This came out of nowhere while brainstorming for Festivids. A beautiful (if violent) movie, a beautiful (if haunting) song. I hope you'll give this a try even if you don't know the source. Heck, if only people who knew the movie watched it, it would probably have an audience of about six.
Title: Storm Warnings
Source: Apocalypto
Characters/Pairings: Jaguar Paw
Music: "Things That Scare Me" by Neko Case (edited)
Length: 2:40
Warnings: Graphic violence (ritual sacrifice, beheading, ripped-out hearts, attack on village families), themes of being hunted, themes of imperialism. Spoilers for the end of the film.
Notes: Because this vid doesn't tackle most of the issues surrounding the film, you might want to check out
this Wikipedia article, which has more information on the production and initial release, including controversies about its depiction of the falling Maya civilization and potential negative impact on modern Maya societies. (You know, like how the astronomy-minded Maya wouldn't have been surprised by an eclipse, or how mass human sacrifice is more consistent with Aztec history, or how the ending together with the epigraph can be read to mean that the Maya deserved conquering because their cities had become morally corrupt [although I read it as an irony, escaping one relentless hunter-destroyer only to be faced with another].) Also
an NYT movie review.
On a lighter note, this is the first time I've edited a vidding song to make it longer. Yeesh. And yet somehow the huge chunk of the movie that is the chase through the jungle got condensed into about five seconds.
Streaming at
YouTube and
Vimeo |
Download mp4 (48 MB)
Lyrics:
Fluorescent lights engage
Blackbirds frying on a wire
Same birds that followed me
To school when I was young
Were they trying to tell me something
Were they telling me to run
[instrumental]
The hammer clicks in place
The world's gonna pay
Right down in the face of God and his saints
Claim your soul's not for sale
I'm a dying breed who still believes
Haunted by American dreams
Haunted by American dreams
Comments and concrit are always welcome as I try to improve my vidding.
Considering the banjo and the eerie American dream references, I still think this song would make for an excellent Take Shelter vid. But this is the match my brain insisted on.
x-posted to
vidding