THE SMELL OF BURNING ANTS is a 1994 experimental documentary or essay-film by Jay Rosenblatt on the theme of what we would call toxic masculinity. Or what we used to call masculinity. Above is an extract.
I’m sincerely grateful for the revolution in male behaviour and sensitivity, just sorry it hadn’t happened when I was a kid. The 1950s US images recycled in it could easily be substituted with ones from 70s/80s Scotland, and nothing would change except they’d be in colour and worse.
I look forward to the day when nobody can understand what Rosenblatt is on about except by a great effort of imagination.
Among the images are scorpion cruelty scenes reminiscent of L’AGE D’OR, purporting to show how scorpions will sting themselves to death to escape live cremation within a circle of flaming gasoline. Both horrible and obviously staged (Rosenblatt is not responsible, he only found the footage). Staged but fatal.
It made me think of Bunuel’s animal cruelty, which he has essentially had a free pass on. When it’s commented on, it’s with sort of disapproval, but mostly a shrug. Because people writing on LB tend to admire him, it’s hard to take seriously the horrific death to which a donkey is subjected in LAND WITHOUT BREAD (stung to death by bees), as a for-instance.
We do know that Bunuel was violently against vivisection (“Sometimes you just have to say ‘shit’ to science.”) and we also know that when his sons got tired of hearing this opinion they drew up a list of the animals slaughtered onscreen in his work — a considerable menagerie. But it is not recorded how Don Luis responded. Do you sometimes have to say ‘shit’ to art, too?
I would think my students, if I wanted to upset them, would be pretty upset by Bunuel’s depictions of real-life cruelties, just as Nic Roeg’s salacious filming of a naked underage actor in WALKABOUT would be seen as a whole new kind of unacceptable in this more enlightened era.
Anyway, the Rosenblatt film is amazing — really beautiful (and disturbing) use of assorted found footage, strung together with what Derek Malcolm referred to as “magisterial abandon” when describing Makavajev’s WR: MYSTERIES OF THE ORGANISM — and there’s another filmmaker some of whose work might age uncomfortably.
shadowplay 