Flagpole: Dicks, Chicks, Boners, Boobies and Salami Nipples

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Flagpole is the 2011 Student Academy Award nominated short film written and directed by Matt Kazman, a heartfelt and hilarious film about the universally awkward experience of growing up. Flagpole begins with what starts out as just a typical day for 13-year old Zack, who’s getting taunted by his friends, being ridiculed by girls with whom he’s afraid to hook up and constantly thinking about Maddy, his long-time crush from afar. But when Zack fantasizes about Maddy during their English class, it precipitates a series of events that eventually leads to the encounter for which he’s long been waiting.

Flagpole: Dicks, Chicks, Boners, Boobies and Salami Nipples

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Fjögur Píanó: Mind-Controlled Slavery, Addiction, Drugs and Violent Sex

Fjögur Píanó is a thoughtful, haunting short film/music video created by Israeli director Alma Har’el, set to music by the acclaimed Icelandic band Sigur Rós. The band recently asked a dozen filmmakers to each choose a song from its new album, Valtari; given complete creative freedom, filmmaker Alma Har’el produced a seven-minute video that at first appears to be more of a dream sequence than a narrative. Fjögur Píanó is a wordless song comprised of four piano pieces that features actor Shia LaBeouf and actress Denna Thomsen in a stormy relationship, caught up in a destructive spiral, possibly revolving around mind-controlled drug addiction, lovesick co-dependence and sordid sexuality mixed with dominance and violence.

It is evident throughout the film that the couple is very confused, not in control of their destiny and hopelessly trapped in a state of virtual imprisonment. Much of the film’s symbolism hints at the concept of Monarch Mind Control. Monarch Mind Control is named after the Monarch butterfly, a genetically programmed insect that begins its life as a worm (representing undeveloped potential) and, after a period of cocooning (biological programming), is reborn as a beautiful butterfly (the Monarch slave).

From this perspective, Fjögur Píanó can be viewed as a dark commentary on a world of increasingly abusive totalitarian domination. Every aspect of Shia and Denna’s lives is manipulated by outside forces. Their living environment is controlled and modified by their handlers: they are drugged, blindfolded and forcibly taken on weird, dissociative trips. Attempts to break free from the cruel domination are useless. The couple is utterly powerless when confronted by the world around them, and in the end the only thing Shia can do is cut another bloody tally mark into Denna’s back.

Fjögur Píanó: Mind-Controlled Slavery, Addiction, Drugs and Violent Sex

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