SICK - The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

[qthewetsprocket]

Saw this movie at the local video store going used for six bucks, so I bought it. And I'm so glad I did.

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Nuthsell: Bob Flanagan became a "supermasochist" largely as a coping mechanism to deal with the constant pain of CF, a disease that usually kills its victims in childhood or by their early twenties. Another coping mechanism was his art, and a gloriously warped sense of humour.



Supermasochistic Bob theme song (sung to the tune of Supercallifragilisticexpiallidocious).

SAM - Smart-ass masochists (who'll do anything they tell you to do)

WHY ...are you a masochist, Bob?

Bob reads his own obituary

And finally, Bob tells us why it's Fun to Be Dead

File this one under "everyone's got a story to tell": I first saw Bob Flanagan in the Nine Inch Nails video Happiness in Slavery. I had no idea who he was at the time, but I do remember wondering mightily about him: why he was so skinny, why he had that disturbing little depression in his chest, why he'd want to do a video like that, and how much of it was real. Watching this documentary, I finally got answers to the questions I'd wondered about some fifteen-odd years earlier: 1) because he had cystic fibrosis, 2) because it was the opening for an IV stint, 3) because he was a masochist and a performance artist, and 4) probably more than I'd be comfortable knowing. And speaking of which...

This movie definitely isn't for everyone. I'm made of pretty stern stuff, but even I spent a good portion of the film cringing and going "oh, honey, ow"...I could quite happily have gone my whole life without ever seeing the clip of him nailing his own penis to a board (graphically vivid reminder though it is that if you're ever impaled with something, you always leave it in until you can get to an emergency room). And it got even harder to watch towards the end...the film is true to its title, and it's absolutely horrible watching such a cheeky, bloody-minded, self-deprecating, gently self-accepting and humorous man gasp for breath as he slowly drowns in his own tissue.

That said, this is also one of the most inspiring films I've ever seen. You may not agree with his lifestyle, but if you've got even half a spark of humanity in you, you've got to admire his spirit.

Q