History Film / MediumCool

The title is from a famous {{Postmodern}} thesis by media critic [=Marshall McLuhan=], ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Medium is the Message]]:'' namely the idea that there are [[MediumAwareness "hot" mediums]] such as theater that are highly interactive, and then there are more "cold" mediums, [[TVTropes like television]], which [[strike:lull the audience into a stupor]] require little interaction from the audience.

Interestingly, when the film was first scripted, it wasn't intended to be about the [[NewAgeRetroHippie Movement]] versus TheMan at all. The director wanted to shoot a piece [[ShakyCam in docu-cam]] about the indifference of the media towards the problems of the poor in inner-city Chicago, focusing on [[DecoyProtagonist an Appalachian family]].[[labelnote:*]]Chicago and Baltimore once had large Appalachian slums.[[/labelnote]] After all, [[CivilRightsMovement Martin Luther King]] was promising a major march on poverty in lieu of racism that summer, similar to his March on Washington in '63, to urge the next administration (which [[WhatMightHaveBeen he hoped would be RFK]]) to take the money from TheVietnamWar and use it to re-fund Great Society programs.

-->-- '''[[Music/FrankZappa The Mothers Of Invention]]''', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne4gncvE57A#t=3m0s "Mom & Dad",]] from ''Medium Cool''

''Medium Cool'' is a critically acclaimed and [[CultClassic highly obscure]] film from [[TheSixties the 60's]] about the unhealthy interaction between a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corporate media]] in search of {{spectacle}} and violence and a [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized restless and angry populace]]. It predated the film ''{{Network}}'' by about [[SpiritualSuccessor ten years]].

It's also famous for a simple reason: it's just about the only {{Mockumentary}} fictional film ever to be deliberately shot and filmed '''''during''''' the course of a historical event: [[TheSixties The 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention]] and police riot, during and after the assassination of [[FolkHero Robert F. Kennedy]] which [[FromBadToWorse preceded it]].

That's right: [[RealLifeWritesThePlot they filmed all the scenes "in real"]],[[labelnote:*]]:as Creator/JamesCameron might incredulously put it[[/labelnote]] with the scripted actors and cameramen wandering through historical events. AluminumChristmasTrees abound for contemporary viewers, since as we all know, RealityIsUnrealistic.

* Music/FrankZappa: Music by him and the Mothers Of Invention is used on the soundtrack.

* FrankZappa: Music by him and the Mothers Of Invention is used on the soundtrack.

[[SnarkBait very dry-ly]] scored to Music/FrankZappa's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPan19kvyI Who Needs The Peace Corps]]:

* AnarchyIsChaos: The protestors.

* DeadpanSnarker: The TV reporter.

* TheMan: The cops and TV reporters.

* MoodDissonance: Goes with the territory of being shot live on-location.

* PinballProtagonist: Taken to a literal extreme.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized
* RomanceEnsues: Between the protagonists.
* ShootTheShaggyDog
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Film/{{Network}}''. For a similar film in the same year, but [[HilarityEnsues more farcical]], see ''Film/PutneySwope''.
* YouBastard: The film's message.

* [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog]]

The film was rated "X" by the MoralGuardians for ''political content'' on its release (the film contains little sexual content or swearing), the first film to do so (swiftly followed by ''MidnightCowboy''); thus making the title reference all the more meaningful.

Interestingly, when the film was first scripted, it wasn't intended to be about the [[NewAgeRetroHippie Movement]] versus TheMan at all. The director wanted to shoot a piece [[ShakyCam in docu-cam]] about the indifference of the media towards the problems of the poor in inner-city Chicago, focusing on [[DecoyProtagonist an Appalachian family]].[[labelnote:*]]Chicago and Baltimore once had large Appalachian slums.[[/labelnote]] After all, [[CivilRightsMovement Martin Luther King]] was promising a major march on poverty in lieu of racism that LongHotSummer, similar to his March on Washington in '63, to urge the next administration (which [[WhatMightHaveBeen he hoped would be RFK]]) to take the money from TheVietnamWar and use it to re-fund Great Society programs.

->''[[NobleBigotWithABadge The cops]] / [[MoralEventHorizon have shot some]] / [[CheerfulChild girls and boys]].''

->''[[YouBastard You'll sit home & drink all night]].''
->''[[WhatMeasureIsANonCute They looked too weird]] ... [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing it served them right]]."''

-->-- '''[[Music/FrankZappa The Mothers Of Invention]]''', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne4gncvE57A#t=3m0s "Mom & Dad",]] from ''Film/MediumCool''

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''{{Network}}''. For a similar film in the same year, but [[HilarityEnsues more farcical]], see ''PutneySwope''.

* EnforcedMethodActing: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MydIOnH5ac0&feature=related "Look out, Haskell. It's real!!"]]''

* RealitySubtext: The director considered ending the film at MLK's planned Poverty March on Washington in 1968 and have it be how [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing the media will only cover violence]]. Then MLK got shot. Then the director was told about the Chicago demonstration by the people the actors were interviewing for the film. Then RFK got shot...

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the climax of the film, the female protagonist is shown wandering through the midst of [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome the actual police riot]] (with the real camera-men in tow behind her). To avoid losing her in the crowd, she is dressed in a bright yellow dress.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: As mentioned, the message is about media exploitation of real life violence for entertainment. The medium is... a film that uses a police riot as a stage for actors to walk around in.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The film is hard-to-find, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WtsIyDf-o0 except online of course]].

->''"Mama! Mama! / [[DyingLikeAnimals Someone said they made some noise]].''

That's right: [[RealLifeWritesThePlot they filmed all the scenes "in real"]],[[labelnote:*]]:as JamesCameron might incredulously put it[[/labelnote]] with the scripted actors and cameramen wandering through historical events. AluminumChristmasTrees abound for contemporary viewers, since as we all know, RealityIsUnrealistic.

That's right: [[RealLifeWritesThePlot they filmed all the scenes "in real"]],[[hottip:*:as JamesCameron might incredulously put it]] with the scripted actors and cameramen wandering through historical events. AluminumChristmasTrees abound for contemporary viewers, since as we all know, RealityIsUnrealistic.

Interestingly, when the film was first scripted, it wasn't intended to be about the [[NewAgeRetroHippie Movement]] versus TheMan at all. The director wanted to shoot a piece [[ShakyCam in docu-cam]] about the indifference of the media towards the problems of the poor in inner-city Chicago, focusing on [[DecoyProtagonist an Appalachian family]].[[hottip:+:Chicago and Baltimore once had large Appalachian slums.]] After all, [[CivilRightsMovement Martin Luther King]] was promising a major march on poverty in lieu of racism that LongHotSummer, similar to his March on Washington in '63, to urge the next administration (which [[WhatMightHaveBeen he hoped would be RFK]]) to take the money from TheVietnamWar and use it to re-fund Great Society programs.

The title is from a famous {{Postmodern}} thesis by media critic [=Marshall McLuhan=], ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Medium is the Message]]:'' namely the idea that there are [[MediumAwareness "hot" mediums]] such as theater that are highly interactive, and then there are more "cold" mediums, [[TVTropes like television]], which [[strike:lull the audience into a stupor]] require little interaction from the audience.[[hottip:**:\\
\\
TheInternet, which has room for huge amounts of interactivity but mostly confined to correspondence with [[{{GIFT}} ill-informed people]], would thus be an example of a populace that prefers its ''Film/MediumCool''. With lukewarm spots [[WikiTropes such as wikis]], like the one you may be editing now. The Situationists like Guy Debord would probably ask why [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife you are in here on the computer]] when you could be out forming a [[FlashMob flash-mob]] or impromptu theater, of course.]]

* FridgeBrilliance: The ending seems to [[GainaxEnding come out of nowhere]]. [[spoiler: Until you remember how the film began.]]
* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Series/{{Heroes}} Arthur Petrelli]] looks so young!

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[{{Heroes}} Arthur Petrelli]] looks so young!

It's also famous for a simple reason: it's just about the only {{Mockumentary}} fictional film ever to be deliberately shot and filmed '''''during''''' the course of a historical event: [[TheSixties The 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention]] and police riot, during and after the assassination of [[FolkHero Robert F. Kennedy]] which [[ItGotWorse preceded it]].

However, after [[ItGotWorse both MLK]] and RFK [[ChandlersLaw got shot]] during the course of initial filming, director Haskell Wesker had made friends in [[OnlySaneMan Fred Hampton]]'s Chicago Black Panther Party during the course of making the film (one of the scenes is an interview with the Panthers basically playing themselves). They informed him that a massive demonstration was underway for the summer of '68 and Wesker decided to center the climax of his film ''[[RealitySubtext around that]]''.

* TearJerker: The MLK retrospective that the protagonists watch on TV.

* HarsherInHindsight: The film's central message ''(see: noun, [[RealityTV reality television]]).''
** The lyrics from the page quote were written three years before Kent State, although people got killed in '68 as well.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The film's message.
** Of course, it's a complicated message about media exploitation of real life {{conflict}} for entertainment [[RealityTV (which obviously went unheeded)]], and SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.

* {{Cameo}} / ActorAllusion: The guitarist who is the "Indian of the group" in the rave scene is Mike Nesmith of Music/TheMonkees.

[[SnarkBait very dry-ly]] scored to FrankZappa's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPan19kvyI Who Needs The Peace Corps]]:

* NewAgeRetroHippie: UnbuiltTrope and thus, surprisingly averted. {{Discussed| Trope}}, however, by FrankZappa on the soundtrack:

* {{Cameo}} / ActorAllusion: The guitarist who is the "Indian of the group" in the rave scene is Mike Nesmith of {{the Monkees}}.

-->-- '''[[Music/FrankZappa The Mothers Of Invention]]''', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne4gncvE57A#t=3m0s "Mom & Dad",]] from ''MediumCool''

TheInternet, which has room for huge amounts of interactivity but mostly confined to correspondence with [[{{GIFT}} ill-informed people]], would thus be an example of a populace that prefers its ''MediumCool''. With lukewarm spots [[WikiTropes such as wikis]], like the one you may be editing now. The Situationists like Guy Debord would probably ask why [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife you are in here on the computer]] when you could be out forming a [[FlashMob flash-mob]] or impromptu theater, of course.]]