The Evolution of Group G: Marijuana
Original: G -> First Modification: F -> Second Modification: A -> Third Modification: E
Original Stage 1: Marijuana
The first video in The Eternal Network collaborate was created by myself, Keisha and Nourhan. Our initial concern was to find a topic or concept that would be capable of spawning interesting and hopefully unique modifications. We decided that an issue such as drug abuse could spawn interesting results. While brainstorming possible positions and representations that we could take to approach this area, I discovered material that would be extremely valuable, the movies Pineapple Express (2008) and Reefer Madness (2005). Marijuana takes an exaggerated approach to magnify the harm capable from the use of marijuana. All the clips portray individuals who are experience severe drug induced states. However, instead of turning the message into a serious, humorless warning of the effects of marijuana, we are making light of the dangers with humour. The audio, which is describing the different possible affects, is from an educational cartoon video with a “Flintstones” portrayal. One gets the impression that the educational video would be seen along side the educational videos appearing in the late 1980s, early 1990’s, such as “Don’t Put it in Your Mouth” a video giving youth a warning of the dangers of the unknown. (www.spike.com/video/don’t-put-it-in-your/2733455) At the end of the video, it flashes back to the happenings in the beginning, the military figure speaks into the phone, and states the final decision on the legalization of marijuana. It is Illegal!
First Modification: Over Exaggeration
Group F (Stephanie, Adela, and Tudor) decided to further press out exaggeration of the effects induced by marijuana. The beginning of the video has been severely slowed, and all of the shots of “private miller” (the guinea pig so to speak in their testing) are highlighted in an array of changing colours, bright and flashing. This technique gives the impression that you (the viewer) are seeing the video from the perspective of the person experiencing the “high”. The changing tempo also gives the viewer a sense of disorientation that can be an associated with drug usage. I feel like this experience is almost surreal. Suddenly the mood is changed back to reality, the audio discussing the reasons why marijuana should in fact be legalized. However, the manner of the legalization speech is part of a stand–up comedian’s skit. From the point–of–view of the stereotypical “stoner” or “hippy”. This is especially noted toward the end of the audio clip and spoke in “the voice of God”. To further the joke, the visuals are off people smoking marijuana in unconventional and unique scenarios. The video then jumps back to the “educational” video cut in the original video. However, there is an overlay of a spiraling fractal that is moving with the footage. This continues to suggest the intoxicated state of the described drug users.
Second Modification: P3_Modified
Group A (Men M, Xi S, and Nicolette) pushes the viewers experience from one of exaggerated colour and excitement and humour, too what I feel can be described as nightmarish. The hallucinations are still evident and increasingly more imaginative and dark. The sudden violation of the joyous state of being suggest the unwanted change that can occur in a person intoxicated. Individuals have been known to change from having a mellow, or upbeat drug induced experience, to a dark, disturbing state of being. This troubling experience can happen unexpectedly, and as such, is more so disturbing. These dark experiences have been ironically described with seemingly comical cartoon characters, animated mascots of certain cereal brands. The characters seem to be agitated and, decidedly “insane”, or as out of their “minds” as animations can be that is. They can either be representing a hallucination turned to nightmare, or possibly a representation of the reactions capable of a user of narcotics.
Third Modification: Crazy Colours
Group E (Keith, Sannah, and Tiffany) made the final modification in this series. Their changes included quickening the speed of the video as well as overlapping different footage, to create a montage of all that the viewer has experienced in the previous three videos. The audio has been completely removed and replaced with an intense track that with the video leaves the viewer feeling as though they are in a trance.
A Final Piece
Individually, these four videos may be amusing, but I find that as a collection, or a series, meant to be viewed in order, tell a story. It seems to me that in the beginning, the view is introduced to the world of narcotics, they are warned on the dangers but still continue into the culture. The Second video experiences the excitement associated with the marijuana, and though the warning remains, it seems to be an unimportant reminder that is easily ignored. The third video pulls the viewer deeper into the hold of a narcotic “high”, the negative experiences that were previously warned arise and the viewer is trapped in a hallucinogenic nightmare. The forth video is experienced as a flashback to the viewer’s drug induced fall. They are stuck in a dreamlike state with no memory of what the world was like before the introduction of drugs into their lives.
