Showing posts with label solent university. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solent university. Show all posts

Sunday, 11 April 2021

Soylent Green - 1973








One of my favourite experiences in Bangkok was buying freshly made tofu at about 3am, as I lived a stones throw from the central wet market.

Imagine my shock when a fitness fanatic friend informed me soy is one of the most unhealthy foods for endocrine disruptors or something like that.

I'm not sure when I learned a soy-themed movie existed, but with a name like Soylent I was immediately intrigued.

It's set in 2022, so it has nothing to do with now, but I noticed some themes in the movie, like food and land ownership metrics, and later on founded-out some quite dramatic stuff about the character, I think called Sol and played thought-provokingly by Edward G. Robinson.

Another theme I noticed was masks, but the movie is set in 2022 so it has nothing to do with this and last years' muzzles, but the main food is sold by a corporation that own's half the land. Does that sound familiar?

The screenplay is about 50% right according to the author who I suspect had his work stolen from him.

Update and spoiler. The movie's main thrust has become reality.



Tuesday, 20 November 2007

Ophelia


I went to the Tate the other day with Lloyd Davis from Perfect Path. Mainly because I wanted to clear my head and I've been a wee bit obsessed with that painting by Millais of Ophelia. On the one hand it looks slightly fantastic and contrived but in real life it does have some of that Shakespearean drama licence of I'm drowning but I wont choke while I do it. Its beautiful anway and the attention to detail is such that all the tiny flowers are individually identifiable.

It also reminds me strongly of the video by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue. Take a look around a minute and a half if ADD is getting to you. Neat huh!



Millais was kind of like the Damien Hirst of his day too. Totally up for squeezing every buck he could from portrait sittings, he was in much demand and there are a shed load of these which bored us a bit because he did so many. But then there are the Fancies including the Pears Soap Bubble painting that caused such a stir for selling out at the time and maybe he was, but tucked in this collection are some real gems not least of which is Ophelia which I still can't quite shake out of my head. Millais came from Southampton too, which is my home town so maybe there was a bit of that sitting in my head and willing me on to make the visit. I also lived on Millais road not far from The Kaiser although we didn't know each other at that time as youngsters. Also we had a gallery called Millais at Solent University where I studied for my degree even though that was pretty much a cover for not wanting to work for a few years after my girlfriend of that time tried to take her life. Much like Ophelia I guess.



Update: I received an email asking me to post ADD information. Warning: I checked their credentials and there's content of an adult nature there too. If you click on the image you can make your own mind up.