“American Utopia” What is the “utopia” suggested by David Byrne and Spike Lee?

Spike Lee and Byrne collaboration

The movie's director is Spike Lee. Some people may have found the pairing of Byrne and Lee surprising, but when you look back at the independent filmmaking world of New York in the 1980s, their connection seems inevitable.

During an interview with this author, Byrne said, ``Me and Spike Lee were inspired by Jim Jarmusch's ` `Stranger Than Paradise '' (1985) and started making films.'' Although this black-and-white film was produced on an extremely low budget, its ideas and sense were praised all over the world, and New York, Jarmusch's base of activity, was in the spotlight as a center of independent film. Lee, a friend of Jarmusch's who also graduated from New York University, was inspired by the success of this small film and made the black-and-white film ``She's Gotta Have It'' (1986), which received recognition for his talent.

Byrne also made his directorial debut with ``The True Story of David Byrne'' (1986). He had originally directed his own music videos, so his move to feature films was not surprising, but it was unusual at the time for a rock musician to be directing fictional films (very unconventional). It was rich and interesting).

Byrne was born in 1952, and Spike Lee was born in 1957. Since they are relatively close in generation, they must have grown up absorbing the same New York cultural atmosphere in their youth. Talking Heads were on stage at CBGB, a legendary club in New York where new wave and punk bands performed in the 70s, when director Spike Lee's `` Summer '' depicting his thoughts on the 70s was released. This club appears in ``Of Sam '' (1999), and there is a scene where the Heads' signature song ``Psycho Killer'' is played (Adrien Brody appears as a musician who admires punk and takes the stage at CBGB). Considering the trends of the times, it seems natural that Byrne and Lee would meet (although, incidentally, Jarmusch, who connects the two, shot music videos for the Heads in the 1980s).

“American Utopia” ©2020 PM AU FILM, LLC AND RIVER ROAD ENTERTAINMENT, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

According to Byrne, Lee was a friend of Stop Making Sense director Jonathan Demme. In the 1980s, Demi also made successful comedies depicting New York, such as `` Something Wild '' (1986) and ``The Married to the Mob '' (1988). music provided).

In "Stop Making Sense," the band members appear on stage one by one, but in "American Utopia," the number of musicians on stage also increases little by little. Did Lee purposely follow the structure of "Stop Making Sense"?

Additionally, the dance using light bulbs and the effective use of shadows seem to be references to Stop Making Sense. In fact, there are scenes that are reminiscent of Demi's other films. Since the beginning of the 21st century, he has made three Neil Young music films, one of which, `` Journeys '' (12, DVD only in Japan), features Neil Young's famous 70s song ` `Oh! ' will be played. This is a protest song about the incident that occurred at Kent State University in Ohio in 1970, when the National Guard opened fire on students who were protesting against the Vietnam War, resulting in the loss of four precious lives. In this live film, large photographs of the four student victims are displayed, and their names and the years of their lives and deaths are typed into the screen in bright red letters.

In American Utopia, photographs of black victims of police brutality are displayed one after another, with their names and years of birth and death printed (again) in red, perhaps inspiring Lee to take inspiration from Demme's films.

Ellen Kurass, the brilliant cinematographer of American Utopia, worked with Lee on Summer of Sam, but had already made a concert film for Demme , Heart of Gold (2006), which, like this one, shows off the same deep, beautiful colors.

Demme's name also appears as a "special thanks" at the end of "American Utopia," so perhaps Lee made this film with personal respect for her?

By the way, the choreographer for this performance, Annie B. Parson, also participated in Demme's " The Song of Love " (2015). She is an indispensable member of Byrne's recent work, and was also in charge of choreography for his 2010 documentary " Ride Lies Lower ." The film included an innovative stage performance in which Byrne was conscious of the fusion of rock and dance, and this "American Utopia" could be considered an extension of that.

"American Utopia" began when Byrne approached Lee, who he had known for a long time, and he spoke of his impression of the director as follows: "He is always moving forward and trying to do something innovative. In the past, he has shot live shows like "Passing Strange" (2009), but shooting live performances like this requires special skills. (Omitted) Also, "American Utopia" had social and political aspects, so it seemed like a suitable subject for him" (from "Music Magazine" May 2021 issue).

Lee himself said that when he saw the performance for the first time, an image came to mind. The bird's-eye view from above is probably inspired by Busby Berkeley's style. The lighting is also elaborate, making the film more like a movie than a stage adaptation.

It also includes a Arrival about modern society, similar to Lee's works such as ` `Do the Right Thing '' (1989) and `` BlacKkKlansman '' (18), but in order to capture Byrne's best cuts, the production was This work also demonstrates his professionalism by focusing on his work at home.

Lee also said this in an interview included in the official biographical book "Spike Lee" (published by Norton in 2006, written by Spike Lee and Kareem Aftab): ``I want to make a musical someday. I wouldn't do that, so I'd love to be able to team up with Prince or Stevie Wonder.''Prince is already deceased. When you think about it, David Byrne may have made Lee's dream come true with this movie.

The evolution of David Byrne