Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.
When I go to comic book conventions, I always ask my fans what their favorite films are. A lively discussion follows; we break movies down by genre and pick our favorites. And there is one genre of film that arouses the passions of masochists, the Bad Movie. Trying to define the Bad Movie is an evening’s discussion in itself. But for the purposes of today’s commentary, let’s go with this: a Bad Movie is one that strove to be a good, if not great movie, and failed to such a wretched degree that it’s easily considered to be one. And as this topic came up again and again, a movie title I’d never heard of before also came up. The name of that movie was—you guessed it—The Room. I’ve seen my share of awful films, mostly in my pursuit of seeing as many horror movies in the eighties as was humanly possible, but I’d never seen The Room. This one, having been released in 2006, is a relatively recent blight on cinematic art. I confess that my curiosity got the better of me, and I promised a fan I would watch and review the film. I expected that I might lose two hours of my life to the experience, but I hadn’t prepared for the anguish-inducing, soul-sucking, time-slowing, black-hole-of-waste that makes up The Room. If there is a hell for movie critics, this is what’s playing at every mandatory matinée.
I'm very familiar with the biker mentality. I went on a visiting to my brother's friend in the hospital. His motorcycle was sideswiped by somebody shooting out a parking lot. The accident broke several bones along that side of his body, and he lost a few fingers. When we got to his room he told us all about the larger, better motorcycle money he was going to buy the insurance settlement.
Before people start sending me email telling me that I got the facts wrong, let me say that...
Yes, I know it was not a chainsaw.
Yes, I know that an EMT was just a few feet away and the first to respond.
and also...
This is a cartoon. A poorly drawn cartoon. And while at times it does a better job of reporting the news than Fox, it is still a comic strip that is inspired by the many odd events that happen in the world. Something I hope my copy editor will finally accept. There is no need to fact check this strip.
I know what the problem is. You all care too much. Thanks for caring. Keeping those inspiring articles coming.
My good friend, who goes by the moniker of Thorax O’Toole, invited me over to his house to view the cinematic experience that is Electroma. I know the French duo Daft Punk were the creators behind the film. I was expecting to hear a lot of the band’s music incorporated into the film. I didn’t get that music, though. There was a soundtrack using a tasteful selection of scene-appropriate music. On the whole, the movie struck me as a very high-end student film project. The story holds strength because it’s about striving to understand identity. What does identity mean to us, to others, to a rock of a planet? There is no dialogue during the film. Each viewer creates their own as these questions are presented to them, with (and I need to emphasize this) plenty of time to think about it.
I highly suggest watching this with a bunch of friends like I did, preferably with a few film students or folks willing and open-minded enough to watch it to see what the fuss is all about. If you do find the movie torturous, hang in there. Electroma is actually short and will only claim an hour of your time.
While The Wizard of Oz wasn’t a blockbuster upon its initial opening, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has since made a fortune from subsequent re-releases. Initial lack of box office success aside, the movie was nominated for a number of Oscars. Gone with the Wind might have won Best Picture, but The Wizard of Oz did win Best Music and Best Song. Sensing the movie’s growing popularity in the nation, and the lucrative profits to be had by careful licensing, MGM cleverly allowed it to be shown only once a year—on television. The Wizard of Oz went from a mere movie to an annual event, giving a sense of holiday to viewers. It softly represents a moment in history when black and white films were giving way to color film, when the country was striving to leave the dustbowl bleakness of the Great Depression behind and enter into a bright, fantastic, colorful future. The story fills that heart with warmth, encouraged strength of character, and remains fun for the whole family even to this day. I loved watching The Wizard of Oz every year when I was growing up. The movie left its mark on me as an adult. I belong to a not-so-secret secret society called The CLAW, and as part of our closing ceremony the members clap their hands twice and call out, “Beware the Flying Monkeys!”
One of the reasons Wings beat out The Racket and Seventh Heaven for Best Picture was due in part to Charles Lindberg’s successful crossing of the Atlantic in the Spirit of Saint Louis, rekindling the public’s interest in aviation. This enthusiasm resulted in longer ticket lines and kept Wings in the theater longer. It’s also the only truly silent movie to win Best Picture as rapid innovation introduced sound to film. Wings, with brief nudity and men kissing men, also came in under the wire before the industry began imposing self-censorship.
I had a very hard time writing the script for this strip. The story is pretty basic. I needed a way to differentiate it from other war movies while also putting the movie in its place in history. Should I mention Lindberg? Should I make fun of a silent movie? (You might notice that there are no voice bubbles or onomatopoeia used in the strip.) I was distracted by the fact that it won the first Best Picture Academy Award. Once I embraced the notion that I should dedicate more than a small caption mentioning the award, various ideas I had for the remaining frames reshuffled and finally fell into place.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has always been a bit of a snobbish affair. The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM (Metro-Goldman-Mayer), it didn’t start with an awards ceremony in mind. Rather, Mayer wanted to resolve labor disputes in a way that wouldn’t tarnish the public’s perception of the film industry. Keep in mind the timing. The Great Depression was just beginning. The labor movement would soon be backed by a previously unimagined horde of the destitute and unemployed. Folks went to the movies to escape their worries, not to be reminded of them. So, Mayer gathered the heads of his various departments to talk about creating a group to handle arbitration quietly (while maintaining a public face of “peers striving for excellence”). It’s not surprising that producers, directors, actors, writers, and technicians each wanted their interests represented. They also wanted to be selective; the group would be by invitation only. The idea of giving awards was mentioned, but that took a back seat to the organization’s primary goal. That’s why it took a couple of years before the awards ceremony jelled. But once the organization realized that the awards ceremony could serve as a fantastic public relations tool, it wasn’t long before a dinner party at a hotel turned into a grand red-carpet spectacle. Still, the first evening of awards was a pretty simple affair with a lot of concern over the state of the union and affairs at home. It’s not all surprising that overseas productions weren’t even on the docket.
Mark Monlux is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist. The bulk of his work has been in the adverting and publishing world, his work in recent years has turned to various aspects of Graphic Facilitation; Ideation Illustration, Cartoon Reporter, Sketchnotes, and Whiteboard Animation. He co-founded The C.L.A.W. and is a member of the Graphic Artist Guild, the National Cartoonists Society, and Cartoonists Northwest. He lives in Fern Hill with his loving wife.
Send me your email address and I will let you know when I update this wonderful blog.
You can also check my travel calendar if you want to check on my availability.
