October Films / películas de octubre

I thought I would have the chance to watch at least half a dozen horror movies before Halloween, however, my final list proved to be rather eclectic. So let’s start with Pacific Rim (2013). Although this isn’t Guillermo del Toro’s finest production, it still is quite entertaining (after all, who doesn’t love fights between giant robots and huge monsters?). It was great to see Charlie Hunnam (famous for his role as a gay teenager in “Queer As Folk”) as the protagonist. 

The Spectacular Now (2013) reunites Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, two high school students who suddenly fall in love. However, this isn’t a typical teen movie. It sure starts like one but it quickly turns into something far more interesting.  

The Kings of Summer (2013), directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, it’s an extraordinary coming of age tale centered on the lives of 3 teenage boys: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso (famous for his role in “Super 8”) and Moises Arias. Sick and tired of their parents, the 3 friends decide to escape to the woods to live there during the summer. Their friendship is put to a test as they struggle to adapt to a life outside the boundaries of civilization. There are really amazing scenes plus a lot of funny moments.

The best of the month is Roberto Faenza’s Someday this Pain Will Be Useful to You (2011). Toby Regbo (a talented young actor who had already surprised me in “Mr. Nobody”) is a sexually confused teenager, who discovers the joys and pains of life after high school. Instead of entering into the adult world, he lingers onto a limbo in which nothing seems to capture his attention or interest. A brilliant boy in search of a life goal, the protagonist finds himself more comfortable with his grandmother Ellen Burstyn than with his mother Marcia Gay Harden. At times I couldn’t stop identifying with the protagonist, with his frustration, with that feeling of being stuck in one place without a single idea of how to get out of there. I really recommend this one.

Based on a theater play, Roman Polanski’s Carnage (2011) is a celebration of good acting. So much drama and conflict takes place in the apartment of Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly, as they meet Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz. They’re all concerned parents, and although they begin discussing about how their kids got into a fight, they soon start showing who they really are. Strange and yet fascinating, this is a must see.

Udayan Prasad’s The Yellow Handkerchief (2008) is a bittersweet chronicle of three misfits: William Hurt, a man who has just gotten out of jail, Kristen Stewart, a girl neglected by her parents, and Eddie Redmayne (famous for his role as a bisexual boy in “Savage Grace”), a lonely and awkward teenager, rejected by his peers. Together, they embark on a road trip that sheds a new light on their past, it’s an emotional journey that captivates the audience. The Yellow Handkerchief is surprisingly touching and deeply evocative.  

In Brothers (2009) Tobey Maguire is kidnapped and tortured in Afghanistan, while his wife, Natalie Portman, waits for him; after a few weeks, however, she starts feeling attracted to Jake Gyllenhaal, her husband’s brother. Unable to deal with the horrors of war, Tobey Maguire returns home and destroys an already debilitated marriage.

The Call (2013) is the kind of fast-paced thriller I usually enjoy. Halle Berry is a 911 operator who tries to save Abigail Breslin, a girl kidnapped by a serial killer. There are good moments but also a few plot holes.

I love horror movies and I absolutely loved The Conjuring (2013). Director James Wan creates some truly scary sequences. When a couple of paranormal investigators try to help a family in a haunted house, all hell breaks loose. Ancient curses and evil artifacts intensify the suspense. This one really kept me at the edge of my seat.

In Bloom (2013) deals with infidelity and gay love. Kyle Wigent and Tanner Rittenhouse are a happy couple, until Tanner starts smoking pot and having sex with Adam Fane, an attractive college kid. 

Andrew Haigh’s Greek Pete (2009), filmed as a documentary, focuses on Peter Pittaros, a homosexual male hustler in London. This is an honest although brutal portrayal of male prostitution in England.

From Netherlands comes Schemer (2010), based on a real life event. Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen and Robert de Hoog decide to murder one of their friends. By reconstructing the relationships of a group of disturbed teens, we get to see why they would contemplate murder as an acceptable course of action.

I finally saw the Millennium trilogy, based on the novels by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. Män som hatar kvinnor (2009), directed by Niels Arden Oplev, introduces the protagonists: Michael Nyqvist, an investigative reporter, and Noomi Rapace a very skillful hacker. Together they uncover an old mystery that involves pedophilia, murder and Nazis. In Daniel Alfredson’s Flickan som lekte med elden (2009), we learn more about the protagonist past and Luftslottet som sprängdes (2009) is the conclusion of this intriguing saga.

Obediencia perfecta (2014) reveals the secrets of a religious boarding school. The students, young boys, spend their time doing sports or masturbating in bed, ignoring that they are all potential victims of the headmaster, a well-respected priest. The protagonist is an innocent boy who is sexually abused by the priest, who demands a “perfect obedience”. Dark and sinister, this Mexican production is based on a real life case.

Pilar Távora’s Madre amadísima (2009) is a delightful representation of the memories of an old gay man, who remembers how difficult (and tragicomic) it was to be a young gay man in a small town in Spain, in the 50s. 

Grande école (2004), directed by Robert Salis, highlights the privileges of rich French students, like Gregori Baquet, and the hardships of Algerian workers like Salim Kechiouche (an actor familiarized with gay themed movies such as “À toute vitesse”, “Les amants criminels”, “Le clan”, etc.). The two guys meet and quickly fall in love, however racial and socioeconomic differences between them are too great to be ignored.
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Creí que tendría la oportunidad de ver al menos media docena de películas de terror antes de Halloween; sin embargo, mi lista final resultó ser bastante ecléctica. Así que empecemos con "Pacific Rim" (2013). Aunque esta no es una de las mejores producciones de Guillermo del Toro, aun así es bastante entretenida (después de todo, ¿a quién no le encantaría las peleas entre robots gigantes y monstruos gigantescos?). Fue estupendo ver a Charlie Hunnam (famoso por su papel de adolescente gay en “Queer As Folk”) de protagonista. 

"The Spectacular Now" (2013) reúne a Miles Teller y Shailene Woodley, dos estudiantes de secundaria que se enamoran repentinamente. Sin embargo, esta no es una típica película juvenil. Claro, empieza así, pero rápidamente se convierte en algo mucho más interesante. 

"The Kings of Summer" (2013), dirigida por Jordan Vogt-Roberts, es un extraordinario relato sobre la juventud, centrado en las vidas de 3 adolescentes: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso (famoso por su papel en “Super 8”) y Moises Arias. Hartos de sus padres, los 3 amigos deciden escapar al bosque para vivir allí durante el verano. Su amistad es puesta a prueba mientras luchan por adaptarse a la vida fuera de los confines de la civilización. Hay escenas realmente asombrosas además de muchos momentos divertidos.

Lo mejor del mes es "Someday this Pain Will Be Useful to You" (2011), de Roberto Faenza. Toby Regbo (un talentoso actor joven que ya me había sorprendido en “Mr. Nobody”) es un adolescente sexualmente confundido, que descubre el goce y el dolor de la vida después de la secundaria. En vez de entrar al mundo adulto, se aferra a un limbo en el que nada parece capturar su atención o interés. Un muchacho brillante en busca de una meta para su vida, el protagonista se siente más cómodo con su abuela Ellen Burstyn que con su madre Marcia Gay Harden. Por momentos no pude dejar de identificarme con el protagonista, con sus frustraciones, con esa sensación de estar atascado en un lugar, sin tener ninguna idea de cómo salir de allí. Realmente la recomiendo.

Basada en una obra de teatro, "Carnage" (2011) de Roman Polanski, es una celebración de la buena actuación. Hay mucho drama y conflicto en el apartamento de Jodie Foster y John C. Reilly, quienes reciben a Kate Winslet y Christoph Waltz. Los cuatro son padres preocupados, y aunque empiezan discutiendo sobre cómo se pelearon sus hijos, pronto empiezan a mostrar quiénes son en realidad. Extraña y fascinante, merece ser vista.

"The Yellow Handkerchief" (2008), de Udayan Prasad, es una agridulce crónica de tres desadaptados: William Hurt, un hombre que acaba de salir de la cárcel, Kristen Stewart, una chica ignorada por sus padres, y Eddie Redmayne (famoso por su papel como un chico bisexual en "Savage Grace"), un adolescente solitario y torpe, rechazado por sus coetáneos. Juntos, se embarcan en un viaje por carretera que traerá una nueva luz sobre el pasado, es una travesía emocional que cautiva a la audiencia. "The Yellow Handkerchief" es sorprendentemente conmovedora y profundamente evocadora. 

En "Brothers" (2009), Tobey Maguire es secuestrado y torturado en Afganistán, mientras que su esposa, Natalie Portman, lo espera; sin embargo, después de unas semanas, ella empieza a sentirse atraída por Jake Gyllenhaal, el hermano de su esposo. Incapaz de lidiar con los horrores de la guerra, Tobey Maguire regresa a casa y destruye un matrimonio ya debilitado.

"The Call" (2013) es el tipo de thriller trepidante que usualmente disfruto. Halle Berry es una operadora del 911 que trata de salvar a Abigail Breslin, una chica raptada por un asesino en serie. Hay buenos momentos pero también algunos puntos flojos en el argumento.

Me encantan las películas de terror y me realmente me encantó "The Conjuring" (2013). El director James Wan crea algunas secuencias que dan miedo de verdad. Cuando una pareja de investigadores de lo paranormal intentan ayudar a una familia en una casa asediada por espíritus malignos, el infierno se desata. Maldiciones antiguas y artefactos malignos intensifican el suspenso. Realmente me mantuvo en vilo.

my drawing (inking still in process) / mi dibujo (entintado aún en proceso)

"In Bloom" (2013) lidia con la infidelidad y el amor gay. Kyle Wigent y Tanner Rittenhouse son una pareja feliz, hasta que Tanner empieza a fumar hierba y a tener sexo con Adam Fane, un atractivo chiquillo universitario. 

"Greek Pete" (2009), de Andrew Haigh, filmada como un documental, se enfoca en Peter Pittaros, un prostituto homosexual de Londres. Este es un retrato honesto aunque brutal sobre la prostitución masculina en Inglaterra.

"Schemer" (2010) viene de Países Bajos, y está basada en un evento de la vida real. Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen y Robert de Hoog deciden asesinar a una de sus amigas. Al reconstruir las relaciones de un grupo de jóvenes perturbados, vemos por qué contemplan el asesinato como un curso de acción aceptable.

Finalmente vi la trilogía Millennium, basada en las novelas del escritor sueco Stieg Larsson. "Män som hatar kvinnor" (2009), dirigida por Niels Arden Oplev, presenta a los protagonistas: Michael Nyqvist, un reportero investigador, y Noomi Rapace una hacker muy hábil. Juntos, descubren un viejo misterio que involucra pedofilia, asesinato y nazis. En "Flickan som lekte med elden" (2009), de Daniel Alfredson, aprendemos más sobre el pasado de la protagonista y "Luftslottet som sprängdes" (2009) es la conclusión de esta saga llena de intriga.

"Obediencia perfecta" (2014) revela los secretos de un internado religioso. Los estudiantes adolescentes pasan su tiempo haciendo deportes o masturbándose en la cama, ignorando que todos son víctimas potenciales del director, un cura muy respetado. El protagonista es un chico inocente que es sexualmente abusado por el cura, que demanda una “obediencia perfecta”. Oscura y siniestra, esta producción mexicana está basada en un caso de la vida real.

"Madre amadísima" (2009), de Pilar Távora, es una deliciosa representación de las memorias de un gay viejo, que recuerda lo difícil (y tragicómico) que era ser un joven gay en un pequeño pueblito de España, en los 50s. 

"Grande école" (2004), dirigida por Robert Salis, resalta los privilegios de los estudiantes franceses adinerados, como Gregori Baquet, y las dificultades de los obreros argelinos como Salim Kechiouche (un actor familiarizado con películas de temática gay tales como “À toute vitesse”, “Les amants criminels”, “Le clan”, etc.). Los dos chicos se conocen y rápidamente se enamoran, sin embargo las diferencias raciales y socioeconómicas entre ellos son demasiado grandes para ser ignoradas.

DAYS OF SCANDALS PAST

It seems to me as if, for the past few days, we’ve been prompted to choose sides. Bryan Singer (director of the upcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) has been sued for sexually molesting a 15 year old boy in 1998. Some consider his accuser (Michael Egan) to be a liar, and others are ready to attack the filmmaker, labeling him as a pedophile. Nevertheless, in our hastiness, we are forgetting Aristotle's law of excluded middle, and we’re letting sensationalistic press to form (or rather deform) our judgment.

Until more evidences come to the surface, I cannot corroborate nor deny the veracity of Mr. Egan’s accusations, but regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, Singer is now on the spotlight. After a preliminary inspection, Egan’s claims appeared to be salacious and untrue. First of all, this is a civil lawsuit, which means that even if Singer is found guilty on all charges, he is not going to be criminally prosecuted. The one and only purpose of a civil lawsuit is to obtain a reparation, id est, a monetary settlement (in this particular case, the initial amount is 300,000 dollars and an additional sum decided by the court). Creating this public relations nightmare only a month before the premiere of Singer’s new film looks extremely convenient for Egan. To hush it all up and minimize bad publicity, Singer (or anyone in his place) would probably consider paying a large sum of money before the situation gets out of hand.

RIVER PHOENIX, COREY HAIM, JONATHAN
 BRANDIS, CHRISTOPHER PETTIET
and BRAD RENFRO were sexually abused
by Hollywood pedophiles.
Suicide and accidental drug overdose
sent them all to their graves
while they were still young.

Some have pointed out that there are precedents of Singer’s misbehavior. In fact, in 1997 three teenagers who acted as extras in Singer’s “Apt Pupil” pressed charges against the director and his filming crew. The three boys said that they were not informed that they would have to be completely naked during a shower scene and that their genitals were photographed by one of Singer’s cameramen. I have studied these allegations at length and I consider them to be unsubstantiated. There were dozens of extras and only three considered something suspicious was going on; besides, all extras and their parents or legal guardians were informed of the need for nudity during the shower scene. Those who were uncomfortable or too young would appear instead on the locker room scene, wearing towels around their waists and/or underwear. Even the boys who sued Singer admitted that, when they refused to remove their underwear, they were simply relocated to the locker room.

Others have tried to smear Singer’s reputation by pointing out his preference towards twinks. Nevertheless if a 48-year-old man decides to date an 18-year-old boy, then that is his prerogative and there is nothing illegal about that. It is an “open secret” that Bryan Singer and Roland Emmerich (both openly gay directors) organize raucous parties in which hundreds of young men struggle to be selected for “private casting sessions”; and although it is morally reprehensible of them to abuse of their popularity or status as successful Hollywood directors, still there is nothing illegal about these activities.

So without any precedents of misconduct and with the opportunistic date of Mr. Egan’s accusations, I was ready to disregard this entire situation as a simple attempt to take money from Singer. However, there is a detail that I cannot overlook which confers validity to Michael Egan’s testimony: Marc Collins-Rector. As we can read in the plaintiff’s deposition, the first rape took place in an Encino mansion (the M&C Estate), property of Marc Collins-Rector, a registered sex offender who has plead guilty on multiple child molestation charges. Collins-Rector was a very successful scammer; after securing millions of dollars from investors for his “digital entertainment” company (DEN), he squandered all the money creating a nefarious pedophile ring, raping teenage boys and prostituting them to Hollywood directors and producers. When he was discovered, he quickly fled to Spain, whereupon he continued taking advantage of underage boys.

It is a fact that Marc Collins-Rector forced teenagers to have sexual intercourse with him and with powerful men from the entertainment industry. Although it can be difficult to prove that Bryan Singer was present during one of these parties, it is also a fact that Singer and Collins-Rector were, if not friends, at least acquaintances. What worries me the most, certainly, is this connection between Singer and Collins-Rector. I don't necessarily believe in being “guilty by association”, but Collins-Rector did rape young boys, and one of the victims was Alex Burton (Pyro from Singer’s first X-Men film). Alex Burton and Michael Egan were two of the plaintiffs in a 2000 suit against Marc Collins-Rector and two of his associates. 

I have read the allegations from 2000 and they are consistent with the accusations presented now in 2014. Collins-Rector organized these parties so that big shot Hollywood guys could take sexual advantage of teenaged boys, who were either drugged or persuaded to have sex after being offered roles in movies and a career in Hollywood. Egan’s lawyer, Jeff Herman, has recently filed charges of sexual abuse against powerful producers such as Garth Ancier (Disney), David Neuman (NBC) and Gary Goddard (The Goddard Group); supposedly, these men were also a part of Collins-Rector’s pedophile ring. Even if Singer proves that he neither orally copulated nor anally raped Michael Egan in the Encino parties in 1998 and in Hawaii in 2000, he will still have to explain the nature of his incriminatory connection with Marc Collins-Rector. 

The truth, however, remains unchanged. Hollywood’s scandals (sexual or otherwise) are frequent. The system of the “casting coach” was famous even in the 40s or 50s, a time in which aspiring actresses would provide sexual favors to directors or producers in order to become movie stars. However the situation here is entirely different. We are not talking about adults, we are talking about underage boys. And we are also talking about pedophilia and ephebophilia, and the heinous crimes committed by men in a position of power within the film industry.

And with power comes impunity. We have the case of Jimmy Savile, a powerful figure in the British television industry; for several decades he raped and sexually molested almost 500 children and teenagers; some of his victims pressed charges but the lawsuits did not prosper. Evidence of Savile’s debauchery only came to the surface 50 years later. In a similar venue, Victor Salva (director of “Jeepers Creepers” and other popular horror movies), sexually molested a 12-year-old boy and had the audacity to film it; that videotape was evidence enough to send him to jail for years, but for some reason Salva was incarcerated only for a few months and to this day continues to make movies mostly with young male actors. There are many examples that demonstrate how the law rarely applies to the rich and how money can help men to commit crimes and get away with it.

Many underage actors have been victims of sexual abuse and few have been able to survive these traumatic experiences. River Phoenix (“Stand by Me”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) was sexually molested when he was only 12 years old. I can only try to imagine the suffering he went through and I can also understand why he eventually developed an addiction to illegal substances; in the end, being drugged might have been the only way to silence the pain. River Phoenix died at a young age of an accidental drug overdose.

Contemporary to River Phoenix, Corey Haim (“Lucas”, “The Lost Boys”) was also a teen idol and a superstar. However, in the set of Lucas “Haim, innocent and ambitious as he was, allowed himself to be sodomized” by a Hollywood mogul. Corey Haim was 14 years old and the man who sodomized him was 42; it is believed that Corey was abused by either David Nicksay or David Geffen (both wealthy Hollywood producers), but it didn’t end there. Corey Haim continued to be raped by a number of Hollywood big shots (one of them was rumored to be director Joel Schumacher, although these rumors in particular cannot be verified). Concurrently, another famous child actor named Corey Feldman (“The Goonies”, “Gremlins”) was also the victim of several pedophiles who were powerful figures in the film industry. At that time, many people knew what was going on, some executives would even make fun of the child stars saying things like “Oh yeah, the Coreys, everyone's had them”. I cannot imagine how anyone could survive after so much pain and suffering, but this clearly affected their lives and turned them into drug addicts. Corey Haim had many problems as a consequence of his drug addiction, and after making millions of dollars in the box office he eventually went bankrupt and died of health problems related to his drug addiction. It was a tragic loss. I really admired Corey Haim as an actor and I was devastated to find out what had happened to him as a child.

A few years later, underage actors Jonathan Brandis (“The Neverending Story II”, “Sidekicks”) and Christopher Pettiet (“Point Break”, “Boys”) started to become famous. However, it was also suggested by well-connected sources that they both were victims of sexual abuse. Christopher died of an accidental drug overdose and Jonathan committed suicide. They were both quite young when they died. It has also been said that Heath Ledger was sexually abused, but those rumors were debunked as they do not come from verifiable sources (that is why I’m not including him on this list).

Finally, talented actor Brad Renfro (“The Client”, “Apt Pupil”) was another victim of the institutionalized child abuse that runs rampant in Hollywood. Brad was allegedly raped at age 12 by Joel Schumacher but it is also possible that other directors he worked with sexually exploited him. As a consequence, he became a drug addict and eventually died of an accidental drug overdose. I considered Brad Renfro as one of the best actors of his generation, and I still remember how shocked and saddened I was when he passed away. As you can all see, this wasn’t an isolated event. This is an atrocious pattern that is systematically repeated every decade. There are many wonderful and gifted actors that share the same tragic destiny. And unless things change, Hollywood will continue to be responsible for the death of the brightest and the youngest.
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Considero que, en los últimos días, nos hemos apresurado al establecer ciertos dictámenes. Bryan Singer (director de “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) ha sido demandado por abusar sexualmente de un chico de 15 años en 1998. Algunos consideran que su acusador (Michael Egan) es un mentiroso, y otros están listos para atacar al cineasta, calificándolo de pedófilo. No obstante, en nuestra prisa, olvidamos el principio del tercio excluido de Aristóteles, y permitimos que la prensa sensacionalista forme (o más bien deforme) nuestro juicio.

Hasta que nuevas evidencias salgan a la luz, no puedo corroborar ni mucho menos negar la veracidad de las acusaciones del señor Egan, pero sin tener en cuenta el resultado de esta demanda, Singer está ahora bajo la lupa. Luego de una inspección preliminar, los argumentos de Egan parecían ser dolosos e inverosímiles. En primer lugar, esta es una demanda civil, eso significa que incluso si es que Singer es encontrado culpable de todo lo que se le imputa, no será procesado criminalmente. El único propósito de una demanda civil es obtener una reparación, es decir, una compensación monetaria (en este caso particular, el monto inicial es de 300,000 dólares y una suma adicional establecida por la corte). Crear esta pesadilla de relaciones públicas apenas un mes antes del estreno de la nueva película de Singer es extremadamente conveniente para Egan. Para lograr que se calle y para minimizar la mala publicidad, Singer (o cualquiera en su lugar) probablemente consideraría pagar una fuerte suma de dinero antes de que la situación se salga de control.

RIVER PHOENIX, COREY HAIM, JONATHAN
BRANDIS, CHRISTOPHER PETTIET y BRAD RENFRO
fueron abusados sexualmente por pedófilos de
Hollywood.  El Suicidio y la sobredosis  accidental
los mandó a la tumba cuando aún eran jóvenes.

Algunos han señalado que Singer tiene precedentes de conducta impropia. De hecho, en 1997 tres adolescentes que actuaban como extras en “Apt Pupil” presentaron cargos en contra del director y su equipo de filmación. Los tres muchachos dijeron que no se les informó que deberían estar completamente desnudos durante una escena en la ducha y que sus genitales fueron fotografiados por uno de los camarógrafos de Singer. He estudiado extensamente estos alegatos y considero que carecen de fundamento. Hubo docenas de extras y solamente tres consideraron que algo sospechoso estaba sucediendo; además, todos los extras y sus padres o guardianes legales fueron informados de la necesidad de desnudez durante la escena en la ducha. Aquellos que se sintieron incómodos o que eran demasiado jóvenes aparecerían en la escena de los vestuarios, usando toallas alrededor de la cintura o ropa interior. Incluso los chicos que demandaron a Singer admitieron que, al rehusarse a quitarse la ropa interior, fueron simplemente reubicados en el vestuario.

Otros han intentado mancillar la reputación de Singer al señalar su preferencia por los "twinks". No obstante, si un hombre de 48 años decide tener una cita con un chico de 18 años, entonces esa es su prerrogativa y no hay nada ilegal en ello. Es un “secreto a gritos” que Bryan Singer y Roland Emmerich (ambos directores abiertamente gays) organizan bulliciosas fiestas en las que centenares de jovencitos se esfuerzan por ser seleccionados para “sesiones privadas de casting”; y aunque es moralmente reprobable que ellos abusen de su popularidad o status como exitosos directores de Hollywood, aun así no hay nada ilegal en estas actividades.

Así que sin ningún precedente de conducta impropia y con la oportunista fecha de las acusaciones del señor Egan, estaba listo para desdeñar todo este asunto como un simple intento de quitarle dinero a Singer. Sin embargo, hay un detalle que no puedo pasar por alto y que confiere validez al testimonio de Michael Egan: Marc Collins-Rector. Tal como podemos leer en el legajo del demandante, la primera violación ocurrió en una mansión en Encino (la finca M&C), propiedad de Marc Collins-Rector, un predador sexual registrado que confesó ser culpable de múltiples cargos de abuso sexual a menores de edad. Collins-Rector era un exitosísimo estafador; después de conseguir millones de dólares de inversionistas para su compañía de “entretenimiento digital” (DEN por sus siglas en inglés), dilapidó todo ese dinero creando una nefasta red de pedofilia, violando adolescentes y prostituyéndolos con directores y productores de Hollywood. Cuando fue descubierto, huyó rápidamente a España, en donde continuó aprovechándose de jovencitos menores de edad.

Es un hecho que Marc Collins-Rector obligó a los adolescentes a tener sexo con él y con poderosos hombres de la industria del entretenimiento. Aunque puede ser difícil probar que Bryan Singer estuvo presente durante alguna de estas fiestas, también es un hecho que Singer y Collins-Rector eran, si bien no amigos, al menos sí conocidos. Lo que más me preocupa, ciertamente, es esta conexión entre Singer y Collins-Rector. No creo necesariamente que se pueda ser "culpable por asociación", pero Collins-Rector violó a chicos jóvenes, y una de las víctimas fue Alex Burton (Pyro en la primera película de X-Men de Singer). Alex Burton y Michael Egan fueron dos de los demandantes en un acto judicial del 2000 en contra de Marc Collins-Rector y dos de sus asociados.

He leído los alegatos del 2000 y son consistentes con las acusaciones presentadas ahora en el 2014. Collins-Rector organizaba estas fiestas para que lo más poderosos de Hollywood pudieran aprovecharse sexualmente de adolescentes varones, quienes eran drogados o persuadidos para tener sexo a cambio de papeles en una película y una carrera en Hollywood. Recientemente el abogado de Egan, Jeff Herman, ha presentado cargos de abuso sexual en contra de poderosos productores como Garth Ancier (Disney), David Neuman (NBC) y Gary Goddard (Grupo Goddard); supuestamente, estos hombres también formaban parte del círculo de pedófilos de Collins-Rector. Incluso si es que Singer demuestra que no hubo copulación oral ni violación anal en detrimento de Michael Egan en las fiestas en Encino en 1998 y en Hawaii en el 2000, aun así tendrá que explicar la naturaleza de su incriminatorio vínculo con Marc Collins-Rector. 

La verdad, no obstante, es inalterable. Los escándalos de Hollywood (sexuales o de otra índole) son frecuentes. El sistema del “sillón del casting” era famoso incluso en los 40s o 50s, una época en la que aspirantes a actrices proporcionaban favores sexuales a directores o productores para convertirse en estrellas. Sin embargo, la situación aquí es enteramente distinta. No estamos hablando de adultos sino de chicos menores de edad. Y también estamos hablando de pedofilia y efebofilia, y de los monstruosos crímenes cometidos por hombres en una posición de poder dentro de la industria del cine.

Y con el poder viene la impunidad. Tenemos el caso de Jimmy Savile, una poderosa figura de la industria televisiva británica; por varias décadas abusó sexualmente y violó a casi 500 niños y adolescentes; algunas de sus víctimas presentaron cargos pero las demandas no prosperaron. La evidencia de la depravación de Savile sólo salió a flote 50 años más tarde. De manera similar, Victor Salva (director de “Jeepers Creepers” y otras populares películas de terror), abusó sexualmente de un niño de 12 años, y tuvo la audacia de filmar el acto; esa cinta de video era evidencia suficiente para que lo mandaran a la cárcel por años, pero por alguna razón Salva solamente estuvo encarcelado por unos cuantos meses y hasta el día de hoy continúa haciendo películas, casi siempre con actores muy jóvenes. Hay muchos ejemplos que demuestran cómo la ley raramente se aplica a los ricos y cómo el dinero puede ayudar a los hombres a cometer crímenes y a salir impunes. 

Muchos actores menores de edad han sido víctimas de abuso sexual y pocos han sido capaces de sobrevivir a estas traumáticas experiencias. River Phoenix (“Stand by Me”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) fue abusado sexualmente cuando tenía apenas 12 años. Sólo puedo intentar imaginar su sufrimiento pero lo que sí puedo entender es que eventualmente él desarrollase una adicción a las sustancias ilegales; al final, estar drogado pudo haber sido la única forma de silenciar el dolor. River Phoenix murió bastante joven de una sobredosis accidental de drogas.

Contemporáneo a River Phoenix, Corey Haim (“Lucas”, “The Lost Boys”) también fue un ídolo juvenil y una súper estrella. Sin embargo, en el set de Lucas “Haim, inocente y ambicioso como era, permitió que lo sodomizara” un magnate de Hollywood. Corey Haim tenía 14 años y el hombre que lo sodomizó tenía 42; se cree que Corey fue abusado por David Nicksay o David Geffen (ambos acaudalados productores de Hollywood), pero no fue la única vez. Corey Haim siguió siendo violado por numerosos cargos altos de Hollywood (se rumorea que uno de ellos fue el director Joel Schumacher, aunque estos rumores en particular no pueden ser verificados). Al mismo tiempo, otro famoso astro infantil llamado Corey Feldman (“The Goonies”, “Gremlins”) también fue la victima de varios pedófilos que eran figuras influyentes en la industria del cine. En ese entonces, mucha gente sabía lo que estaba pasando, algunos ejecutivos incluso se burlaban de las estrellas infantiles diciendo cosas como “Oh sí, los Corey, todo el mundo se los ha tirado”. No puedo imaginar cómo lograron sobrevivir después de tanto dolor y sufrimiento, pero claramente esto afectó sus vidas y los convirtió en drogadictos. Corey Haim tuvo muchos problemas como consecuencia de su adicción a las drogas, y después de ganar millones de dólares en la taquilla, quedó en bancarrota y murió de problemas de salud relacionados a su drogadicción. Fue una trágica pérdida. Realmente admiraba a Corey Haim como actor y quedé devastado al descubrir lo que le había pasado en su infancia.

Pocos años más tarde, los actores menores de edad Jonathan Brandis (“The Neverending Story II”, “Sidekicks”) y Christopher Pettiet (“Point Break”, “Boys”) empezaron a hacerse famosos. Sin embargo, fuentes bien conectadas han sugerido que ambos fueron víctimas de abuso sexual. Christopher murió de una sobredosis accidental de drogas y Jonathan se suicidó. Los dos eran bastante jóvenes al momento de morir. También se ha dicho que Heath Ledger fue abusado sexualmente, pero estos rumores fueron desacreditados al no provenir de fuentes verificables (es por eso que no lo incluyo en esta lista). 

Finalmente, el talentoso actor Brad Renfro (“The Client”, “Apt Pupil”) fue otra víctima del abuso infantil institucionalizado que desborda Hollywood. Brad fue supuestamente violado a la edad de 12 años por Joel Schumacher pero también es posible que fuese explotado sexualmente por otros de los directores con los que trabajó. Como consecuencia, se volvió un drogadicto y eventualmente murió de una sobredosis accidental de drogas. Consideraba a Brad Renfro como uno de los mejores actores de su generación, y todavía recuerdo el impacto y la tristeza que sentí cuando falleció. Como todos pueden ver, esto no fue un evento aislado. Este es un esquema atroz que se repite sistemáticamente cada década. Hay muchos actores maravillosos y talentosos que comparten un mismo destino trágico. Y a menos que las cosas cambien, Hollywood continuará siendo responsable de la muerte de los mejores y los más jóvenes.

Angel: Revelations - Aguirre-Sacasa & Pollina

“He's smart, tall, handsome, and rich; a star both on the field and in the classroom. All the girls want to date him, all the guys want to be him”, his name is Warren Worthington III, heir of one of New York’s largest –and oldest– fortunes. Yes, Warren has the perfect life, until one day he realizes his body is changing, and it’s not simple hair growing in unexpected places or his voice sounding different, it’s something far more mystifying.

Talented writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa examines the youthful days of Warren, a year before he became one of Charles Xavier’s first pupils, months before turning into Angel, founding member of the X-Men. He’s still in high school, in his senior year, “his hair is blonde… he’s 17… he doesn’t’ live with his family, but at his school… where the hills are green… he’s handsome… rich […] he’s worthy”.

Warren Worthington III is a sports idol in St. Joseph’s preparatory, and he has even broken a few state records thanks to his agility and velocity. But no matter how much he eats, he’s been losing weight lately, and strange bruises have appeared on his shoulders. Something is growing inside of him, something that does not belong to human physiology. He acknowledges this, and thus stops hanging out with his friends, refusing to participate in sports or games; and he hides from everyone, even his girlfriend. 

“Whatever’s happening to me, to my body… I have to keep it hidden… I have to keep it a secret”. Warren feels ashamed of himself, disgusted even. But above all, he feels lonely and he wishes he could just go home and deal with this situation privately. He’s been raised by a very traditional family, and one of the rules that comes with old money is to avoid scandals, always. 

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa intensifies the feeling of loneliness and abandonment, while preserving the normal insecurities of a teenager. The boarding school makes Warren feel claustrophobic, and we can easily imagine his suffering. We’ve seen Angel as a proud mutant with white wings, soaring the skies like a harbinger of the gods. But this story takes place long before that, and the writer genuinely captures that in-between instance, that moment of excision, that particular day when Warren stops being the golden boy everyone loves and starts fearing the monster he could turn into.

Nevertheless, the protagonist will eventually be more concerned with moral monstrosity, for example, the heinous crimes of a religious zealot that hunts down mutants. Aguirre-Sacasa combines two different threats, one that comes from the exterior –the mutant exterminator– and another one that lies in the very heart of St. Joseph’s preparatory: father Reynolds, a pedophile that has been raping young boys for over 20 years, and that has now chosen Andrew Palmer –a shy gay kid and Warren’s best friend– as his victim.

The two teenagers have, indeed, dark secrets. As feathers start protruding out of Warren’s back, he isolates even more; and as father Reynolds starts abusing of Andrew more and more often, the frightened youngster also feels the need to seclude himself. It is at this weird juncture –two teens trying to conceal physical evidences of something abnormal, trying to pretend that if they close their eyes, the bad things will go away– that Warren and Andrew support each other, until eventually they confess their secrets. Andrew has a crush on Warren, although the proximity, the intimacy they share, leads not to romance but to a very special complicity.

Nonetheless, confession doesn’t mean salvation. And as the days go by, the senior students decide it’s time for some hazing, and their target is Andrew Palmer. The older boys capture the fragile kid and proceed to undress him; they plan on physically punishing him as part of the hazing that all seniors must perform on the younger students. It’s interesting to observe, as Slavoj Žižek would describe it, that this isn’t merely an eroticization of the “disciplinary” procedure that older boys feel entitled to, but the constitutive obscene supplement of the activity. 

In the same way that father Reynolds displays the contours of a particular fantasy –an older male who engages in sexual activities with another, younger male, preferably a child– which bears witness to his own perverted sexual desire, the senior alumni unwittingly bring to light the obscene libidinal foundation of their own crusade against “fags”. In fact, as they accuse Andrew of being Warren’s boyfriend, they lay bare the underlying libidinal economy –the libidinal profit, the ‘plus-de jouir’– which sustains their homophobic behavior.

Warren is the only senior student that refuses to participate in the hazing. That decision alone reveals his ethics and his courage. He’s already a hero, long before saving the world or fighting against Magneto, and his heroism starts with criticizing the actions of his peers. But Warren goes even further, he rescues his friend Andrew, even if that means getting into a fight with his former teammates.

“Angel: Revelations” is an impressive miniseries that explores mature themes intelligently and sensibly. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa takes advantage of the Marvel Knights imprint to include scenes that would not be accepted in a regular Marvel comic. And artist Adam Pollina also takes this opportunity to draw as freely as he wants. His highly stylized pages are unique; his figures –depurated of anatomical weight– possess an undeniable elfish grace. Indeed, thanks to Pollina’s style, Warren is portrayed as a true creature of the skies, blossoming with subtle sexuality and pure youthfulness. Adam Pollina and colorist Matt Hollingsworth throw in different sensibilities into the mix, and the final result seems influenced by artistic movements like Fauvism and Impressionism. Pollina’s non-naturalistic representations of the human anatomy add depth to a story that emphasizes on the inhuman elements of Warren’s body. “Senior Year” is, without a doubt, one of the finest tales we can possibly find about the earlier days of an X-Man.

The glory days of a star athlete / los días de gloria de un atleta estrella

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Warren's body is changing / el cuerpo de Warren está cambiando

 “Él es listo, alto, guapo, y rico; una estrella tanto de los deportes y los estudios. Todas las chicas quieren salir con él, todos los chicos quieren ser él”, su nombre es Warren Worthington III, heredero de una las más grandes –y añejas– fortunas de New York. Sí, Warren tiene la vida perfecta, hasta que un día se da cuenta de que su cuerpo está cambiando, y no son vellos que salen en algún lugar inesperado o los cambios de la voz, es algo mucho más misterioso.

El talentoso escritor Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa examina los días juveniles de Warren, un año antes de convertirse en uno de los primeros pupilos de Charles Xavier, meses antes de ser Angel, miembro fundador de los X-Men. Todavía está en secundaria, en su último año, “su pelo es rubio… tiene 17 años… no vive con su familia, sino en su colegio… donde las colinas son verdes… es guapo… rico […] es valioso”.

Warren Worthington III es un ídolo deportivo en la preparatoria St. Joseph, e incluso ha roto algunos records estatales gracias a su agilidad y velocidad. Pero no importa cuánto coma, ha estado perdiendo peso últimamente, y unas extrañas laceraciones han aparecido en sus hombros. Algo en su interior está creciendo, algo que no pertenece a la fisiología humana. Él reconoce esto, y por ello deja de ver a sus amigos, y se rehúsa a participar en juegos y deportes; y se esconde de todos, incluso de su enamorada. 
“Lo que sea que me esté pasando a mí, a mi cuerpo... tengo que mantenerlo escondido... tengo que mantenerlo en secreto”. Warren se avergüenza de sí mismo, incluso siente asco. Pero por encima de todo, se siente solo, y desearía poder ir a casa y lidiar con esta situación en privado. Ha sido criado por una familia muy tradicional, y una de las reglas de los ricos de antaño es evitar siempre los escándalos.

As a teenager all he can think about is... sex / como adolescente, él sólo piensa en... sexo

the break-up / la ruptura

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa intensifica la sensación de soledad y abandono, mientras preserva las inseguridades normales de un adolescente. El internado hace que Warren se sienta claustrofóbico, y podemos imaginar su sufrimiento. Hemos visto a Angel como un orgulloso mutante de alas blancas, surcando los cielos como un emisario de los dioses. Pero esta es la historia que ocurrió antes, y el escritor captura genuinamente esa instancia entre dos mundos, ese momento de escisión, ese día particular en el que Warren deja de ser el chico de oro que todos adoran y empieza a temer al monstruo en el que podría convertirse.

No obstante, el protagonista eventualmente estará más preocupado por la monstruosidad moral, por ejemplo, los horrendos crímenes de un fanático religioso que caza mutantes. Aguirre-Sacasa combina dos amenazas diferentes, una que viene del exterior –el exterminador de mutantes– y otra que yace en el corazón mismo de la preparatoria St. Joseph: el padre Reynolds, un pedófilo que ha estado violando niños por más de 20 años, y que ahora ha elegido a Andrew Palmer –un tímido chiquillo gay y el mejor amigo de Warren– como su víctima.

Los dos adolescentes tienen, de hecho, secretos oscuros. Cuando las plumas empiezan a salir de la espalda de Warren, él se aísla aún más; y cuando el padre Reynolds empieza a abusar de Andrew cada vez más a menudo, el asustado jovencito también siente la necesidad de recluirse. En esta rara coyuntura –dos adolescentes intentando ocultar las evidencias físicas de algo anormal, intentando fingir que si cierran los ojos, las cosas malas desaparecerán– que Warren y Andrew se apoyan entre sí, hasta que eventualmente confiesan sus secretos. Andrew se siente atraído por Warren, aunque la cercanía, la intimidad que comparten, no es el origen de ningún romance sino de una complicidad muy especial.

Warren reveals his secrets to Andrew / Warren le revela sus secretos a Andrew

No obstante, la confesión no significa la salvación. Y conforma pasan los días, los estudiantes de último año deciden que es hora de la 'iniciación', y su objetivo es Andrew Palmer. Los muchachos capturan al frágil chiquillo y proceden a desvestirlo; planean castigarlo físicamente como parte de la iniciación que todos los de último año llevan a cabo con los alumnos más jóvenes. Es interesante observar, tal como lo describiría Slavoj Žižek, que esto no es meramente la erotización del procedimiento “disciplinario” que los chicos se adjudican, sino el suplemento obsceno constitutivo de la actividad. 

Angel

Del mismo modo que el padre Reynolds exhibe los contornos de una fantasía particular  –un hombre mayor que mantiene actividades sexuales con otro menor, de preferencia un niño– que atestigua su propio deseo sexual perverso, los alumnos de último año involuntariamente sacan a la luz la raíz libidinal obscena de su propia cruzada contra los “maricas”. De hecho, cuando acusan a Andrew de ser el enamorado de Warren, desnudan la economía libidinal subyacente –la ganancia libidinal, el ‘plus de goce’– que brinda sostén a su comportamiento homofóbico.

Warren es el único estudiante de último año que se rehúsa a participar en la iniciación. Esa decisión revela su ética y su coraje. Él ya es un héroe, mucho antes de salvar el mundo o pelear contra Magneto, y su heroísmo empieza al criticar las acciones de sus colegas. Pero Warren va más allá, rescata a su amigo Andrew, incluso si eso significa pelearse con sus ex compañeros de equipo.

“Angel: Revelations” es una impresionante miniserie que explora temas maduros con inteligencia y sensibilidad. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa aprovecha el sello de Marvel Knights para incluir escenas que no serían aceptadas en un cómic Marvel típico. Y el artista Adam Pollina también aprovecha esta oportunidad para dibujar tan libremente como le apetece. Sus páginas sumamente estilizadas son únicas; sus figuras –depuradas de peso anatómico– poseen una innegable gracia élfica. De hecho, gracias al estilo de Pollina, Warren es retratado como una verdadera criatura de los cielos, que florece con una sexualidad sutil y pureza juvenil. Adam Pollina y el colorista Matt Hollingsworth aportan diferentes sensibilidades, y el resultado final parece estar influenciado por movimientos artísticos como el fauvismo y el impresionismo. Las representaciones no-naturalistas de Pollina de la anatomía humana añaden profundidad a una historia que enfatiza los elementos inhumanos del cuerpo de Warren. “Último año” es, sin duda, uno de los mejores relatos que podemos encontrar sobre el pasado de los X-Men.

Mysterious Skin (2004)

Directed by Gregg Araki

It all starts and ends with a little league’s pedophile coach and two kids: Neil and Brian, who unbeknownst to their parents are the victims of a sexual predator. But what is the authentic aftermath of this encounter between the man and the 8-year-old children?The repercussions of sexual abuse will affect greatly the lives of Neil and Brian, but in so many different ways that one could almost wonder if they shared the same experience. As a matter of fact, being sexually abused is such a traumatic event for Brian that he blocks it out of his mind unable to cope with the real, and he then proceeds to fill in the memory gaps with a fantasy of alien abduction. Recurring to such self-defense mechanisms is quite a normal psychological strategy, but it also mingles well with a recurring theme in Araki’s cinematography.

Neil, on the other hand, fills in the gashing void with an idealized image of the pedophile. After all, during an entire summer the two of them spend many nights together. Neil actually functions as an accomplice, helping the coach to lure in unsuspecting boys, thus creating a perverse bond between them. Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishes of the novel is to invert the roles, creating a pedophile that seems to be nicer and more caring than the boys’ parents, while at the same time embedding at least one of the victims with an attitude that one would find difficult to sympathize with. Araki’s film, of course, thrives because of that: the complexity between the characters relationships. This is not, after all, a lesson of morality. Here the coach leaves the town, with an untarnished reputation, and leaves behind Neil, a very obsessed boy who admits later that “it's a huge part of me. No one ever made me feel that way before or since [...] I was his one true love”.

Perversion seems to be the one predominant constant throughout Neil’s life, but as Lacan would define it, a perverse individual is the one who assumes the position of the object-instrument of the "will-to-enjoy" (volonté-de-jouissance), which is not his own will but that of the big Other. In this case, Neil accepts to serve as a garish tool of pleasure for the coach, and years later, as a teenage hustler, he has no quandaries when it is his turn to be the instrument of joy of the other (namely his clients). Emotionally detached from everyone, only a girl, a friend from childhood, remains as his one and true humane anchor. His mother, after all, has always been a carefree woman, constantly hooking up with men, and paying no attention to his son; that’s why when Neil is about to depart to New York, she looks at him and utters “my baby, all grown up”, not as a typical motherly affirmation but rather a discovery: time flew by, and she wasn’t there at all.

Brian’s dreams are a reminder that another boy was with him the night of the alien abduction, consequently the insecure boy starts the search for Neil, and learns of his whereabouts just after Neil has left for the big city. It is then that Neil’s friend, Eric, a very flamboyant gay kid, befriends him. Brian is quite a timid and introversive teenager, perhaps as a result of having a very dominant mother and an absent father (even before he abandons the family, he was only there to state how disappointed he was at his son). Eric describes him as "weirdly asexual" (even without knowing how Brian had violently rejected a UFO obsessed woman that intended to caress his penis); indeed, Brian is unable to reclaim sexuality for himself, and after having always lived in a world of his own he finds in Eric’s friendship everything he needs to break out of his shelf.

As a male prostitute, Neil finds the horror of the real in New York, and he will soon realize how dangerous his line of business can get. Back in town, Eric is preparing himself to let go of the one reality that has sustained and nurtured his psyche, but can he embrace the real if Neil tells him exactly what happened that fatidic night?  

Araki brilliantly depicts this honest, heart-wrenching and unruly story, taking advantage of the exceptional acting qualities of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Neil), a daring and talented actor that has worked in many interesting independent films, such as Brick, The Lookout or Latter Days (a gay themed movie). This actor finds in Brady Corbet (Brian) the ideal partner; Corbet creates a subtle but fascinating character, completely different from his roles in Funny Games US or Thirteen, proving not only that he is a great actor but that he also knows how to choose the best directors to work with.

And that's why Mysterious Skin makes it into my top 100 films. I highly recommend it.

And by the way, I'm glad to see that every month my blog gets more visits. Cheers!
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Fiel a los principios de Coherencia, mi rechazo por la candidata a la presidencia prevaleció. Ni siquiera haber perdido casi dos mil dólares en la bolsa de valores de Lima logró disuadirme. Aunque, por supuesto, como decía Fernando De Szyszlo en relación al otro candidato, a ese tampoco le creo. 

Así que decidí hacer lo único sensato, o sea contribuir con las arcas fiscales. Con la multa evito la votación, y me ahorro esa sensación horrible de tener que elegir a un mal menor (y honestamente, nunca he tenido la línea Sartriana de Mario Vargas Llosa que le permite hacer justamente eso, elegir una de las dos opciones, a pesar de todo).

Las pérdidas también me han hecho ver que algunos ajustes son necesarios, al menos por ahora. Así, por ejemplo, he cancelado mis tarjetas de crédito, todas menos una. Así que adiós a tarjetas con límites de 5000 soles (como la del BBVA que siempre me sacó de apuros) y cosas por el estilo. Para bien o para mal, este domingo ha sido elegido el próximo mandatario del país.

KID ETERNITY

“There’s only one joke worth laughing at and it’s the joke of existence”. Too existentialist for you? Well, if it is, I strongly advise you to take a few classes of contemporary philosophy and come back to Grant Morrison’s KID ETERNITY. This is not your average retcon or your regular miniseries about an obscure character of the DC Universe. This is a metaphysical adventure that involves super-powered beings, hereafter metaphors and even hell itself, albeit a hell so chaotically ferocious only Mr. Morrison could have come up with.

Kid Eternity was one of those characters that wouldn’t have escaped oblivion if not for Morrison’s attempt of bringing it back for a more postmodern audience. But what does postmodernism has to do with it? Well, our era has strengthened the exscinded subject. We live in more schizophrenic times than, say, a century ago. Kid Eternity is the battlefield in which the never ending struggle of unconscious versus “conscientious I” carries on. I’m not suggesting that this work is less complex than others, but certainly at first glance it might look a bit more complicated, which is why I think psychoanalytic theory can come in handy, specially Lacanian theory. Jacques Lacan stated that there is no ‘I’ in the subject. The ‘I’ is the ego, and as such can remain pretty much consistent throughout time. The subject, on the other hand, as the very words implies, clearly derives from subjectivity and it’s prone to alteration and constant modification. Kid Eternity is both: ‘I’ and ‘subject’. However at the beginning of the story there is no divisiveness, the kid is still whole. As the story moves on changes are put into place and the reader discovers along with Kid Eternity that identity relies heavily on the gaze of the other. After all, the only question that matters is “what am I in the eyes of the other?”.

Much has been said about deconstruction; nonetheless Morrison takes upon a rather different approach which I could denominate de-configuration: the fragmented narrative lines, the seemingly chaotic order, the focus on multiple unrelated moments have but one goal which obeys a carefully orchestrated tapestry displaying different characters experiences and interpretations of what’s going on. In the end nothing is random: Kid Eternity, Jerry, the Priest and the Woman will each play a fundamental role in chapter three; for the readers, though, this grand design might make little sense in the first pages. The Scottish writer’s work in this case is more akin to such films as David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive which requires a much larger amount of work and concentration; these authors will not spoon-feed the public, quite the opposite indeed. De-configuration then is the key to understand what Morrison is trying to do in this miniseries.

It’s up to you, the one holding the book, to come up with the answers. All necessary hints are provided within the 144 pages lavishly illustrated by Duncan Fegredo, an amazing artist that creates remarkable images. Why is it that “Kid Eternity” goes very much unnoticed by most Morrison fans? If only for the art alone this is a miniseries deserving of praise. Perhaps it is the complexity of underlying themes, from Saussure’s linguistics (signifier versus signified): “there is no meaning, the sound is the meaning” to the apparently inconsistent nature of Kid Eternity. It is then necessary to understand that consistency has no place in this tale, because as the kid learns while facing the Unnamed Five, reality can dissolve and reconfigure very easily. The audience with the Five, arcane creatures of uncanny power, reveals a number of things: first of all, Kid Eternity has spent years fighting for forces he did not know at all, he will then be shocked as he understands who has he been secretly serving all this time; but it’s not just a dramatic anagnorisis, this information changes everything about him. Thus the ‘I’ and the ‘subject’ become exscinded as required by postmodernist guidelines. In the same way Kid Eternity’s subject has been built upon safety blankets, id est, repressing the traumatic memories of his childhood (he had been sexually abused by a pedophile captain), his identity had also been built upon false pretenses, thus the impact of the truth threatens to destroy the very ‘self’ of the character. Rather than deconstruction I’d like to think of this as a much needed de-configuration of a character that otherwise would have remained forever forgotten.

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"La única broma de la que vale la pena reírse es la broma de la existencia". KID ETERNITY de Grant Morrison es una aventura metafísica que apela a diversas corrientes intelectuales y que involucra personajes del Universo DC, seres sobrenaturales y un infierno tan caóticamente desquiciado que solamente Morrison podría haber inventado.


¿Quién es Kid Eternity? Bueno, es uno de esos tantos personajes de DC que podrían haber permanecido para siempre en el olvido si no fuera por Morrison. Se trata de un sujeto escindido, es decir, un sujeto típicamente postmoderno (recordemos que la postmodernidad está más vinculada a dinámicas esquizofrénicas de lo que podríamos adivinar a simple vista). Lo interesante es que la diferencia que establece el psicoanálisis lacaniano entre el yo y el sujeto está claramente presentada en la personalidad de Kid Eternity. El yo vendría a ser el ego, mientras que el sujeto estaría supeditado al super-ego y al mismo tiempo sería vulnerable a alteraciones y constantes modificaciones. Cuando Kid Eternity descubre que todo lo que ha hecho en los últimos años ha sido en beneficio de fuerzas siniestras empieza la crisis. Porque, al fin y al cabo, si lo vital es la respuesta a la clásica pregunta "¿qué soy yo en los ojos del otro?", entonces Kid Eternity se preguntará qué es él ante el mundo. Si su vida ha consistido en servir a las fuerzas equivocadas y en reprimir las verdades traumáticas (entre ellas, el abuso sexual que sufrió a los once años a manos de un capitán pedófilo), ¿cómo evitar la escisión final y el desmoronamiento de la identidad?