Formerly Known as "How I Learned to Live with the System - So Far."
Happy New Year, everyone! We're one year further into the new millennium, and one year closer to that dystopian future that everyone keeps predicting!
As we discussed in the last article, "dystopia" as a concept is hot right now; just take a look at most young adult franchises that achieve popularity. It's not fair to say that this is a new trend however, because grimly fantasizing about a future in which our country's citizens are enslaved by technology, the government or other threats to our freedom is an old pastime by this point. Shortly after science fiction authors emerged and speculated about the big wide world out there and how our society would cope with it, they turned their thoughts towards the dark side of the question "what if...?" and jotted down their morbid responses.
Sci-fi writers can be anxious people. Just ask Philip K. Dick.
Anyhow, as a citizen of the new millennium, I am well versed in all the tropes that indicate our society's demise. The writers catering to my generation are brutal in their certainty that we are all doomed. So it was somewhat refreshing to turn back the clock to 1985 and watch a film made by someone inspired by Orwell's "1984"...who never read a word of "1984".
Terry Gilliam makes dystopia seem fun. And isn't that a terrifying notion?
As we discussed in the last article, "dystopia" as a concept is hot right now; just take a look at most young adult franchises that achieve popularity. It's not fair to say that this is a new trend however, because grimly fantasizing about a future in which our country's citizens are enslaved by technology, the government or other threats to our freedom is an old pastime by this point. Shortly after science fiction authors emerged and speculated about the big wide world out there and how our society would cope with it, they turned their thoughts towards the dark side of the question "what if...?" and jotted down their morbid responses.
Sci-fi writers can be anxious people. Just ask Philip K. Dick.
Anyhow, as a citizen of the new millennium, I am well versed in all the tropes that indicate our society's demise. The writers catering to my generation are brutal in their certainty that we are all doomed. So it was somewhat refreshing to turn back the clock to 1985 and watch a film made by someone inspired by Orwell's "1984"...who never read a word of "1984".
Terry Gilliam makes dystopia seem fun. And isn't that a terrifying notion?
"Brazil (is a fun place to party)": The Rules
We chose to recycle our leftover cinnamon whiskey and dunk it in some Coke, to symbolize both the heightened state of terror and iron-clad grip of consumer culture normally present in a dystopia. But really it doesn't matter what you drink, so long as you keep strict records of how much anyone drinks and make sure everyone signs several forms in triplicate before providing them their alcohol.
I'm only sort of kidding.
I'm only sort of kidding.
The Department of Pleasure and Recreation is probably the LEAST fun place to work.
Easy Mode
1. Drink for Title Drops. That's every time someone says the word "Brazil".
2. Drink when they drink
3. Drink for Daddy Issues
4. Drink when a television screen or a monitor of any kind is present in a scene. Funny story about this rule later.
5. Drink when you hear a doorbell, an alarm or a siren.
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink when someone says the name of a ministry department
2. Drink for references to Christmas. That's right, it's a Christmas movie too!
3. Drink for explosions
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink when someone's full name is given
2. Drink for dream sequences
1. Drink for Title Drops. That's every time someone says the word "Brazil".
2. Drink when they drink
3. Drink for Daddy Issues
4. Drink when a television screen or a monitor of any kind is present in a scene. Funny story about this rule later.
5. Drink when you hear a doorbell, an alarm or a siren.
Medium Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink when someone says the name of a ministry department
2. Drink for references to Christmas. That's right, it's a Christmas movie too!
3. Drink for explosions
Hard Mode
All the above rules apply. Also...
1. Drink when someone's full name is given
2. Drink for dream sequences
If Terry Gilliam knows how to do anything right, it's a dream sequence.
The Players
Our players for this game are...
Krissy Pappau: The Stuffy Department Head (Medium)
Pooh Daddy: The Demented Best Friend (Easy)
Bride of Buggerlas: Strong Female Protagonist, but actually (Medium)
Vicky the Raptor Queen: Enemy of the State (Hard)
Professor Facts: Dissatisfied Employee (Medium)
Punk-Ass Bitch: Singing Messenger (Medium)
Krissy Pappau: The Stuffy Department Head (Medium)
Pooh Daddy: The Demented Best Friend (Easy)
Bride of Buggerlas: Strong Female Protagonist, but actually (Medium)
Vicky the Raptor Queen: Enemy of the State (Hard)
Professor Facts: Dissatisfied Employee (Medium)
Punk-Ass Bitch: Singing Messenger (Medium)
Dystropia
So, that first rule up on Easy Mode...that was originally phrased differently. We began the game by drinking every time we saw a singular screen or a monitor.
This lasted about ten minutes before we decided that this was a bad idea. Because when Terry Gilliam makes a movie set in a surveillance-heavy world, he doesn't half-ass things. He needs ALL the screens. And some other sci-fi knickknacks that look oddly archaic.
This lasted about ten minutes before we decided that this was a bad idea. Because when Terry Gilliam makes a movie set in a surveillance-heavy world, he doesn't half-ass things. He needs ALL the screens. And some other sci-fi knickknacks that look oddly archaic.
"Isn't it amazing how they thought the future would be 'more typewriters'?" - Professor Facts
What's most fascinating about "Brazil" to me is the way the film takes things that have become commonplace in science-fiction, cranks their implications up to absurd levels and then resettles things so that the absurdity becomes expected. From second one of the film, we're dropped into a world that's not unlike our own (they still celebrate Christmas, after all), except it's threatened by terror attacks from both extremist outlaws and a hyper-responsive, all-seeing government. Things seem dire, but they reach levels of preposterousness once you realize that Archibald Tuttle, the government's terrorist target of the day, is a heating engineer who went rogue because he couldn't stand all the paperwork he had to fill out and now fixes broken air conditioners on the sly.
So, he's basically Mario. Except he's an enemy of the state. Played by Robert DeNiro.
So, he's basically Mario. Except he's an enemy of the state. Played by Robert DeNiro.
"Libertarian Terrorist Mario is in support of open borders." -Bride of Buggerlas
It's a thing I will always admire about Terry Gilliam; he recognizes the tools of surrealism and he knows how to use them in a way that still feels grounded. To be sure, he doesn't give a crap about character development or story structure ("Brazil" is probably the most straightforward film he's got his name on) but goddammit if you need a visual representation of man's struggle against oligarchy and order, he's right there with a giant robotic samurai ready to tell that story.
"Symbolism!" - Pooh Daddy
Honestly though, there's little to criticize with this film, at least on a technical level. It's incredibly well-shot, and Gilliam puts every cent of the studio's money to good use in creating a claustrophobic, off-kilter society. We had some issues with the story; when you boil "Brazil" down to its essence, it's about a down-and-out guy trying to find a girl because he had a dream about her a couple times. Doesn't exactly seem like compelling stuff, so THANK GOD that most of the movie is about different things than our main character trying to force his way into a woman's car.
"Well this is just a fucked up version of "Fury Road" right here." -Vicky the Raptor Queen
No, the love story (if you can call it that) is just another ingredient in the soup that is the larger story. Gilliam has never been interested in character development or story structure; he's much more content to put disparate parts on a screen and weave them together to make a semi-coherent whole. "Brazil" is above all else thematically sound. By fully immersing yourself in the world he's created, you allow yourself to soak in his thoughts about bureaucracy, class divisions, and man's desire for comfort and the fulfillment of fantasies.
We came away from this film with one question, posed first by Bride of Buggerlas:
"Why didn't they give Terry Gilliam the "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie?"
We came away from this film with one question, posed first by Bride of Buggerlas:
"Why didn't they give Terry Gilliam the "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie?"
"You just made everyone so sad." - Punk-ass Bitch
Stick it to The Man
"There's no 'outside'", said Professor Facts once we were halfway through the film. "Did you notice that?"
Indeed, one of the smartest design choices of "Brazil" is to have the vast majority of the film take place indoors, in echoing spaces with poor lighting. It wasn't a new trope by any means even in '85, (Pooh Daddy recalls reading a novel where the entire world was covered in 1x1 mile interconnected buildings), but the lack of natural light on screen is an effective way to make the audience feel uneasy.
The players for this game connected with the film in special way; the majority of us had just come from our office jobs.
Indeed, one of the smartest design choices of "Brazil" is to have the vast majority of the film take place indoors, in echoing spaces with poor lighting. It wasn't a new trope by any means even in '85, (Pooh Daddy recalls reading a novel where the entire world was covered in 1x1 mile interconnected buildings), but the lack of natural light on screen is an effective way to make the audience feel uneasy.
The players for this game connected with the film in special way; the majority of us had just come from our office jobs.
I know that look. I was wearing that look a couple days ago.
I'm sure there are more than a few of you reading this who don't mind working in an office. I do. Even when the dress code is lax and there's good food nearby and you're emotionally connected to the work you're doing, there's something about sitting at a desk for eight hours every day in a room that's too bright and a little too cold that WEARS on you. And because the experience is so unnatural already, it is easy for those in charge to make things just a LITTLE worse, one step at a time, almost imperceptibly.
There's a scene in "Brazil" where the main character gets assigned a new office. It's the size of a closet, and he's sharing a desk with the person using the office next to him. This does not seem all that far off from reality to me, especially given that his desk-mate is the epitome of British Sleeze. You know that guy. Everyone has worked with that guy.
There's a scene in "Brazil" where the main character gets assigned a new office. It's the size of a closet, and he's sharing a desk with the person using the office next to him. This does not seem all that far off from reality to me, especially given that his desk-mate is the epitome of British Sleeze. You know that guy. Everyone has worked with that guy.
"Middle-Class British Sleaze is a very particular kind of sleaze that actually involves saying nothing. You just imply." -Bride of Buggerlas
Traditional office structures are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Not to say they'll ever go away completely, but the rise of the Internet and other forms of telecommunication is starting to make life easier for commuters, which will hopefully escalate to the point where having all your employees in one common space isn't necessary. Does this mean "Brazil"'s notion of dystopia will be averted?
Probably not. "Brazil"'s dystopia is already here. And it took drinking to the Christmas-y elements of this movie to realize it.
The timeline of "Brazil" is fuzzy; we assume that all the film's events take place in rapid succession, around Christmas Day, but considering how casual everyone is about the holiday and how it's become more background noise than anything important to the story, we started to wonder if this was really the case. What if, we posited, this is a world in which Christmas happens all year round?
And lo and behold, there is a store in New York City called "Christmas in Little Italy" that sells Christmas ornaments and decorations...every day. Bride of Buggerlas has visited the shop, and apparently the employees wish you a Merry Christmas upon entering. And apart from a few complaints about pricing on their Yelp page, nobody seems to have any problem with this.
So now you know your cue to take action: once these stores start multiplying.
Probably not. "Brazil"'s dystopia is already here. And it took drinking to the Christmas-y elements of this movie to realize it.
The timeline of "Brazil" is fuzzy; we assume that all the film's events take place in rapid succession, around Christmas Day, but considering how casual everyone is about the holiday and how it's become more background noise than anything important to the story, we started to wonder if this was really the case. What if, we posited, this is a world in which Christmas happens all year round?
And lo and behold, there is a store in New York City called "Christmas in Little Italy" that sells Christmas ornaments and decorations...every day. Bride of Buggerlas has visited the shop, and apparently the employees wish you a Merry Christmas upon entering. And apart from a few complaints about pricing on their Yelp page, nobody seems to have any problem with this.
So now you know your cue to take action: once these stores start multiplying.
Manhattan's been transforming into a dystopian society for decades now. Save yourselves. It's too late for us.
Criterion Criteria
Fun fact: "Brazil" is the first film we've reviewed that's part of the Criterion Collection!
What does that mean? I haven't the foggiest.
Being selected for the Criterion Collection is less a matter of prestige and more a matter of luck. The film doesn't have to be good, or even well done; it just has to be considered "important" by someone on the board. A large portion of the Collection is made up of films that were early projects of artists who grew to be geniuses (even if their early attempts were complete messes), or one of the first films to use a certain kind of technique or technology. In other words, much of the Collection is not just obscure, it's unskilled, despite the Collection's artistic associations.
This being said, "Brazil" deserves to be seen as "important". Gilliam has maintained a reputation as a director who's both unique and skilled, and "Brazil" is the film that best showcases his talents. Beyond that, though, "Brazil" is a film that drew heavily from its influences and in turn influenced others through its interpretation of its source material. The Wachowskis' visual style, for example, draws heavily on Gilliam's knack for business and intensity; they even parody a scene from "Brazil" in "Jupiter Ascending". Ever watch "Futurama"? The messenger tubes used throughout the show, notably in the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", are lifted directly from "Brazil".
Buuut, then you realize that films like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are also in the Criterion Collection, and you question the whole process. "Benjamin Button" is a fine movie, but what about it can be considered "important"?
What does that mean? I haven't the foggiest.
Being selected for the Criterion Collection is less a matter of prestige and more a matter of luck. The film doesn't have to be good, or even well done; it just has to be considered "important" by someone on the board. A large portion of the Collection is made up of films that were early projects of artists who grew to be geniuses (even if their early attempts were complete messes), or one of the first films to use a certain kind of technique or technology. In other words, much of the Collection is not just obscure, it's unskilled, despite the Collection's artistic associations.
This being said, "Brazil" deserves to be seen as "important". Gilliam has maintained a reputation as a director who's both unique and skilled, and "Brazil" is the film that best showcases his talents. Beyond that, though, "Brazil" is a film that drew heavily from its influences and in turn influenced others through its interpretation of its source material. The Wachowskis' visual style, for example, draws heavily on Gilliam's knack for business and intensity; they even parody a scene from "Brazil" in "Jupiter Ascending". Ever watch "Futurama"? The messenger tubes used throughout the show, notably in the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", are lifted directly from "Brazil".
Buuut, then you realize that films like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are also in the Criterion Collection, and you question the whole process. "Benjamin Button" is a fine movie, but what about it can be considered "important"?
Do you remember ANYTHING about this film except that Brad Pitt was in it?
Vicky the Raptor Queen brought up that occasionally, because the guidelines for entry are so vague, producers will buy a film's way into the Collection in order to give it an air of prestige. The majority of movie-goers aren't film academics, after all, and are more than willing to take as a given that a film is artistic if someone else says it is, so branding an otherwise mediocre film as "important" does help get the film seen. Which seems tricksy to me.
On the other hand, Vicky pointed out in the same breath that the money exchanged goes towards restoring old bits of film and preserving classic reels that are difficult to keep safe. Which is definitely a good thing. So morally, I guess the whole thing is a wash.
All this to say, I suppose, that the Criterion Collection is okay by me! Hopefully we'll take a look at another film from their library soon.
On the other hand, Vicky pointed out in the same breath that the money exchanged goes towards restoring old bits of film and preserving classic reels that are difficult to keep safe. Which is definitely a good thing. So morally, I guess the whole thing is a wash.
All this to say, I suppose, that the Criterion Collection is okay by me! Hopefully we'll take a look at another film from their library soon.
Given our track record, it'll probably be something like this.
The Results
This game is ROUGH, for the first hour or so. As most long movies go, there's a lull around the midway point where none of the rules apply much, which gives you a chance to rest and enjoy the scenery. Here are some other rules if you want an even more explosive game.
Drink for mirrors or lenses
What makes you just as paranoid as screens? Obscured versions of your face everywhere. Gilliam's got some killer shots with mirrors sprinkled throughout the film.
Drink for Film Noir homages
Gilliam draws heavily on noir imagery, particularly stuff from "Casablanca".
Drink when someone signs a form, or anything else that requires a signature
Drink for mirrors or lenses
What makes you just as paranoid as screens? Obscured versions of your face everywhere. Gilliam's got some killer shots with mirrors sprinkled throughout the film.
Drink for Film Noir homages
Gilliam draws heavily on noir imagery, particularly stuff from "Casablanca".
Drink when someone signs a form, or anything else that requires a signature
"Could you press harder this time please."
Friends, awards season is once again upon us, and while this has been a strange year for film across the board I think it's safe to say there are some strong contenders. Next time we'll be taking a look at one of them, as well as its great-grandaddy: one of the greatest underdog stories of all time.
Yeah, Sly, go ahead and beat that meat.
Like what you see? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, at For Your Inebriation and @KrissyPappau respectively. You'll get weekly updates, behind the scenes drunk talk, and other chatter!
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). All "Brazil" images are owned by The Criterion Collection and Universal Studios.
Special Thanks to my patron, Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin! Your support helps me keep this blog up and running. Join their ranks today and donate to my ongoing Patreon campaign!
For Your Inebriation is written by Krissy Pappau (Hollis Beck). All "Brazil" images are owned by The Criterion Collection and Universal Studios.
Special Thanks to my patron, Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin! Your support helps me keep this blog up and running. Join their ranks today and donate to my ongoing Patreon campaign!
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