The History of America

This is one of the truly rare films out there that dares to be 100% unique. I am sure that for some (the "fuddy-duddies"), they won't appreciate just how strange and different this short animated film is. Others (the "sick, twisted freaks") will laugh and thoroughly enjoy the bizarreness and take it all in stride. As for me, a man who teaches American history AND is sick and twisted, I loved the film and encourage you to see it if you are suitably strange.

The film begins with an introduction from a history professor. This is wonderful, as what he says is really silly and cute--particularly when he talks about how smart he is while he drinks cough syrup from a brandy snifter (you have to see it for yourself--trust me)! Then, what follows might be one of the most mind-bending versions of history I have ever heard--and in my pre-teacher years I both worked in a mental hospital and did psychotherapy, so this is saying a lot!! A strange and rather psychotic tale of the early history of America ensues that is basically an all-out war on land and in space between cowboys and astronauts!! It's all ultra-strange yet you can't stop watching because it's so beautiful to watch (the animation is great) AND it's like a long episode of Itchy & Scratchy!! In the end, thankfully, the whole thing actually gets even better, with a four minute condensed lecture on what happened next!! It's all very, very tongue-in-cheek and I truly had a wonderful time watching it. I can't wait to see more from the folks at MK12--they have really come up with something special! Gee,...wouldn't it be really, really sad if the folks from MK12 ACTUALLY believed all this and were serious?! Oh, and for another laugh, read the entire summary MK12 provided to IMDb.

Every so often there comes a piece of media that simply can not be over rated - last night while surfing through the media available on the XBox360 live marketplace I found just such a gem. For the record Sundance channel has an offering of short films available by download through xbox live, and The History of America is one of these offerings. Its a perfect fit with video game culture (adult swimmers unite!), and once word of mouth hits, I imagine this will find a degree of success with this young audience. The History of America is a complete farce, and I have to believe the main intention of this piece is humor. When beginning this short film its easy to have that "uh oh" feeling due to the seemingly crappy video quality and 4:3 aspect. This is purely intentional however. The production qualities take a jump by orders of magnitude as the animation (the bulk of this 30 minute piece) kicks in. Yea, its a tale of how America was born beginning in 1964 as a result of a war between cowboys and astronauts. Perhaps the content is absurd, but a story is told, and told well through use of animation and cleverly implanted live action footage. The animation is simply superb, and this quality alone gives a great deal of merit to the creators. When combined with the story, this piece takes off like some mental chemical reaction. Its impossible to take your eyes off of, begging for repeat showing for friends. Its like the Little Big Planet beta I just got done playing - I can't shut up about it - EVERYONE MUST KNOW!!! Beneath the absurdity is content, don't be fooled. Right off the bat is the title. Its not called A history of America, or history of America - Its called "THE" history of America - claiming to be the only true or correct history. At the end of the film there is a line to the effect of "may god bless America, but only us". I don't think its a stretch to see this piece making fun of America and Americans, and our self centered ideals. History beginning in 1964 is probably plausible to much of the current young generation that lives online and in worlds of fiction - this piece is for you! Perhaps the funniest bit of this film comes in its 5 minute montage wrap up concluding "what happened next" after the cowboy astronaut war (I was in tears). So, yea perhaps I like this piece of art too much. Its well made, funny, and has surprising depth (eye in the sky anyone?) - If my vague compliments even kinda raise an eyebrow, look into this brilliant display of imagination!!!