Isabelle Pauwels’ film, If
It Bleeds, is a satirical, comedic critique of the world of mixed martial
arts (MMA). Pauwels is known for her films performing in “a twisting loop that circles
around itself,” which If It Bleeds is
certainly an example of. It was produced in-house at EMPAC; its colorful,
pop-imagery is a fun exhibit of the productions that emerge from EMPAC’s
resident programs. The film was shown in EMPAC’s theater. Unfortunately,
Pauwels herself was unable to attend the event, and while it would’ve been insightful
to hear her speak on behalf of the piece, her work spoke for itself.
The film began with several audio clips and visuals strung
together in an excellent rhythm, although the storyline had yet to become
clear. Even before the plot revealed itself, the film was enjoyable for its aesthetic
alone. Pauwels played with sound effects including soda cans being opened, hands in latex gloves clapping, and even burps. Nowhere in
the film was there music used. Instead Pauwels carried the film with rhythms
created by the sound effects. She accompanied the audio tracks with bright,
geometric digital graphics. Video clips were strung together and superimposed
by colored lines and circles which played off of the beat of the audio.
Along with the
computer-generated graphics, Pauwels also incorporated imagery of 3D-art and
sculpture. The set design created a fun aesthetic that reinforced Pauwels’ signature
trope of not taking herself or her subjects too seriously. Most of the set was
made of cardboard or other materials you could find at a dollar store. Pauwels even
made use of shredded paper as imagery. The film easily could’ve come
across as low-budget, but the bright colors, pop-art aesthetic, and
multisensory approach changed the appearance of the film altogether for the
better. The graphics, audio, and set design, were very collage-like, and they
worked together to frame the actor portrayals that articulated the plot of the
film.
The scripted scenes seemed cut and pasted together, and the general
impression the film gave me was that of a scrapbook. For me, the film’s plot
finally emerged with the first “fight” scene of the film, after which it became
clear that the film was a parody of real-life events that took place in UFC
fighting. Unfortunately, some of the references were lost on me because I know very
little of the world of UFC except for what I come across on the news. Pauwels
was incredibly insightful, however, because in the end credits she provided an
(incomplete) list of the real-life events that inspired some of the scenes in
her film. Even though I couldn’t fully comprehend the satire, the film was still
enjoyable and eye-opening to me. Some characters were played by actors, and others
were portrayed by inanimate objects with voice-overs. Watching the characters
interact this way was simply funny. Pauwels did this with the intent of showing
how ridiculous real-life publicity stunts can be.
If not for the visual and audial qualities alone, If It Bleeds is a fun, artistic critique
of a very unique topic. Pauwels’ use of multimedia design and satire makes the
film fun to watch while also examining a complex athletic community.
I agree with your statement, “Pauwels is known for her films performing in ‘a twisting loop that circles around itself,’ which If It Bleeds is certainly an example of.” The loop in question appears to be the characters’ individual cycles of victory and turmoil. For instance, the first fighter shown is depicted as a ‘winner.’ According to a commenter, he is always victorious. Yet he is soon interrogated by interviewers who hate him. He later asks to be placed in a more lucrative fight—claiming that his career is now stagnant—but his request is denied. Another fighter is seen as a ‘badass’ and is sought after by interviewers. However, she eventually loses a fight, apologizes, and publicly cries. And yet another fighter is praised for his likeable personality, but is then involved in a drug scandal. In this way, each fighters’ success has been preemptively cursed by a bitter aftertaste.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you expanded on the idea of the “twisting loop circling around itself.” Admittedly, I didn’t describe this phenomenon in much detail in my review, and I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective on it. You picked up on more of the storyline of the characters. Your comment adds a lot to my review, especially the specific examples you cited, like the female fighter who eventually loses and publicly cries, and the fighter who is the center of a drug controversy. Instead of discussing the characters, I became caught up in the aesthetic of Pauwels’ film, assessing it from more of a filmmaker’s point of view. The major reason for this is that I have little knowledge of the world of MMA and some of Pauwels’ references were lost on me, so it was easier for me to pay attention to the visual and audial qualities of the film.
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