After viewing this film a second time, I picked up on the subtle cues I missed on the first viewing--a subtle swipe at Russian political reformation and romance, the bashing of the New Left, the Emancipation of Serfs through "Dead Souls" and the film-maker who is absorbed/consumed into/by their work--"Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti".
As one must with any artisan film, subtle devices is key to understanding the missive and the import. Just as a viewing of Frankenstein's Monster for its gore and horror is skimming the surface, to view this film simply for the porn and gore is simplifying it to a banal level that misses the cerebral context.
LaBruce mocks all sides of the socio-political debate revealing that participants in the capitalist consumption, the advocates of gay rights, and the participants in gay consumerism are equally 'pawns' -- serfs, if not zombies -- held captive by Causes greater than self. Even those who deem themselves part of the media and creative media are caught up in their own "hype" unable to divorce themselves from participating in the events they are called to record, just as Maya Deren was caught up in the voodoo experience while documenting the "Divine Horsemen".
As one must with any artisan film, subtle devices is key to understanding the missive and the import. Just as a viewing of Frankenstein's Monster for its gore and horror is skimming the surface, to view this film simply for the porn and gore is simplifying it to a banal level that misses the cerebral context.
LaBruce mocks all sides of the socio-political debate revealing that participants in the capitalist consumption, the advocates of gay rights, and the participants in gay consumerism are equally 'pawns' -- serfs, if not zombies -- held captive by Causes greater than self. Even those who deem themselves part of the media and creative media are caught up in their own "hype" unable to divorce themselves from participating in the events they are called to record, just as Maya Deren was caught up in the voodoo experience while documenting the "Divine Horsemen".