FMP padlet: research and ideas by Scarborough, Meg

20 questions for FMP

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:11:29 UTC

1) why is cannibalism so fascinating to the modern media?

Shows such as Yellowjackets on the rise

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:17:23 UTC

It’s clear the media has an obsession with shows such as this, i wonder if this is due to desensitisation or just a need to view harsher content ect.

Actually really interesting video essay

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:26:21 UTC

“Cannibalism movies and shows are having such a huge spike right now and are so successful because it is a direct reaction to the pandemic”

FRESH movie

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:38:00 UTC

Meat as an allegory for women and online dating

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:43:17 UTC

Consumerism and self loathing

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 15:59:46 UTC

Explores in depth the year 2022 specifically- Covid ended 2020 (ish)

Central thoughts:

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:08:30 UTC

There is literally nothing more taboo than cannibalism:

because of the pandemic we want to experience something that will never happen to us
Searching for pure taboo as a form of escapism form the modern world
This is why we see less zombie movies post pandemic

We want to see something more anxious than us:

people in these situations are stuggling miles more than we are mentally which brings us comfort
Delusional

Cannibalism as an allegory:

its a great way to create symbolism for the upper classes
‘Eat the rich’ is often times the other way around
Meat as an allegory for woman
Blood symbolism for life and death

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:11:26 UTC

Audiences not only enjoy cannibalism for its effective shock value but also for the fact that it is extremely thematically versatile. From a critique on commercialism in the original Dawn of the Dead to a sense of "all-consuming" power and control in Hannibal, cannibalism can represent a wide variety of themes.

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:12:40 UTC

2022 comes up again as a relevant year to explore the taboo

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:16:04 UTC

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:16:58 UTC

Contains relevant interviews with directors of current films circulating the media

2) How far can an audience be pushed thematically before they switch off?

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:20:43 UTC

3) How has the pandemic fuelled escapism?

k2313168 — 2024-02-13 16:21:47 UTC

PLACE TO VISIT 1

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:11:21 UTC

Exploring how blood unites and divides may be related to the idea of cannibalisms carnal nature bringing together people after Covid, as well as bringing blood back to its simplified forms

Marc Quinn - ‘Self’

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:17:14 UTC

Self is a self-portrait of the artist, but one that literally uses his body as material since the cast of Quinn's head, immersed in frozen silicone, is created from ten pints of his own blood. In this way, the materiality of the sculpture has both a symbolic and real function. The work was made at a time when Quinn was an alcoholic and a notion of dependency – of things needing to be plugged in or connected to something to survive – is apparent since the work needs electricity to retain its frozen appearance. A further iteration made every five years, this series of sculptures presents a cumulative index of passing time and an ongoing self-portrait of the artist's ageing and changing self.

Blood as dependancy, reflecting a vast history within the self and history

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:18:30 UTC

4) How can cannibalism be used as an allegory?

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:20:12 UTC

5) exploration into modern day delusion

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:21:12 UTC

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:26:34 UTC

“Any human eating another human is by definition the great taboo, The difference is, you can’t get mad at a zombie — it’s like getting mad at a crocodile. Cannibals… they’re sentient. They’re eating with gusto — or because they need to.” (Translation: society is afraid of itself these days; slow-walking monsters unthinkingly ransacking a shopping mall not so much.)

6) What is so enticing about sentient villains?

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:27:51 UTC

BOOK: bones and all

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:31:03 UTC

BOOK: Film- arts for health

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:33:04 UTC

Mimi Cave - director of ‘FRESH’

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:38:27 UTC

“I’ve never had any fascination with cannibalism more than the average ‘ew’ and ‘gross’ curiosity, but there was something about the symbolism it held within the context of the story for me, Relating specifically to women’s bodies, I immediately saw so many layers of visual metaphor in my mind.”

ARTIST: Minh LAN Tran

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:41:02 UTC

7) How can we show carnal hunger in artwork?

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:42:33 UTC

ARTWORK: ‘Autumnal Cannibalism’ - Salvador Dali (1936)

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:45:34 UTC

ARTWORK: Arthur Berzinsh ‘Eschatology’

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:52:00 UTC

Art cannot always be beautiful and comfortable, he says. “This performance has a very clear metaphor – even too clear for neo-conceptual art, and if you wish to comprehend the idea, it is up to you. And if you avoid the comprehension, you will see everything literally.” And regarding cannibalism: “Maybe fingernail gnawing or snot devouring also can be considered as a crime?”

Arthur Berzinsh Quote:

k2313168 — 2024-02-15 12:54:31 UTC

The artist-philosopher explains that consumerism is the religion of our times; in modern society we have yet to discover greater meaning in our lives, so we fill ourselves by endlessly “consuming, products, resources, and each other,” albeit mentally rather than physically.

PLACE TO VISIT 2

k2313168 — 2024-02-22 14:30:52 UTC

Artist John Boriso included relevant themes of harsh imagery and realism to add a sublime nature to his partings I’m particularly interested by.

John Borsio

k2313168 — 2024-02-22 14:32:24 UTC

love love love

BOOK: dark tales

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:18:31 UTC

8) what is the taboo?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:24:09 UTC

9) how can the taboo be explored?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:24:40 UTC

London and the grotesque

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:31:08 UTC

May be an interesting read on London and modern grotesque art

10) what is grotesquery in art now we are so desensitised?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:32:55 UTC

Exploring immersive art experiences

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:35:03 UTC

11) why is immersive art so lucrative currently?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:38:24 UTC

12) how can i use immersive art to create a space inspired by escapism?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:38:50 UTC

PLACE TO VISIT 3

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:43:08 UTC

After free immersive art exhibitions near London's Tottenham Court Road station? Outernet is an interactive entertainment district where the latest technology awaits. Having featured The Spaces In-Between - works from visual light artist Rupert Newman that respond to body movement - The Now Building has since played host to The Summer Palace, The Butterfly Experience and even seasonal snow showers for Christmas.

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:44:30 UTC

Another film ——> made 2016

PLACE TO VISIT 4

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:46:55 UTC

Will be interesting to see documentation of Covid and its effects

PLACE TO VISIT 5

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:55:12 UTC

Explore it themes of power and feminist undertones in a more physical form

13) what can be considered a villain in the modern world?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 18:56:31 UTC

Barbra Kruger

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:24:12 UTC

14) Can I subvert the imagery of gore?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:25:36 UTC

13) how can I explore cannibalism in a more physical sense?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:26:57 UTC

PLACE TO VISIT 5

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:27:54 UTC

I sae this show at LACMA in 2022, would be great to re visit it in the context of this project

15) exploring surrealism within the context of cannibalism allegory’s

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:30:02 UTC

16) what does escapism mean to my generation?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:31:49 UTC

17) how much did lockdown really effect the media/mind?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:33:00 UTC

18) where is the line between immersion and reality

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:36:26 UTC

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:41:55 UTC

I was thinking about Darma and how much Evan Peters was edited in the series because he is an attractive man, this made me think about how the same thing happened to Sebastian Stan in Fresh as well as Timothee Chalamet in Bones and All. I think this is an incredibly telling response from my generation, instead f being disgusted we make edits of the villains and glorify them.

19) is it normal to find someone ‘evil’ attractive?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:42:34 UTC

Example 1

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:45:17 UTC

Example 2

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:46:33 UTC

Example 3

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:47:01 UTC

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:50:50 UTC

I wonder if we find villains so attractive, especially in these movies because they are in acting something we ourselves we could never imagine doing. In this way the taboo is exemplified by someone attractive and therefore becomes sexy and appealing instead of gross.

20) what is sexy about cannibalism?

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 20:53:37 UTC

300 words of reflective writing discussing experimentation.

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 21:21:19 UTC

During FMP I hope to best explore experimentation most, I have chosen to focus the most on this one because i seem to mostly work towards an outcome. I found this the most during one of my major film pieces, ‘all i ask is you devour me’ in this work, I threw myself so much into the research and planning the final outcome I realised afterwards that i had not exprent,ents as much as I should have when the film was comeleate. While I don’t feel this massively affected the final outcome of the work, it would have been really helpful to me to plan out what I really wanted to achieve with smaller works, this would most likely have made the imagery feel more intentional and created other works I could reference when speaking to people about the film instead of just showing the final film. It’s because of this that I would like to focus on this with my FMP project. Within this project I feel that experimentation is going to be key to create something really effective that can have a strong effect on the intended audience and send the right message, especially as I hope to create an immersive installation type piece that can really capture the essence of the research. I feel that I should implement this as much as possible during planning the outcome to create something truly meaningful and effective. Overall I feel that focusing on this aspect will lead to a well structured and productive piece that will be backed by both research and smaller pieces I can refer to and use to explore the topic to my best ability.

300 words of reflection.

k2313168 — 2024-02-25 21:34:17 UTC

My subject area evolved after I watched Nicole Rafiee’s video titled, ‘The real reason cannibal movies are so popular right now.’ In this video essay she discusses why, in her opinion, cannibalism is so prevalent in the media presently. Within this she references why she feels this is because of Covid and this generation's need for escapism as well as the glorification of these villains as a result. This immediately resonated with me as I have a really strong interest in the grotesque so the imagery immediately caught my attention as being incredibly emotive, and had also noticed the influx of cannibalism. After researching into the topic more, I found so many interesting articles on the topic, what I discovered is how much Covid affected the minds of young people and how many of us are so numb to the incredibly graphic content of something to taboo and how many of us are searching for shows that are more anxious we are. The use of the subject as an allegory is definitely an effective way to send a deeper message to audiences, with cannibalism used to make statements on consumerism and women's bodies as meat. I believe I found this so interesting because of how relatable I found it. I do believe that I found so many of these movies so interesting because it allowed me a form of escapism able to remove me completely from reality. I found that when discussing this with my peers many were immediately very shocked but always wanted to know more - I believe this is because the taboo can be used to draw in people no matter how ‘gross.’ Because of AI I do feel that it is much harder to impress my generation however this topic expresses such a unique form of taboo that it really captures us for at least a moment, allowing us and most importantly me to forget the anxieties of life.