Mediocre Media

As a child, it was hard for me to sleep without the television on. At times, I would wake to the sounds of the unconventional televised programs that ran on Cartoon Network. One of these programs was the Banana Splits and let me tell you, it scarred the shit out of me.

Originally airing early mornings on NBC, the Banana Splits consisted of four characters: Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper, and Snorky. The show consisted of random live action and animated segments, along with little numbers performed by the bunch. I wonder what Will and Joe were thinking when creating this little number, not that it is bad. As I take a look back at the syndication of the program, still currently running on Boomerang, I found that this show still holds up, in an unconventional kind of way. If you never had the chance to experience this adventure, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Check out this clip

If you were to ask to talk about another person and explain the way in which he or she feels, reacts, or emotes, would you truly be able to answer this question? It is hard to make clear what another person is thinking; all we could really do is give our own interpretation to their story. The Hollywood biographical film does just that. Someone reconstructs their elucidation of an event to be presented to an audience in the hope that their story could be told. However, can someone truly represent another in such an accurate way?
Todd Haynes recognizes the fact that there is no true biopic of someone’s life and events, but rather only an interpretation of those events. Haynes does so well to follow this idea in his latest film I’m Not There (2007).
Similar to Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home (2005), Todd Haynes’ film is a biopic which merely glances into the life of musician and songwriter Bob Dylan. More so, it attempts to delve into the mind of this sixties radical celebrity, on a deeper level, as well as convey the reactions that many of his fans felt during this time. Like most biographical films, this one also attempts to answer the question of how and why. The film follows six different aspects of his life, in which this role is played by six completely different actors. Haynes starts us off with Woody Guthrie (Carl Marcus Franklin), or who we think to be Guthrie, who catches the next box car train to who knows where, showing off his musical talent and ranting of the people he has performed with to two hobos. A young adult version of Bob Dylan (played by Ben Whishaw) speaks his mind and answers questions to what appears to be some sort of panel. Folk Rock musician turned preacher Jack Rollins (Christian Bale) is portrayed in a pseudo-documentary portion of the film. Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger) plays the part of Bob Dylan’s movie career, juggling back and forth between his job and his family. Next enters the astounding role of Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett), as Folk singer turned Rock and Role star as he enters the life of fame, fortune, and drugs. Billy (Richard Gere) partakes in the role of an older Bob Dylan, as he isolates himself from the rest of the world, until something interrupts the peace in his small town. What makes this narrative so fascinating is how well all the aspects of Bob Dylan work so well together. Initially, the idea of this music legend being played by a young African-American as well as a woman did not seem to bode well. However, these two portions of the film stand out more than any of the other lives of Dylan.
The look of the film is very complex, with each character of Dylan bringing forth certain aspects to the screen. The beginning and end of the film (following Guthrie and Billy) are in color. However, Billy’s town of Riddle, a town which celebrates Halloween year round, exudes many vibrant colors of yellow. Both the roles of Quinn and young adult Dylan are shot in black and white. However, Quinn is shot with clarity while Whishaw’s character is very grainy as to portray a more mysterious Dylan. The film itself seems to keep to the obscurity of Dylan. One moment, the film follows Quinn, and then the next moment, without warning, cuts to another Dylan. This gives to the idea that he is an always changing person. Haynes never seems to fail with his use of references, similar to that of his earlier film Velvet Goldmine (1998). Numerous amounts of references of the culture and society surrounding the sixties can be seen throughout the entire film, including one subtle but hilarious reference to A Hard Day’s Night (1964). The works of Jean-Luc Goddard is apparent during a Guthrie montage, as he tries to find a place to go. Furthermore, techniques used during Billy’s segment depicts a feel similar to that of the old sixties Westerns that were reinvented during this time. Even the music in film, all Dylan songs, are all performed by various artists. However, one thing this director seemed to do is drag out certain parts of the narrative. It seems as though Haynes could have easily said what he wanted to in less amount of screen time. Nonetheless, these formalistic elements help bring together the very un-formalistic and unconventional style of the film and help play a role in the kind of person that Dylan (possibly) is.
One message that this film seems to communicate to the audience is the fact that no one truly understands another human being, no matter how well you may think you know them. The life of Bob Dylan is one that is portrayed to be misunderstood throughout the whole film. When following the life of Robbie Clark, it does not appear as though we are actually focused on his character. Rather we are more focused on his wife Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). The lack of attention that she receives from her husband and the lack of his presence add to the idea that we have no idea what is going on; it keeps the audience at bay, wondering when we will truly know what type of person Dylan really is. The weapons (“not in any literal sense ”) that Jude Quinn fires upon her audience as well as the misinterpretation of his character from the media and the fans truly pushes the idea that people can misinterpret the ideas and emotions of someone based on the fact that they believe that they truly know. Also, when following Jack Rollins, we are never given a personal interpretation of that character. Instead, the audience understands the person base on the facts and interpretations of other. Again we are never to fully understand the try character that is Bob Dylan, but rather get an interpretation of what we think we know about him base on the facts of others.
This film seems to be at a loss; it feels as though it is always one step behind Dylan as he loses touch with his audience and society in general. Bob Dylan is an ever changing person who does not stick with just one genre, one style, or one perspective on life. By the end of the film, it feels as though he truly has no direction home. Todd Haynes portrays this exuberantly as he destroys everything that is known about the Hollywood biographical film and reconstructs his own interpretation that truly depicts life of Bob Dylan that we obscurely know.

With the Golden Globes and Oscars coming up, in light of the fact that there may be no writers, keep an eye out for this film.