"A more perfect Logos" is what we are looking for.
We always say "the book is better than the film" because we are closer to the source, the Logos. This is why we have only one Wizard of Oz book, but ten different filmed versions of it.
To make this more explicit, Danny figures out how to escape the nightmare by retracing his steps.
Defending The Dream
Disorient the senses. Meditate, intoxicate, abstain, or indulge. Explore the wider range of seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling. New and unusual thoughts rise to the surface. Discover new facets of creation, new facets of the creator.
Disorient the media. Cut-up, juxtapose, reverse, mash-up. Explore the wider application of sound, color, form, narrative. New and unusual thoughts rise to the surface. Discover new facets of the art, new facets of the artist.
The first time I disoriented the media was when someone suggested that I isolate the left stereo channel while listening to “Strawberry Fields Forever”. It's a simple little trick, but worth it.
Lot Wizards
I discovered a new way to disorient the media thanks to those old-school wizards the Flaming Lips. Zaireeka, released in 1997, included four separate CD's designed to all be played at the same time. After the novelly of the project wore off, I was inspired to experiment with my own record collection. I spent a few months playing more than one album at a time, sometimes three or four, to see if they merged into something more than just chaos. I mean, what else are you gonna do with your Sven Väth CD’s?
It quickly dawned on me that DJ’s do this all the time, with more defined edits and more complex equipment. But there was something more organic, more archaic, this way. Sure, more often than not the product of these experiments was pretty bad, but every now and then a certain synergy would take place that was oddly listenable. These experiments were intriguing enough for me to finally go ahead and watch The Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon.
Even though I entered into Dark Side of the Rainbow with incredible doubt, the experience of watching Dark Side of the Rainbow blew me away. Really, it changed the way I looked at everything. There wasn't any specific moment that I really held onto, it was more the overall ebb and flow, as well as the opportunity to experience a film and album that I had seen and heard my whole life in a completely different way. With just one viewing, both the album and the film transformed for me, but I wasn't exactly sure how. No surprise, I soon began experimenting with combining other films and albums.
It Is Shining
Great art, regardless of form, delivers an undeniable
excitement, and a distinct feeling of awe. These different experiments
helped me to recreate that initial excitement. As a bonus, I was
discovering details and themes that had otherwise escaped me. All
because of a few simple twists and turns from the norm.
Too much time on my hands, maybe, but fuck the critics, it worked.
Link
Over the last year, I have been experimenting with a new technique. Instead of isolating the images of certain films, I have taken to isolating the audio of films, and listening to them as if they were audio-books. This would have been incredibly difficult 25 years ago, but it is ridiculously easy today. Simply download a film to an iPhone, put headphones on and the phone in your pocket, and walk outside your front door. I'm sure this seems rather unexciting, and often times it can be. But like any "book," it all depends on the "author". I first got inspired to do this while walking through Lincoln Park Zoo. I remembered that I had downloaded 2001: A Space Odyssey to my phone. Up for a laugh, I fired it up.
It is incredible madness. Especially high at the zoo.
A Clockwork Orange followed a few months later, which was a complete and total revelation. It was as if I had never seen the movie before. It just completely changed for me.
Then it dawned on me: eyes wide shut.
Until I listened on headphones, I wouldn't have considered Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick’s masterpiece. But things change. Why do we consider just the visual architecture of Kubrick's work? His arrangement of sound is just as incredible, and when isolated, reveals deeper elements of his genius.
Wing Boss
At this point in my re-education of Stanley Kubrick, and of film in general, I started feeling that my excitement wasn't in the realm of "discovery". I wasn't revealing anything that wasn't there, and if I was simply late to the party, that was ok. I just felt lucky enough to have found the doorway.
I considered booting up The Shining next, but decided instead to go with Dr. Strangelove. I'm not sure why I avoided The Shining, maybe I was saving the best for last? Anyways, Strangelove was an utter disappointment. Meaning, it was...boring. And the same thing with Lolita. Nothing really grabbed me with these experiments.
And then I put off these experiments for months. I'll say this, I never felt like this was something to do indoors. Intuitively, it just seemed like something to do outside. So fall turned to winter, and the lab was closed.
After staying inside for most of the winter, I decided I needed to get outside for a walk. To keep me company, I downloaded The Shining to the phone and stepped outside. It was time.
The
opening music began playing and it was as haunting as it ever was, but
larger. So large it felt like I might get devoured. And it seemed to
last an eternity. Then I saw it. I mean, I saw it man, it was crystal
clear. A green grassed playground, filled with children laughing and
playing. And a dog. I mean, it was all just there. For the life of
me, I had never seen a playground in that movie before, ever. I stood
motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, intent on rewinding to restore
my sanity, when the conversation between Danny and Wendy ruined
everything."Anyway, there's hardly anybody to play with around here."
"Yeah I know."
When I watched The Shining traditionally, like normal folk, I never saw the playground, My ears might have picked up the sound, but I didn't see it, and it's impact on the conversation between Danny and Wendy was purely subconscious. It was only when I removed the images and isolated the sound that I discovered the reality of this playground, the absolute sadness of it, and it's impact on the story.
Was the inclusion of this audio picked at random or was it intentionally placed?
-What is a ghost? Stephen said
with tingling energy.