*Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist and founder of structuralism, has passed away at 100.
*Slate on how Ayn Rand became an American icon
*The Index of Supernatural Collective Nouns
*Persuasion and the art of storytelling.
*A giant crack in Africa may create a new ocean
*US Troops in Afghanistan are burning copies of the Koran.
*Corey Doctorow on science fiction as an indicator of the present.
*Talking about interactive fiction in my narrative and technology class, here's a boingboing post about keeping interactive fiction alive.
*Nuclear accidents and the origins of superhero origins
*Alejandro Jodorowsky gets funding for his dream project 'Abel Cain'.
*And Horacio Castellanos Moya on the myth of Roberto Bolaño. What's exciting is that I'll be taking a class on contemporary fiction next semester from this irascible exile.
Showing posts with label Jodorowsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jodorowsky. Show all posts
11.05.2009
8.25.2008
On koans and rotting dogs
Erik Davis of Techgnosis on Jodorowsky's Spiritual Memoir:
"A friend recently asked me if I though Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain was a “good” movie, and I had to answer that, in the case of this surreal mythopoetic masterwork, the usual good/bad categorization does not apply. The film is truly beyond category; or rather, it is “terribly good.” While the first half of the movie—which was definitively released on DVD within the last year—is perhaps the greatest sustained expression of visionary psychedelic filmmaking ever, I can understand why people also find the exploding frogs repulsive and the mystagoguery redolent with all the erratic indulgence and hierophantic pretension that mark the more wayward domains of Seventies spiritual counterculture. But even that’s as much a plus as a minus, especially if, like me, you believe that the peculiar genius of this era provided mystical and hedonic conundrums that are still worthy of study and exploration.
"So it was with great excitement that I read the recent translation of Jodorowsky’s spiritual autobiography, entitled—hold onto your hats—The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Like his films, it is a puzzling, wonderous, grotesque, and sometimes tedious book, but it does confirm the sense I get from his films that he is not fucking around with the mysteries. In the Sixties and Seventies, Jodorowsky was a serious practitioner of Zen, studying and meditating with a Japanese priest in Mexico City named Ejo Takata. Their koan combat is the most steady thread of this book, a male-buddy-cognitive conversation that forms a counterpoint with the other figures in the book, all of whom are women who offer Jodo various modes of initiation—artistic, sexual, magical, energetic. These women include the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, who sounds as wacky brilliant as Dali, and a goat-killing silicone-implanted Mexican actress known as La Tigress."
"A friend recently asked me if I though Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain was a “good” movie, and I had to answer that, in the case of this surreal mythopoetic masterwork, the usual good/bad categorization does not apply. The film is truly beyond category; or rather, it is “terribly good.” While the first half of the movie—which was definitively released on DVD within the last year—is perhaps the greatest sustained expression of visionary psychedelic filmmaking ever, I can understand why people also find the exploding frogs repulsive and the mystagoguery redolent with all the erratic indulgence and hierophantic pretension that mark the more wayward domains of Seventies spiritual counterculture. But even that’s as much a plus as a minus, especially if, like me, you believe that the peculiar genius of this era provided mystical and hedonic conundrums that are still worthy of study and exploration.
"So it was with great excitement that I read the recent translation of Jodorowsky’s spiritual autobiography, entitled—hold onto your hats—The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Like his films, it is a puzzling, wonderous, grotesque, and sometimes tedious book, but it does confirm the sense I get from his films that he is not fucking around with the mysteries. In the Sixties and Seventies, Jodorowsky was a serious practitioner of Zen, studying and meditating with a Japanese priest in Mexico City named Ejo Takata. Their koan combat is the most steady thread of this book, a male-buddy-cognitive conversation that forms a counterpoint with the other figures in the book, all of whom are women who offer Jodo various modes of initiation—artistic, sexual, magical, energetic. These women include the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, who sounds as wacky brilliant as Dali, and a goat-killing silicone-implanted Mexican actress known as La Tigress."
8.17.2008
Metaphysical Gangsters
David Lynch will be working on a film with Alejandro Jodorowsky. Best known for his series of surreal, mind-bending Fando y Lis, El Topo and The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky hasn’t made a film since 1990. Jodorowsky certainly shares a lot more common ground with Lynch, but hearing of any new project by the Chilean 79-year-old is a bit incredible.
Jodorowsky’s film will be the metaphysical gangster movie King Shot. Already guaranteed to be NC-17 (no surprise given his earlier works), the film features Marilyn Manson as a 300-year old pope and will star Nick Nolte.
From an interview between Jodorowsky and Manson (in which Manson says "wow!" a lot at all the profound things Jodorowsky has to say):
J: You, Manson, you are a symbol. You always wear make-up, no-one knows who you are… Christ is a man who became a symbol, you are the opposite. You are a symbol who is in the process of becoming human. When you say ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’, you prove your love for the world. You offer yourself… you are food for the vampire cannibals. That’s what I feel. Talking about you personally: you are a mythology, but back to front. Each new era needs new mythologies…
M: I completely agree. You understood that so much better than anyone… yes.
J: To express ourselves as artists in the world, we can no longer destroy it. It is ourselves that we have to destroy... And that's what you have to do. There isn't time to behave like normal people. You have to have the attitude of the old wise man who says "Make construction from destruction". Animals have ways of defending themselves. You can choose to change things, you can choose to save yourself, you can choose to attack. But there is a way of winning against the world, and it's to go into yourself very deeply.
[via technoccult]
Jodorowsky’s film will be the metaphysical gangster movie King Shot. Already guaranteed to be NC-17 (no surprise given his earlier works), the film features Marilyn Manson as a 300-year old pope and will star Nick Nolte.
From an interview between Jodorowsky and Manson (in which Manson says "wow!" a lot at all the profound things Jodorowsky has to say):
J: You, Manson, you are a symbol. You always wear make-up, no-one knows who you are… Christ is a man who became a symbol, you are the opposite. You are a symbol who is in the process of becoming human. When you say ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’, you prove your love for the world. You offer yourself… you are food for the vampire cannibals. That’s what I feel. Talking about you personally: you are a mythology, but back to front. Each new era needs new mythologies…M: I completely agree. You understood that so much better than anyone… yes.
J: To express ourselves as artists in the world, we can no longer destroy it. It is ourselves that we have to destroy... And that's what you have to do. There isn't time to behave like normal people. You have to have the attitude of the old wise man who says "Make construction from destruction". Animals have ways of defending themselves. You can choose to change things, you can choose to save yourself, you can choose to attack. But there is a way of winning against the world, and it's to go into yourself very deeply.
[via technoccult]
7.29.2008
Quick Update
Some goodies to tide you over until an upcoming, larger post...
A new issue of Arthur Magazine, featuring an excerpt from Alejandro Jodorowski's new book! (downloadable PDF)
And the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative, which should be an interesting read (when I ever get the free time), as I am currently reading the Richard Burton translation of the "Tales of the Arabian Nights," and though there are certain trends that can be traced through folklore at an international level, many of the stories Westerners are familiar with are descended from a smaller group of Germanic/ Jewish stories.
Coming soon... the anarcho-mystical "Anamnesis" (when I can figure out how to make a PDF from a bunch of images of different sizes).
A new issue of Arthur Magazine, featuring an excerpt from Alejandro Jodorowski's new book! (downloadable PDF)And the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative, which should be an interesting read (when I ever get the free time), as I am currently reading the Richard Burton translation of the "Tales of the Arabian Nights," and though there are certain trends that can be traced through folklore at an international level, many of the stories Westerners are familiar with are descended from a smaller group of Germanic/ Jewish stories.
Coming soon... the anarcho-mystical "Anamnesis" (when I can figure out how to make a PDF from a bunch of images of different sizes).
9.11.2007
Jodorowsky on Life
I wanted to write something about psycho-spiritual crises, about my reasons for dreaming, studying myths and literature, about what I am looking for in myself, in the world...
...but Alejandro Jodorowsky's words (from a recent interview) might have to suffice.
...but Alejandro Jodorowsky's words (from a recent interview) might have to suffice.
"Do you pray? And if so, to who or to what?"
No, I don’t believe in praying to an external god, but I think in the interior of ourselves, we have what I call the interior world. A world which is a clear point of light, which is not you, but it is the fountain of life within yourself. When they discovered America, there was a fountain where you wash and get young – the fountain of youth. The fountain of health is inside you. And every night, I try to approach there. That for me is to pray, to make emptiness and to come to the centre of yourself, to try to go there.
...
You have no fear of death?
Not anymore. I am completely prepared to die – spiritually, not corporally. My body wants to live. The body always wants to be immortal, not to die. And the soul accepts death - that is good. But it’s not good if my body wants to die, because my life is shorter. You menace me with a knife, and I will defend myself, I will ask somebody to protect me, no? Even if I say [to myself], “I can die.” I understand that.
Do have any beliefs about what happens afterwards?
Why? Why be curious about what will happen, it will happen anyway, it will happen! Either I’ll go there or there – everything will happen. It’s fantastic – the future is fantastic! Anything that will happen will happen!"
2.22.2007
flash of momentum
It's been awhile again. life takes hold and suddenly i forget that the internet ever existed. let's see... i got into school, starting august 23, and realized just how much work i have to get done on my own projects before i won't have time to work on them. so i've been writing, for 3-6 hours a day, typing up every single dream i ever had, and then deconstructing all the symbolism; places, characters, objects, actions, shades of ligth and color, impedences and other strange psychological effects, so that i can begin seeing exactly what my psyche contains and how to put it all back together into this novel. beyond that continuing madcap research, deconstructing the occult symbolism in jodorowsky's "holy mountain" for a friend's disertation, inventing new techniques, recording more of my past, playing music, being in love. every day shows me so much, i am learning at such an incredible rate, about how i work, what things mean to me, what it means to be in love again, to be a friend and son... and i'm not even in school yet. suffice to say that it is hard to find time or desire to post here, since the work i'm doing is very different than that which is just updates of my life for other people.
perhaps you'll hear from me later...
perhaps you'll hear from me later...
7.13.2006
on the climb
Wandering around last night decided to stop by sarah and alberto's to tell them of my absurd revelations and see how his art is ticking along. without knowing it i was jsut in time to watch one of my favorite movies ever, alejandro jodorowsky's "the holy mountain"...
Filmed (and set?) in mexico in the 70's, this is the surreal tale of a jesus coming back from the dead and fighting off his personal monsters and the horrors of the modern world learning the secrets of self-transformation from an alchemist and going on a quest to the holy mountain in order step out of time and become immortal. not only is this movie incredible for its use of disturbing sound collages and almost no dialogue, but the symbolism! my gods is just too blatant, nothing couched or hidden and drawing on so many sources at once it hits like a ton of gold bricks, especially the scene where the romans get jesus drunk and he wakes up in a warehouse surrounded by a thousand plaster copies of himself. simply harrowing in the best way. i'd recommend this movie to anyone with a keen eye, but forget that so much of it draws on occult literature and shamanic visions that not everyone can relate to or even has experience of. nevertheless it is a brilliant surreal adventure.
Filmed (and set?) in mexico in the 70's, this is the surreal tale of a jesus coming back from the dead and fighting off his personal monsters and the horrors of the modern world learning the secrets of self-transformation from an alchemist and going on a quest to the holy mountain in order step out of time and become immortal. not only is this movie incredible for its use of disturbing sound collages and almost no dialogue, but the symbolism! my gods is just too blatant, nothing couched or hidden and drawing on so many sources at once it hits like a ton of gold bricks, especially the scene where the romans get jesus drunk and he wakes up in a warehouse surrounded by a thousand plaster copies of himself. simply harrowing in the best way. i'd recommend this movie to anyone with a keen eye, but forget that so much of it draws on occult literature and shamanic visions that not everyone can relate to or even has experience of. nevertheless it is a brilliant surreal adventure.
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