"Pittsburgh City Paper" - February 16, 2017
Essay film 'Robopaths' to screen tomorrow at Glitter Box
Posted By Bill O'Driscoll on Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 2:21 PM
Everybody's talking about the roboticized future of autonomous cars and jobless humans. But what if another big danger were people becoming more like robots?
That's the question posed in a feature-length film by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE. The film, in turn, was inspired by the writings of sociologist Lewis Yablonsky, who wrote: "In a robopathic-producing social machine, conformity is a virtue. New or different behavior is viewed as strange and bizarre. 'Freaks' are feared. Originality is suspect."
tENT, a veteran experimental filmmaker, calls Robopaths a "pastiche film" that incorporates footage from everything from Stanley Milgram's infamous "obedience research" to clips from the 1953 cult classic The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, based on a story by Dr. Seuss.
Other reference points are Nazism and suicide bombers. For a rundown of some of the clips used, see here.
The film's first public screening is at 8 p.m. tomorrow at The Glitter Box Theater, the new space inside Oakland's Bloomcraft. Admission is $6.
The Glitter Box is located at 460 Melwood Ave.
idioideo at verizon dot net
to the tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE as Interviewer page
to the tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE as Interviewee page
to the tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE movie-making "Press: Criticism, Interviews, Reviews" home-page
to the "tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - Sprocket Scientist" home-page
to the "FLICKER" home-page for the alternative cinematic experience
to find out more about why the S.P.C.S.M.E.F. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Sea Monkeys by Experimental Filmmakers) is so important
for info on tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE's tape/CD publishing label: WIdémoUTH
to see an underdeveloped site re the N.A.A.M.C.P. (National Association for the Advancement of Multi-Colored Peoples)