The History of Music Videos

MICHEL GONDRY I saw the trailer for Jim Carrey's new TV show Kidding and I was like, "Oh yeah, Michel Gondry is wild." Gondry is a French director who enjoys practical effects and drawing inspiration from his childhood. His work is simple and surreal, whip smart and whimsically childish. His work can make you think and feel complex emotions. Which sounds easy, but earnestly it's difficult to find a movie or music video that do either one as well as he does both. You might know his films: Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, or The Science of Sleep. He prefers collaboration and practical effects to a polished feel. Many of his more notable works require extensive work from another department, whether its choreography (Around the World, Mad World), set design (Army of Me), or visual effects (Human Behavior, Everlong). Like Spike Jonze, his direction is more to allow collaborator's work to shine through than his own. He has most frequently worked with The C...

NIHILISM DEFINITIONS Nihilism -   "a radical skepticism that condemns existence." Nietzsche believed that the corrosive effects of this line of thought would erode morality, religion and other institutions.          - Comes from "nihil" like "annihilate", to destroy completely, to bring nothing.         - " Man is a rope tied between the animal and the superman- a rope over an abyss." - Nietzsche . Everything man does is meaningless. We are only a bridge to something greater (the superman) or to nothing.          Nihilist -   Believes in nothing, has no loyalties. A passive nihilist has no allegiances or  convictions, while an active nihilist seeks to destroy.  The Superman - Neither refers to the DC character or the Aryan race, as the Nazis misinterpreted it to mean. The Superman refers to mans' primitive nature and infinite potential. We are on the brink of become...

In the Dust of this Planet by Eugene Thacker, emblazoned on Jay-Z's jacket in Run INTRO Nihilism is seeing a resurgence in popular culture.  TV shows like True Detective, Rick and Morty, Enter the Void and Bojack Horseman address existential crises, empty institutions, deep solitude. Mainstream movies are looking forward to the apocalypse. Memes like Chungus and Shaggy's Ultimate Power embrace meaninglessness. But music videos have been nihilistic for a long time. Are they ahead of the pop culture curve or is there something about the medium of music videos that lends itself to nihilistic expression? Let's find out! First! What  rubric  do we use to tell if a MV (Music Video) is Nihilistic? For the Long Answer : https://lastvcr.blogspot.com/2019/03/preface-to-nihilism-in-music-videos.html - check out my preface post, where I research different types of nihilism and their relationship to music.  For the Short Answer : If the  subject  of t...