DISCLAIMER: Whenever I refer to Kanye West as “great” or a "genius” I’m not being sarcastic. He really is genius, guys. Get over it.
With the great Kanye West making headlines for the past few weeks, and as it seems less and less likely that we’ll be getting a non-Tidal release of The Life of Pablo, I felt like now would be a good time to explore the other facets of Kanye’s artistry while we patiently wait. Throughout his over decade-long career, he’s changed the entire face of hip-hop, with a Bowie-esque discography, changing his sound with each successive album. With his growing success, he’s expanded into other forms of art, with cinema being a particularly interesting experiment. His films are as unique as the music he creates, tackling similar complex thematic material that his songs do. While he hasn’t been/made many movies, the one’s that do exist are worth discussing (or me writing about and you reading).
Written and directed by Spike Jonze, 2009’s We Were Once a Fairytale is a chaotic, and at times somber, short film following Kanye West’s exploits in a club. The film explores how this quasi-fictionalized version of West is reacting to his ever-growing fame, constantly badgering people, telling them that the music playing at the club is his. Throughout its 11-minute runtime, Kanye drinks more and more, becoming increasingly more vulnerable as the movie progresses. The film ends with a bizarrely emotional sequence, in which Kanye stabs himself with a bowie knife in a bathroom and pulls out a small furry creature from his stomach. He then convinces the creature to kill itself and watches it die on a bathroom counter, silently staring.
Now don’t worry, I guess you could say I spoiled the ending, but it’s really something you should watch on your own, because it’s worth your time. Anyway, Fairytale is a fairly condensed version of what Kanye frequently raps about, mainly identity and fame. The film shows how the reckless life of celebrity has basically left him hollow. Deep down he longs for a real emotional connection, but the life he’s created and effectively been trapped within won’t let him. So, in a mobius strip-like cycle of drunkenness and depravity, he destroys himself until he can’t take it anymore, ultimately committing suicide (both in a literal and symbolic sense).
Jonze’s direction perfectly compliments the hectic and bipolar nature of the film and its protagonist. One moment will be chaotic and incomprehensible, while another might be introspective and timid. The duo of Jonze and West works to a tee, with each artist bringing their own special talents and ideas to the story to create something special, albeit fleeting.
Like We Were Once a Fairytale, Kanye’s directorial debut Runaway tackles similar themes, although he goes much more in-depth, creating a narrative that’s more complex and personal than his previous cinematic project.
To boil it down to its basics, the story follows a fallen phoenix who is rescued by Kanye. He falls in love with her, but she can’t stay on Earth and returns back to Heaven. Outside of this main plot, there’s a lot of stuff packed into this dense short film. Each scene is packed with imagery, both blatant and subtle. Like in Fairytale, we find a Kanye struggling with celebrity and identity. But in Runaway, he’s at the height of his fame and the themes discussed in the previous film are told in a much more personal and imaginative way thanks to West’s direction and story.
The thirty minute short film is a visually spectacular piece of cinema that not only serves as an excellent companion piece to his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but also stands on its own as a great movie. West has a keen eye as a director, as he constructs some truly breathtaking and memorable sequences. Coupled with the strong personal story that he tells, it’s not surprising that such a musical and lyrical genius could also create a fantastic cinematic experience as well.
Each scene in Runaway is paired with a specific song from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. These sequences are boldly constructed, both cinematographically and choreographically (see the sequence where Kanye raps the titular song in front of a group of ballerinas). West often uses striking colors, giving each sequence a dream-like feeling. The film is much more of a “twisted fantasy” as the album, with cuts from opulent dinner parties in stark white warehouses to barren grasslands with marching bands and flares illuminating the night sky. That scene with the marching band in particular feels akin to something out of Fellini’s 8½ which pleasantly surprised me.
West is as confident behind the camera as he is in the studio. With the medium, he’s able to show us how he feels, with his insecurities and questions of morality and masculinity materializing in an abstract and emotional narrative.
Like in Fairytale, the Kanye that we see is a vulnerable one, living a life of peak luxury. Despite his opulence, he longs for something immaterial and spiritual. This something else takes the form of the phoenix that he rescues. She represents everything pure and organic; everything that his celebrity life isn’t. As he falls in love with her, we realize that this is a genuine connection that he feels, a connection that he’s longed for. The life of luxury that he’s led has left him empty inside (like in Fairytale) and wanting something that’s real. In the end though, he’s unable to convince the phoenix to stay with him.
As aforementioned, this a similar theme that is expressed in Fairytale, but it’s West’s visually direction and expressive symbolism that makes Runaway a more complete expression of what Kanye
In the film’s final scene (which is also shown briefly in the beginning), we see Kanye sprinting after her as she ascends. West desperately tries to reach her, although he knows there’s no way he can possibly do so. His desperate attempt to run away (hey-o!) from fame is a futile one, leaving him trapped in a life that he doesn’t want to live. With a radiant neon sunset coupled with a spectacular fireball in the background, it’s a breathtaking and emotionally raw moment and one that serves as an excellent bookend to an excellent and personal film.
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Do yourself a favor and watch both Runaway and We Were Once a Fairytale below.
With the great Kanye West making headlines for the past few weeks, and as it seems less and less likely that we’ll be getting a non-Tidal release of The Life of Pablo, I felt like now would be a good time to explore the other facets of Kanye’s artistry while we patiently wait. Throughout his over decade-long career, he’s changed the entire face of hip-hop, with a Bowie-esque discography, changing his sound with each successive album. With his growing success, he’s expanded into other forms of art, with cinema being a particularly interesting experiment. His films are as unique as the music he creates, tackling similar complex thematic material that his songs do. While he hasn’t been/made many movies, the one’s that do exist are worth discussing (or me writing about and you reading).
Written and directed by Spike Jonze, 2009’s We Were Once a Fairytale is a chaotic, and at times somber, short film following Kanye West’s exploits in a club. The film explores how this quasi-fictionalized version of West is reacting to his ever-growing fame, constantly badgering people, telling them that the music playing at the club is his. Throughout its 11-minute runtime, Kanye drinks more and more, becoming increasingly more vulnerable as the movie progresses. The film ends with a bizarrely emotional sequence, in which Kanye stabs himself with a bowie knife in a bathroom and pulls out a small furry creature from his stomach. He then convinces the creature to kill itself and watches it die on a bathroom counter, silently staring.
Now don’t worry, I guess you could say I spoiled the ending, but it’s really something you should watch on your own, because it’s worth your time. Anyway, Fairytale is a fairly condensed version of what Kanye frequently raps about, mainly identity and fame. The film shows how the reckless life of celebrity has basically left him hollow. Deep down he longs for a real emotional connection, but the life he’s created and effectively been trapped within won’t let him. So, in a mobius strip-like cycle of drunkenness and depravity, he destroys himself until he can’t take it anymore, ultimately committing suicide (both in a literal and symbolic sense).
Jonze’s direction perfectly compliments the hectic and bipolar nature of the film and its protagonist. One moment will be chaotic and incomprehensible, while another might be introspective and timid. The duo of Jonze and West works to a tee, with each artist bringing their own special talents and ideas to the story to create something special, albeit fleeting.
Like We Were Once a Fairytale, Kanye’s directorial debut Runaway tackles similar themes, although he goes much more in-depth, creating a narrative that’s more complex and personal than his previous cinematic project.
To boil it down to its basics, the story follows a fallen phoenix who is rescued by Kanye. He falls in love with her, but she can’t stay on Earth and returns back to Heaven. Outside of this main plot, there’s a lot of stuff packed into this dense short film. Each scene is packed with imagery, both blatant and subtle. Like in Fairytale, we find a Kanye struggling with celebrity and identity. But in Runaway, he’s at the height of his fame and the themes discussed in the previous film are told in a much more personal and imaginative way thanks to West’s direction and story.
The thirty minute short film is a visually spectacular piece of cinema that not only serves as an excellent companion piece to his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but also stands on its own as a great movie. West has a keen eye as a director, as he constructs some truly breathtaking and memorable sequences. Coupled with the strong personal story that he tells, it’s not surprising that such a musical and lyrical genius could also create a fantastic cinematic experience as well.
Each scene in Runaway is paired with a specific song from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. These sequences are boldly constructed, both cinematographically and choreographically (see the sequence where Kanye raps the titular song in front of a group of ballerinas). West often uses striking colors, giving each sequence a dream-like feeling. The film is much more of a “twisted fantasy” as the album, with cuts from opulent dinner parties in stark white warehouses to barren grasslands with marching bands and flares illuminating the night sky. That scene with the marching band in particular feels akin to something out of Fellini’s 8½ which pleasantly surprised me.
West is as confident behind the camera as he is in the studio. With the medium, he’s able to show us how he feels, with his insecurities and questions of morality and masculinity materializing in an abstract and emotional narrative.
Like in Fairytale, the Kanye that we see is a vulnerable one, living a life of peak luxury. Despite his opulence, he longs for something immaterial and spiritual. This something else takes the form of the phoenix that he rescues. She represents everything pure and organic; everything that his celebrity life isn’t. As he falls in love with her, we realize that this is a genuine connection that he feels, a connection that he’s longed for. The life of luxury that he’s led has left him empty inside (like in Fairytale) and wanting something that’s real. In the end though, he’s unable to convince the phoenix to stay with him.
As aforementioned, this a similar theme that is expressed in Fairytale, but it’s West’s visually direction and expressive symbolism that makes Runaway a more complete expression of what Kanye
In the film’s final scene (which is also shown briefly in the beginning), we see Kanye sprinting after her as she ascends. West desperately tries to reach her, although he knows there’s no way he can possibly do so. His desperate attempt to run away (hey-o!) from fame is a futile one, leaving him trapped in a life that he doesn’t want to live. With a radiant neon sunset coupled with a spectacular fireball in the background, it’s a breathtaking and emotionally raw moment and one that serves as an excellent bookend to an excellent and personal film.
_______________________________________________________
Do yourself a favor and watch both Runaway and We Were Once a Fairytale below.