B.M. ARCHIVES

Addictions, desires and bad habits. We all have them, some of us may even have multiple. They come in all forms, from tangible things such as alcohol or drugs to someone you love that you must let go but just cannot seem to. These things we as humans crave endlessly can often make us feel weak and hopeless, we feel we cannot open up to others about these weaknesses because we have too much pride and feel ashamed so we keep it all inside and hope the feelings will subside, but they never do. I believe that this is why art and more specifically music can be unbelievably therapeutic. I’m not saying if you listen to the right song it will immediately rid you of all addictions and/or bad habits, but what music can do is be something you can identify with. Something to remind you that you aren’t alone at the end of each day, which is far more powerful than you may think to an individual who genuinely feels as though they have nobody.

Popular American rap artist Logic is no stranger to shining light upon the commonly looked past topic of mental illness and addiction. In August of 2017, Logic released a music video for his single 1-800-273-8255 which speaks heavily on the topic of suicide and depression. This particular video has reached a whopping 250 million views since it’s release and was performed by logic himself at the 60th annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell who both tragically passed as a result of suicide.

However, logics choice to incorporate themes of depression, addiction and suicide within his music did not start last year with the release of 1-800, in fact a song that I believe was written with far greater poetic skill called “Nikki” was released as a part of his album “under pressure”. I’m not going to lie, the first time I heard the song I was absolutely lost for words. I’ve never been the hugest Logic fan but I will always give credit where credit is due and Nikki definitely caught me off guard. In the beginning of the song, logic seems to be rapping about a girl he had recently broken up with through lyrics like “Nikki baby, I love you but now I’ve got to go, cause’ in the end what happens you already know”. However, as the song progresses, he begins to use clever metaphors to intertextually speak about two things at once, however, we don’t know what this other thing is until he says, “cause’ lately I’ve been feeling like a slave to the nicotine”. It is in this moment that you realize that what you thought was a breakup song, was actually a song about Logic’s long running addiction to cigarettes.

The way in which intertextuality was utilized by Logic in this song Nikki made listening to it for the first time like a roller coaster of emotions. The way in which he intricately turned the word nicotine into the abbreviated song name Nikki, gave Logic the power to passionately talk about cigarettes while making listeners believe he is talking about a girl he is in the process of breaking up with. Logic used intertextuality in Nikki to not only create a lyrical masterpiece but also create a song that almost anyone can identify with. As said by the man himself in a 2014 genius interview, “if it sounds like I’m talking about a woman, then any man or woman can listen to that song when feeling depressed or a little down and relate t to their relationship personally”, he also goes on to explain that he wanted people struggling with other substance addictions to identify with the song regardless of the fact its about nicotine.

The way logic used intertextuality in this song inspired me to the point where I’ve been staying up late at night with music playing, pondering ideas for how I can create a piece of film that creatively links two ideas together to enhance the emotion and impact my work has on viewers and audiences off all types.

References

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHu-ZlV70w

When I hear the word narrative, the first thing that pops into my head is story. As said by the man David Bordwell himself, “A narrative is a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space”. Narrative or, story, is used everywhere everyday, from small a conversation with a mutual friend you just bumped into, to the script of a blockbuster film, you just can’t escape it. I mean, why would you want to escape it? It’s such a beautiful thing. As you may already know, I am a film student so, I’m going to speak about narrative in film and give you my general knowledge on the topic. Okay, so, when it comes to story telling, you can either make up a fake story derived from imagination with whatever you want in it (this is called fiction), or you can base your story accurately off of real life events that have taken place (this is called non-fiction). Narrative films however, are essentially fictional. Additionally, when making a narrative film or a fictional film (same thing right?), there are some other options you can take. For example, linear and non-linear narratives. Non-linear narratives are stories that don’t follow a structure of any type and therefore pulls in and out of different scenarios randomly. A good example of a non-linear narrative is Pulp Fiction. On the other hand, Linear narratives are essentially stories that follow an ordered series of events that follow the logic of cause and effect. The concept of cause and effect is basically run from the characters in a narrative, as their unique attitudes, skills, habits, tastes, psychological drives, etc. help shape the story and push the narrative in its intended direction. Furthermore, cause and effect is the act of something happening that causes a story to begin as a result of one initial action. For example, if I chose not to set an alarm this morning I wouldn’t have woken up for work and therefore would’ve most likely lost my job. It is that action of me choosing not to set my alarm (cause) that sets up the effect (me potentially loosing my job). When it comes to linear narrative, the most common structure used is the ‘beginning, middle and end’ structure. This is basically a story that builds its way up to a climax (which is the peak of the plot) via rising action and as we all know, what goes up must come down so, following the climax, the falling action takes over which then leads to the denouement, or the finale. A film that can be used as an example for linear film that follows the ‘beginning, middle and end’ structure is “requiem for a dream” (2000). This is one of my all time favorite films as it shows the physical and psychological decay of multiple characters over the period of a couple of years as a result of their own individual drug addictions. In the beginning of the film, both main characters Harry and Tyrone both appear to be drug fiends of some description after Harry steals his own mother’s TV with the help of Tyrone, to sell it and use the money to buy drugs. However, as the story progresses and the pair make more decisions (causes) which each time bring them to worse outcomes (effects) their lives become more and more destroyed by what they desire until everything falls apart. The film then ends with a very depressing sequence of scenes depicting everything their lives could have been if they didn’t let their desires consume them.

Genre - Indie films

Genre. It’s a word familiar to most people, and if you’re a film fan like myself, you’d most likely have your personal genre preferences. However, regardless of how common this five letter word is, the question is, do we all really know the definition of this word, and more specifically, its importance. Well, it all pretty much started with the birth of the silent film era, where films with similar characteristics such as, setting, characterisation, clichés, narrative, film techniques and audio all began falling into categories due to their similarities and patterns. Famous philosopher, Steve Neale (1981:6) defines genre as “systems of orientations, expectations, and conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject”. Although I’m very aware of the significance of genre within the film industry and the important role it plays, I believe pushing the boundaries and creating content that is not only unique but also aesthetic in an authentic way is what ultimately shapes a great artist.

As said by Jackie Earl Hayley, “When you're talking about Tim Burton, you're talking about a guy that has such a visual sense, an aesthetic, a storytelling style. It's like he's got his own genre.” And I completely agree, I believe one of the reasons Tim Burton is such a great director is not because he follows the conventional structures that come with each individual genre, but he has developed this raw and easily recognizable style that is now famously known and loved.

So, what’s my favorite film genre you may be wondering? Well that’s an easy one, it’s the “independent” genre. Depending on how passionate you are about film, you may or may not have already heard of this genre. It’s not overly popular and there are reasons for this. Firstly, independent films are well, independent, meaning they are produced outside of major film studio systems, in turn meaning their budgets are usually a lot smaller that your average action packet blockbuster.

An Indie/drama film that I absolutely love is “Palo Alto”. This film basically follows the lives of two high school students, Teddy and April. Being the class virgin, April feels quite out of place and lost for the majority of the film. She also faces that annoying dilemma I’m sure you can all identify with where you can’t decide between hooking up with your soccer coach or Teddy, your introverted high school stoner. Anyway, enough with the spoilers. I love this film because it’s real. As much as I sarcastically joke about April hooking up with James Franco the soccer coach, this film is a piece of art I can genuinely relate to, especially when it comes to the character of Teddy and the series of events he faces while on a journey to discover who he really is.      

Okay, so now you’re probably thinking I’m just being a typical hipster film critic, but no, believe it or not I can justify my love for this lesser known genre. To begin with, I believe the world has become overtaken by money and every film that is released is released with some intent to rake in big bucks at the box office. To do this, films obviously have to appeal to a much broader audience, so genres such as comedy and action are popular for a reason. What I love about Indie films is the fact they are produced with pure artistic intent as opposed to monetary motives. Furthermore, I truly believe that a real tradesman never blames his tools, and a great film can be made using the cheapest of equipment. Above all else, I see filmmaking as an art form just like oil painting on canvas, films that are raw and created by people who aren’t industry gods are in my opinion sometimes the best.

References

- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2479800/

If you’re between the ages of 15-25, chances are you’ve either heard Lil Peep or have seen one of the thousands of undereducated social media articles putting forward their opinions on his death. However, if you’re reading this blog post and the stage name ‘lil peep’ doesn’t happen to ring a bell, you’re probably filled with curiosity as to how this young artist passed away. Well, before I get into that, i’m going to speak on something I believe is far more important, that being Gus’s story and the hundreds of raw and unapologetic tracks he released during the 21 years he was alive. 

Gus grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania until his high school years where he attended Long Beach High School in Lido Beach, New York. Then, at the age of only 17, Gus hit the road to pursue his music career. It was here that he met many fellow musicians and producers such as Ghostmane, Lil Tracy, Fat Nick, Smokeasac and many others who quickly became like family to him. He spent long periods of time homeless, sleeping on his friends sofas and living off of ramen noodles with little to no money. However, these rough circumstances didn’t discourage peep and he continued to spend long nights awake making music until the sun dawned on the horizon. It was this determination that saw him establish a unique sound that would go on to merely revolutionise hip hop through an ever growing sub-genre known commonly as emo rap. After the release of Lil Peep: Part One in 2015, peep begun to grow in popularity, seemingly rising above the over-saturated sound cloud scene and generating a loyal and loving fanbase in which I was so lucky to be a part of.

From then on out, peep released multiple high quality projects such as Live Forever, California Girls - EP, Crybaby, Teen Romance - EP, Hellboy and Come Over When You’re Sober. Sampling angsty sounds from emo bands such as Mineral, Brand New, Oasis, Underoath, Pierce The Veil and multiple others, his tracks expressed raw emotion and spoke on his experiences with heartbreak, drugs and depression. In an interview with i-D during 2017, Gus explained, “You know, a lot of people nowadays are making music that’s glorifying depression and suicide. I’m just speaking about my real life and documenting it in my music. There are people who are really capitalising on the emo or punk look, but we’re over here suffering from serious mental problems.” It was this raw and very real approach that earned Gus his loyal following and rise to fame. 

However, whatever goes up must come down and unfortunately on November the 15th, 2017 the world lost not only an incredibly talented artist who helped so many people through the pain and struggle of mental illness, including myself, but a beautiful soul who had so much to show the world. Gus died due to an overdose of fentanyl which was laced within a Xanax brick, he was found dead by his manager inside a tour bus after deciding to take a nap before his Come Over When You’re Sober tour show in Tucson, Arizona. I still remember seeing “rip peep” on my Instagram feed thinking it was all some sick joke, and to be honest, I still wonder if it’s a joke because it just doesn’t feel right losing someone so incredibly talented before they were even able to reach their full potential. Gus shouldn’t be remembered for his cause of death and he shouldn’t be a poster boy for anti Xanax activists, rather, he should be remembered for his irreplaceable talent and ability to make you feel real emotions though his raw and poetic lyrics.

No music has moved me more so than Peep’s. It makes me feel things, it helps me cope and the sad, angsty sounds and lyrics comfort me like a cigarette in the cold or a nap during rainy weather. Gus has taught me that no matter how low life gets and no matter how much my mental illnesses take over, if I continue to work for what i’m passionate about and turn my pain into art that others can find comfort in and relate to, I will eventually make it and even if i don’t, i’ll be able to leave this life with a legacy. 

If you think a friend or loved one may be struggling with mental illness, reach out, let them know they are loved and that they are not alone. 

Do not judge people for their addictions, instead, try and understand them and help them. 

Depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses are not an aesthetic, it is a very real and millions of people struggle with it every day so please do not glorify it.

Rest in paradise Peep. 1996 - 2017.

References:

- http://clrvynt.com/lil-peep-feature/

- https://i-d.vice.com/en_au/article/wjpd95/an-interview-with-lil-peep-from-september-2017