'Blue Monday'

Blue Monday-Duvet Brothers (1984)

This piece could be described as a ‘scratch piece’. In terms of experimental film, I find it incredibly interesting.
The concept of the film is something different to what one would expect even for an experimental film. However weather or not it is right to be able to expect anything from an experimental film in another issue all together. The best way I can think of to describe this piece is a collage, a collage of moving images, news reels rather than newspaper cuttings. The images, are from a broad range of sources, and seem to be in several categories. One to represent the rich and powerful in society, images of the royal family, a man burning a bank note with a cigar, vulgar displays of wealth. Then there are the images of the miner’s strikes and the poverty of the working classes of Britain in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there are the images of communist displays of military power and organisation. Then there is the text inter woven with these images. There are many different visual elements in the film. Each adds something to the films overall message and power.
The meaning created by these images is seemingly obvious. The filmmakers are making a statement about the political and social atmosphere of Britain in 1980s Britain. The main point to make here is the idea of juxtaposition to create meaning. Here we have the images of great privilege and wealth against images of striking miners. This obviously shows the two extremes of the economic scale that existed. The images then that are brought in of the Thatcher and the Torie government consolidate this idea. Her government was all about the self and capitalism. The film then is clearly trying to convey the message of the evils of the Tory government and their selfish ideals.
The other message I feel is conveyed in this film is the ideas of capitalism leading to chaos and anger. This is then reinforced by imaged of the miner strikes and clashes between protesters and the police overplayed by pictures of organised military parades of what seems to bean eastern European communist state. This then is clearly conveying the massage that capitalism and selfishness lads to chaos but a communism and the idea of sharing out wealth fairly leads to an ordered state.
Another point that adds to the meaning of the film is the soundtrack. The music is a classic 80s synth pop track however at the time it was new and revolutionary. Much like industry was becoming less and less dependant on the power of men (the miners strikes) the music is not reliant on the talent of several different gifted musicians, it is a more mechanical process. Everything is becoming less organic. Also the actual sound, this driving industrial sound is fitting to the themes, the idea of an industrial nation in disrepair fits well with the ideas of a nation that is becoming more mechanical and electronic and fewer dependants on man power.
What category this film actually falls into is a slightly difficult issue. This film could be described as a documentary, as it is documenting the political culture of the 80s and how many of the population were felling. Its use of stock footage and newsreel fits into the conventions of documentary. The editing and composition however does not. It is much more free. I see this as an experimental film for this reason. Usually while making a film about political unrest, a filmmaker would go to interview people, gain different opinions. This disregards all of these ‘rules’. To me this defines it as an experimental piece. The editing is something particularly interesting. The way the music and clips are edited in a way that fits together makes the film even more effective. The cuts fit to the beats of the music which makes it a lot more interesting for the view and also more powerful. It makes one take notice; the beats in the music and the rhythm are replicated through image. One example of this is when the military procession is crossing the screen; they appear to be marching in time to the music. This creates a more powerful image and is a great example of how these filmmakers have used the combination of music and sound to create such an effective piece.
In terms of inspiration and influence for the project, the editing of ‘Blue Monday’ is something that I think we can draw on. Not the themes or massage it conveys but the way it uses cuts to create a more powerful film. One parallel I have noticed with the provided viewing materials is with the Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ video. The way the beats match cuts or action on screen. The industrial feel to the music, and industrial back drop. Although the Chemical Brothers are not trying to convey any strong political message there are some similarities.
In conclusion this is a vey effective piece of work. It conveys a message concisely while still being interesting to watch.