In order to really understand what I'm going off about here, you've got to see the .avi file that started it all. I received as an attachment to an email message from a friend, and replied to him saying something like "yeah, big deal. That's nothing special." Most people, you see, have pretty strong feelings, one way or the other, about what is portrayed in this .avi file, so he was surprised at my reaction. Below is his reply to me (denoted by the ">"s in front), and my reply to him comes after. Now, before reading on, check out the file that started it all (.avi movie, 1,005KB), but I warn you, it's not for the squeamish or conservative. Really. This file is very graphic (but if you like it, then check out sort-of-similar stuff on my butt page).
he said
> yeah, the beer-bottle-in-the-ass thing is getting kind of old
> and over-done. but then again, if you had checked the date on the
> avi, you'd know that this shit (NPI) was new and avant garde
> (sorry: "cutting edge") at the time it was filmed. it was more for
> an art-imitating-life-imitating-art reason that it was sent out. to
> question exactly why we're on this pebble, and what exactly should
> occur at parties.
and my reply to him was
I did not check the date on the avi, so I did not (and still don't, actually) know when it was created. This is just as well, as I likewise am oblivious as to when this technology evolved. However, I would like to take issue with the art-imitating-life-... theory. Art, I think, is nothing more, ever, than a reflection of nature. The only problem is that nature is so utterly huge, the mirror needed to reflect it, due to sheer size, is neither practical nor plausible. Therefore, art does not exist, and anything claiming to be art, in fact, really isn't art, but just someone's interpretation of a very small bit of nature. These people have chosen to interpret that natural act of defecation, and call it art because of their advantageous position in time, and the technologies available to them. Still, though, they are just pooping, with some added fluff. Too many things today, though, are just this- something simple and basic, loaded with extraneous irrelevancies, and passed off and something grand and worthwhile. So, while the Heineken enema (again, no pun intended, however misspelled) might be old hat, even if it were new it would still fall into the same category as coffeehouses, cigar bars, Hollywood movies, sitcoms and the television version of Pictionary, as hosted by Alan Thicke. Recycled commonalties should elicit no awe and be awarded no extravagant attention, but should be seen- and discarded- for what they are. I for one do not hold with the notion of "if you can't be original, be dramatic" that is sweeping the so-called "culture" culture, "sub-culture" culture, and the rest of the people that are appalled by the products. I say, if you can't be original, try harder or shut the hell up. Shock value is an overrated ploy, and egos are a fragile-but-convenient replacements for self-esteem and integrity. ... I had a point to all this, but I have forgotten what it was.
