Posted 11:38 AM by Scoobie Davis

Film and Video
I received a screener copy of the David Hoffman's historical documentary Sputnik Mania (view trailer here). The film mixes interviews, stock footage, and a good CGI dramatization of the orbit of the world's first artificial satellite. I recommend it.

Yesterday, I found a video I thought I lost years ago. Spike Jonze, director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, has directed music videos and commercials (e.g., Nike's famous post-apocalyptic Y2K commercial "The Morning After"--see addendum). A few years ago, I found a VHS demo tape of Jonzes' commercial work for Wrangler jeans (his Wrangler campaign was called "Amarillo by Morning"). The tape is a series of interviews of some hardcore rodeo people. Jonze interviews cowboys, former riders, rodeo groupies ("buckle bunnies"), and people who view it as a way of life. Even though the interviews were done for commercial purposes, the footage is a revealing ethnography of American rodeo people and culture. It's a shame that it's not available online.

Addendum: Spike Jonzes' "The Morning After":