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Can Humanity be Replicated?

June 29th 2009 17:49
On Saturday night (27th June, 2009) SBS TV in Australia aired a series of short films.

There were five short films in total, but two were particularly interesting. "High Maintenance" by Phillip Van (German, in English), and "Berni's Doll" by Yann Jouette (French) were both films that examined gender and the human condition by telling stories about robots.

Often stories about artificial human life can shed light on real human faults.

These short-films force you to ask yourself: What makes a man a man? What makes a woman a woman? Can you replicate the essence of gender from a box of mix-n-match parts? Can you form the perfect husband or wife from synthetic materials and be satisfied with what you create? Would the synthetic partner be happy with you?

These are not new concepts. We have seen the question raised in The Stepford Wives, Blade Runner, Edward Scissorhands, Terminator, A.I., Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica.

It is also a common speculation among young singles across the globe on boozy nights out. If I could construct the perfect man/woman they would have abs of steel, blonde hair and a tan? Or they would have the looks or Brangelina, the compassion of Ghandi, the sense of humour of Tina Fey.

If you do not possess all those qualities are you suffering from a "common malfunction"?

High Maintenance by Phillip Van


In "High Maintenance" a wife complains her husband lacks ambition and has no sense of adventure. She is seeking perfection rather than loving her companion unconditionally. It is a mistake men and women make everyday. Unrealistic expectations.

Watch the fill film of "High Maintenance" here:

High Maintenance


Berni's Doll by Yann Jouette



In "Berni's Doll", an animated film, a lonely man constructs a woman from cheap parts. The torso of the artificial woman is reminiscent of the original cover of Germain Greer's seminal feminist book The Female Eunuch. The themes of the film examine feminist theory like objectifying woman and female sexuality.


Germain Greer's The Female Eunuch



"Berni's Doll" trailer:



If you can track down a copy of "Berni's Doll" it is well worth a watch. It is a short film that really makes you think.

Berni's Doll poster







Some of Jann Douette's other animated short films are equally spectacular to look at.


The Faktory:




Space Feet Attack:
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Sa Dingding sings Alive

January 26th 2009 00:37
Sa Dingding painting Tibetan Buddhist poster

Sa Dingding is a young Chinese singer that has cracked open the Western world, garnering excellent reviews and packing stadiums with huge crowds of fans.

She got a fantastic review on Times Online, where the reviewers seems awed by the unique qualities of Sa Dingding...

"We had first met nine months earlier. She was an unknown who had recorded Alive, an album that mixes traditional Chinese melodies and Buddhist mantras with electronic instruments, and was trying to drum up enough interest in the West to convince her label to release it here."

They called her the Asian 'Bjork', due to her strange voice, her principles, her unusual look and her willingness to explore the bizarre.

Here's her big single, "Alive", which has infected my brain to the point where I'm humming it in the shower, though I can't understand any of the words:



The Independent seems enthralled with her too:

"Her fans insist Sa is a million miles from her homeland's adolescent army of teen-queen poplets and clean-cut heavy metallers, blending a unique mix of indigenous cultures with haunting, ambient electronica that industry bosses are gambling would fit rather nicely on the iPods of well-heeled Western consumers relaxing to exotic chillout sounds."

She's got a sound that appeals to my ears, combining the intrigue of Asian sounds with a rhythm that's fit for an excellent sound system, playing in an open-top vehicle carrying a group of hikers to the the top of a fog-hidden mountain.

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Letterman says farewell to George Bush

January 23rd 2009 21:01
George Bush blowing cheeks silly

Not in person, of course - no. David Letterman actually looks a little downcast at the idea that George Bush is leaving office.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Star Wars Lunchbox!


This is making waves all over the net, and it's a moment of cackling joy: Joe Nicolosi wanted his friend Amanda to watch the original Star Wars trilogy with him, since she had never seen it


[ Click here to read more ]
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SNL Digital Short with a dirty name

December 8th 2008 22:11
Jizz in my Pants Andy Samberg

Andy Samberg and his crew of cronies blew the YouTube audience away with their short music video called "Dick in a Box", but this new video, with much higher production values, has an even raunchier name: "Jizz in my Pants".

[ Click here to read more ]
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Rain of Madness Tropic Thunder documentary poster
"Tropic Thunder", the new comedy from Ben Stiller, is doing quite nicely at the box office, having pushed "The Dark Knight" off the throne and hoovering up all the shiny profits.

The movie parodies "Apocalypse Now" and to further pulls this comparison along, the filmmakers also released a faux-documentary called "Rain of Madness"
[ Click here to read more ]
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Kino Sydney Nineteen

August 20th 2008 23:32
Kino Sydney nineteen
It's time to stop reading about great movies and get out there and try your own. If you're in Sydney, the event to be at is Kino Sydney, a short film open-mic night for aspiring filmmakers. ]

Matt Riviera posted a reminder for all us lazy critics, too screen-bound to leave our creaking chairs and actually experience the real world. It's easy enough for us to chastise filmmakers for not capturing a realistic sense of fear, anger or romance, but that's from our ivory tower, guilded with severed hands of tormented directors


[ Click here to read more ]
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Triump the Insult Dog at Comic-Con

August 7th 2008 22:48
If you're a fan of Triumph the Insult Dog, you may be mildly amused to hear that he was at Comic-Con this year.

Wait, wait, wait.... Triumph the Insult Dog? Who is he/she/it


[ Click here to read more ]
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Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

This is the latest internet meme from Something Awful; users post scenes from movies with inappropriate soundtracks, ruining the scene, but making it awfully funny to watch.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Caligula with Malcolm McDowell

Well, that's a bit much, I guess. But Beta Girl did post a fantastic video of a remade trailer for Gore Vidal's "Caligula" that looks wonderful. It's hilarious and messy, just like you'd expect, and great for a rewatch. Check out her post here, though it is adult-only. Be warned!

[ Click here to read more ]
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I've posted both of these videos up independently of each other - one is Hyperactive by Lasse Gjertsen, a wonderfully edited music/video. The other is the Unreal Gamer, a chubby German kid who goes ballistic playing Unreal, apparently. This kid is not cool.

After I posted the videos, though, I never had a second thought about them. Certainly, I was unable to draw any kind of link between the videos


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I met the walrus hand gun flowers john lennon

I was thrilled this morning to find this incredible video on Fazed... it's an animated short that couples beautifully surreal visuals with the audio recording of a guerilla interview with John Lennon, by then-14-year-old Jerry Levitan.

[ Click here to read more ]
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You absolutely MUST see this...

Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal Lean

[ Click here to read more ]
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"21 Accents" - by Amy Walker

May 19th 2008 22:54


"21 Accents" is a short video featuring Amy Walker
, imitating 21 different English accents. Pay close attention and it's obvious that she did a lot of study on this project


[ Click here to read more ]
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