Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer

Even though the connection betwixt the memories/music videos is a bit ham-fisted, Dirty Computer (the "emotion picture") is wonderful. It's themes feel extremely personal yet universal, the songs are bangin' (the album itself is bloody fantastic) and the whole thing feels so vibrant, colourful and just alive! Janelle's been one of my favourite artists since The ArchAndroid, so I can't wait to see what she does next!

Janelle is just genius... Using her music, sense of art, knowledge of her surroundings to express the inequity that we're living in, trying to wake up people thru their senses is just beauty itself... This is a brave black non binary "famous" woman who is shouting out injustice and claiming freedom therefore her great value, this is hard to find we should pay more attention to her and appreciate her in this present, her present... The people who wrote distasteful reviews are as superfitial as their writing, these are the ones that still see things without reflecting on it, these people are dormant and afraid of change so don't be fool by their bickering / mockery and fear better if you watch this piece of Art as it is: a bright shout for freedom and equity in these grey times... P.S. And of course Tessa was wonderful as always. Let's they continue creating functional beauty. Thank you!

A first for me, can't say I've ever seen something like this before. A short narrative that connects each individual song from Monáe's eponymous album into essentially one long music video. It depicts the story of an android named Jane attempting to deviate from the totalitarian regime that supports homophobia, forcibly wiping her previous memories of same-sex relationships. A rather creative and contemporary project that allows Monáe to convey her message through multiple senses. The vibrancy of the dystopian pastel colours is a feast for the eyes, while her songs accentuate meaningful lyrics which act as a statement against society. Bringing in fellow actress Thompson to star in the film enhances the additional star quality and conviction of the primary story. The production design was certainly adequate and suited the authentic futuristic vibe that Monáe excels at. Extremely reminiscent to Fritz Lang's dystopian masterpiece 'Metropolis'. Whilst I appreciate her artistic integrity, the film isn't actually necessary and rarely builds on the character's backstory. The music videos for each individual song acts as a memory, these are stringed along in a linear structure where we view each memory before they are wiped from Jane's mind, thus repressing her emotions. "PYNK" is sexually illustrious whereas "I Like It" showcases contemporary subtlety, so there is a wide range of themes throughout her songs. Connecting these songs together just felt uninspired and offered little incentive in watching the film as it lacks the additional layer of depth that is missing from the individual music videos. I admire Monáe as an artist and appreciate the effort into this "Emotion Picture", it just feels slightly uninspired and lacks memorability. Did I enjoy it? Of course, but you could simply just watch the videos separately to save time.

Given that I'm not really a fan of the heavy use of electronica, and I'm a pretty straightforward boring het sort, this probably wasn't directed toward me as a demographic. And yet I found it very entrancing. The music, while not to my taste, was a good listen, and the imagery -- basically vignette after vignette, basically music videos interpolated into a plot about, well, 1984ish conformity -- was, as I said, entrancing. It shouldn't have worked for me, but it absolutely did and while I have nothing particularly insightful or profound to offer here, I felt I just do it the justice of rating it here. So, 8. Would, and probably will, watch it again at some point.

The greatest artistic musical visual proyect ever made. She creates a whole story set full of aesthetics that include her fantastic music. A world designed by a true artist. Completed with her own personal mystical ways to enhence her political views as well as social changes and empowered movements. An inmersive vision comparable in quiality to Bowie's or Prince's. Brilliant!