Day: June 29, 2014

Idaho Transfer [YouTube] (hat tip Network Awesome)
An obscure 1973 film directed by Peter Fonda, with a script by Thomas Mathiessen (whoever that may be), gives us low-key, post-apocalyptic science fiction, filmed on a minuscule budget, beautifully shot and scored. I was hooked by the serious amateurishness, or amateurish seriousness, of the young, unknown cast and its response to a looming "eco-crisis" as vague and threatening as the one we still face, and watched straight to the end. Seeing it in the what-is-this-i've-never-heard-of-it way is recommended: some astute IMDb commenters can help unravel the film's mysteries afterward.
The actors with long period hair mostly never made any movies after this, except for Keith Carradine, who appears in a small role. The film's end-of-the-'60s nostalgic hallucination of childless young people "having a beautiful time," or trying to, after the worst has happened, has dated, but in interesting ways. Especially knowing this generation, in reality, would become Reagan-era bourgeoisie, driving gas-guzzlers and competing to get their brats into threshold schools (or whatever they were called). :{

At the other end of the generational periscope lies "Pancake Spring," a short story by Miracle Jones (hat tip orlandobloom). I like fiction where authors who I suspect are younger than me make fun of phones and corporate social media. If hating that shite is not just a case of age maladaption, maybe there is something actually wrong with our cultural direction. ("Download the app" is the new "go to something-something dotcom" but only if you accept what Jerry Seinfeld jokingly calls the "hard rectangle in your pocket" as your universal center. I don't, and neither does Mandy in this story.) Ranting aside, check out this well-written tale with its very funny take on un-funny things such as torture ("French Modern") and promoted tweets.