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Postings in the Public Eye
By Seth Landau, writer/director of Bryan Loves You
(November 2008)
I asked Elliot [V. Kotek, MPM editor-in-chief] if I could write this piece for Moving Pictures because I haven't seen anything like it. A lot of times, you'll read that musicians, actors, etc. never read reviews or go online, and somehow stay completely oblivious to what is said about them in public. Maybe that's possible at the later point in one's career when there be entourages, publicists, agents, business managers and other forms of buffer. But most artists do not have such benefit, especially early on. So what happens when ya go from near-complete obscurity to widely broadcasted by a huge entertainment company?
"Fake!!" "Not real at all." "Whoever made this video has no life." Those are some of the tamer comments posted to the Kobe Bryant-jumping-over-a-car video on YouTube that was shot as an ad for sneakers. Most of the comments are way more profane and personally insulting. Before my movie Bryan Loves You was released, I might not have thought much of this. I couldn't then relate to random individuals commenting harshly on something broadcast to the public like I relate now.
In that vein, far worse reactions are posted to YouTube vids made by even non-entertainment-industry types just expressing themselves: kids creating comedy sketches, people lip-syncing to music and even parents posting vids of their children. Take your pick of obscenity: shta-holewhatevercursewordfits. Really vile stuff personally attacking these poor people (how they look, how much they weigh, how they dress, how they speak) who are trying to relate to others by creating something and sharing it. It makes ya think. Why do so many people enjoy trying to make others feel bad about themselves? And why else do they want the free world to know about how angry and miserable they are?
The sad thing is, these people who post hateful diatribe online seek the affirmation of like-minded hate-mongers. The hate they post is posted to attract the corroboration of their peers. They seek corroboration because they seek a connection. The material they're hating on was made to seek a connection. Talk about a vicious f-ing cycle.
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It was all congrats, roses and sugar after I told people that Starz/Anchor Bay Entertainment was acquiring the rights to my second feature film, Bryan Loves You, a horror and a true story and shot way different than most movies. A critic I was talking to recently, who really liked the movie, told me, "Ya know, it's like nothing else I've seen before." My favorite compliment of all, because, like a lot of artists, ya crave to be unique and a trailblazer. Of course, there have been and will continue to be comparisons to other movies.
Whenever you introduce something different or challenging to the world, you're setting yourself up for a very rough road. I've never taken the easy way out, so I don't very much care that I'm making it tougher on myself by making Bryan Loves You unconventional. I just do what I feel is real. I've seen the movie called one of the best of its kind. I've seen it called one of the worst movies ever. I've read comments calling it "awe-inspiring" and "amazing." I've read comments calling it "abysmal" and "total shit."
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If you put yourself in the public eye, you have to be able to take what is thrown at you. While everyone likes to have that pat on the back and have others talk positively about their work (whether it's a 9-to-5 office job, surgery, exploration, whatever), most of us have a difficult time with the opposite: being told we're bad or dumb or inept or not worthy. Thankfully, most do not have to encounter that kind of negativity on the world's stage. Honestly, it hurts when you see something that personally attacks you for trying to make a point, as Bryan Loves You tries to. What point? The dangers of homogenous thinking. Of course, people will take from it what they will. One review in a major magazine was so spiteful that a friend of mine asked, "Did you fuck that guy's girlfriend or something?" For the record, I did not. Or at least I don't think I did.
I can take it, though. Part of making it in the entertainment industry is the ability to weather abuse from all angles, from all people, to all depths. I think sometimes the people who write hateful stuff don't consider that their targets have friends and family, some of whom love the target. And sometimes the target's mother reads what some misinformed kid in Anywhere, U.S.A., writes about her son. My mom actually read a couple of really hateful things, and this is new for her like it's new for me; so, obviously, having hundreds or even thousands of people weighing in with opinions from all corners of the globe can be overwhelming. Again, I knew what I was getting into; but when I ask my mother to not search online for me and the movie and yet she does so anyway because she's obsessive-compulsive and can't control herself...
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But I digress. That is what pisses me off about morons who write such personal attacks, and does make me wanna smack the perp. To go after someone for valid reasons is fair game. But to try and discredit or humiliate someone personally in front of their family and friends is completely dishonorable. Even one of the great warriors of all time, Miyamoto Musashi, says to respect your opposition; it was one of the fundamental facets of his school of samurai. In his seminal Book of Five Rings, he teaches that even if one should attempt to cut another down and kill, there should be reverence in that process. In short, it's not smart to let everyone know who or what you hate. And it's just plain stupid to personally attack someone in a very public way (such as a message board or published story), because you've just exposed yourself by doing so.
To sum up what we have here, an example from my life. And please bear with me on this, cuz it's kind of a stretch, but there's a point. My last girlfriend confused the hell out of me, because I'm a very straightforward, say-what-I-mean kind of guy. And she is a very capricious, nebulous sort who rarely says what she feels and oftentimes self-sabotages. When I'd view her from my perspective, it was frustrating and maddening, because I wasn't speaking her language (not literally; we both speak English, although it didn't often feel that way). Until, over time, I learned what she responds to and what is attractive to her, as opposed to me thinking that just being straightforward and no-drama is simple and clear and, hence, easy. But simple and clear wasn't comfortable to her. So I adapted, learned to speak her language and was able to effectively communicate, although the new mode of communication is still weird to me. Suffice it to say, the relationship was totally fucked because we wanted different things. But I learned so much from her because I learned how to "speak the language" of someone truly fascinating and much different than myself. Bryan Loves You is kinda like my former girlfriend: much to offer if you know how to decode the language, I think... I hope. Granted, I'd love it if everyone totally got and respected what I make, like a Steven Spielberg-level of mass-acceptance. But it's just not my way to be accepted by all, I guess. Sometimes, someone or something comes into your life that is pretty special when properly perceived and understood. -MPM
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Read filmmaker Seth Landau's earlier contribution to Moving Pictures, "Inside Bryan Loves You."
See the Bryan Loves You trailer and visit the Bryan Loves You website.
Photos courtesy of the filmmaker. Top of page: DVD signing in 2008 at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California: Seth Landau, actor Tony Todd and Troma Entertainment's Lloyd Kaufman.
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