Geek like me

Despite the fact that I devoted a large portion of my studies to the creation of fantasy worlds and made-up stories, be it in art, film or theatre, looking at the processes and analysing the results, I am a total junkie when it comes to films and books that are firmly rooted in reality. I will choose a non-fiction book over a novel most of the time, and if I rent a DVD, it is often a documentary.

I have always loved documentaries, and I am thrilled that I am able to walk into the DVD shop up the road and find one I have never seen most time. I do think that the popularity of Michael Moore, love him or loathe him, has a lot to do with that. The number of documentaries that can be seen at film festivals has certainly increased since he found fame.

I admit a level of snobbery when it comes to choosing DVDs, and I am an annoyingly critical viewer. The current wash of “liberal” documentaries certainly contains some duds that only preach to the converted but, in their lazy execution, brain-bashing propaganda or sometimes dubious research, do little to further any cause or give any real insight (the examples are endless). There are others that infuriate me so much that I find myself getting screechy and hysterical when people bring them up in conversation or recommend them to others (Zeitgeist, anyone?).

I think the key is to take any documentary with a bucket of salt, knowing that no work of this nature can be made objectively, without an agenda of any kind. Film is a hugely subjective medium that can only ever offer one view of “reality”. That said, there are some gems, where the filmmaker allows the viewer to join them on a journey of discovery with an unknown destination. It is these documentaries that make you realise that the everyday world contains more raw heartbreak, joy, pain, beauty and absurdity than Hollywood could ever extract and dilute.

I was thrilled when I learnt that a friend would be starting weekly documentary screenings in Jo’burg. The first screening was last week, and quite a few of us turned out. The film, What a Way to Go,was promoted as “a middle-class white guy who comes to grips with peak oil, climate change, mass extinction, population overshoot and the demise of the American lifestyle”. This description left me wary, as it sounded like the sort of thing I had seen a million times before. I mean, how many ways can you hear that humanity is doomed unless we change our habits? I was assured that this one would be different, so I tried to watch with an open mind.

And it was good. Really good. No preaching, no dodgy research, no propaganda, just an honest reflection from a man who, halfway through his life, decided that something was not right in the world, and spoke to a variety of people who might be able to give him some insight. I left feeling, well, really depressed at the state of the universe, but also excited and energised at the idea that there was a new way to say it, a way that would not “damage the cause” as so many films have done. Sure, it was a little long, and it was full of “ironic” archive footage juxtaposed with other imagery in attempt to drive the point home (apparently a must-have, post Michael Moore). But I left wanting others to see it, thinking that it was important for others to see it and I can’t think of higher praise for a film like this.

The next film, showing on Wednesday at the the Espresso Jazz Cafe in Linden, will be quite different. Entheogen: Awaking the Divine looks at the history of mind-altering substances, their role in culture and religions, and their re-emergence in modern societies. I won’t be there (unfortunately it clashes with a Dance Umbrella performance), but I guarantee that after the screening I’ll be borrowing the film to enjoy by my greedy, geeky self. If you’re interested, go join the Facebook group (The Unblinking Eye) and I’ll see you at the next one.