love with Brook, an idealistic hippie who lives in a Brooklyn commune, he knows this won’t be a run-of-the-mill affair. But what he fails to realize is that her “Master Cleanse” has nothing to do with cayenne, lemon, and maple syrup.

Launching on SEED&SPARK December 1, 2012. (That’s TOMORROW!!)

THOR’S TWIN A tormented man, living as a crime...

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:51:00 -0500

THOR’S TWIN

A tormented man, living as a crime lord’s houseslave and haunted by inner demons, unleashes a murderous figure from his psyche known as the Falconer, who hunts and kills the twelve people lodging at the crime lord’s secluded lakeside mansion one by one.

Launching on SEED&SPARK on December 1, 2012. (That’s TOMORROW!)

DARK COMEDY A struggling young actor navigates his way through a...

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:01:00 -0500

DARK COMEDY

A struggling young actor navigates his way through a quarter life crisis, bizarre love triangles, and affairs with casual racists in a love/hate letter to New York City.

This film launches at SEED&SPARK on December 1, 2012.

STORIES OF THE UNCONSCIOUS Stories of the Unconscious is a short...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:01:22 -0500

STORIES OF THE UNCONSCIOUS

Stories of the Unconscious is a short film that consists of 9 surreal landscapes. Within ‘the Unconscious,’ people live in a world where metaphor and symbol are as real as the weather, where the inner workings of the mind form the reality that surrounds them. Animals speak, statues bleed, and people seek purpose in a world that is at once alien and familiar.

Launching at SEED&SPARK on December 1, 2012.

TRICHSTER Trichotillomania affects the daily life of people of...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:01:00 -0500

TRICHSTER

Trichotillomania affects the daily life of people of all ages, genders, and lifestyles, but while some are living with it openly, others go to great lengths to hide their intimate secret.

This documentary launches at SEED&SPARK on December 1, 2012.

SUSPENSE Working with Olympic gymnasts, a musical ensemble, and...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:01:00 -0500

SUSPENSE

Working with Olympic gymnasts, a musical ensemble, and a high-speed camera, ‘Suspense’ captures the moment when a person goes from one state to the next, focusing on the time of suspense.

This film launches at SEED&SPARK on December 1, 2012.

Fair Trade Filmmaking: Seed&Spark

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:44:06 -0500

Fair Trade Filmmaking: Seed&Spark:

Born out of personal experience with low-budget resourcefulness, Seed&Spark will launch on December 1: a powerful new crowdfunding and digital distribution tool for truly independent filmmaking.

PRODIGALS Three Separate Lives. One New Family. Launching on...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:00:30 -0500

PRODIGALS

Three Separate Lives. One New Family.

Launching on SEED&SPARK December 1, 2012.