Velvet Goldmine: Glam or Sham
Velvet Goldmine: Glam or Sham
“Although what you are about to see is a work of fiction, it should never the less be played at maximum volume,” (Velvet Goldmine, 1998), white letters on a black background fade in and then out to a shooting star. Writer and director Todd Haynes borrows from David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust, Mick Jagger, and Citizen Kane to piece together this montage film in rock-opera style; but does it work or is it just another movie about our own sexual revolution set to music?
What does Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin in 1851, and Glam Rock, which thrived from 1969 through 1975, have in common? If you believe Todd Haynes ' drama/music movie Velvet Goldmine, then gay author Oscar Wilde was brought to earth in a spaceship, left at the Wilde 's front door, and in his childhood yearns to be a pop star. “The characters in this movie consider Wilde to be the godmother of all that is glam,” (Feaster, 1999); and all are connected to Wilde by a broach with a green “space” gem embedded in it, the gem itself changes hands through out the movie, and is a force of power and greed throughout.
Haynes uses flashbacks to tell the story in a Citizen Kane style; Glam icon Brian Slade (aka Maxwell Demon) is at the height of his career and in 1974 he stages his own death during a performance. The movie flashes forward to 1984 in drab Reagan era New York City and British born reporter, Arthur Stuart, is on the trail of his childhood glam idol Brian Slade. Stuart 's editor 's want him to write the piece because of his connection to the glam scene and his UK roots 10 years earlier. The audience is treated to flashbacks of Stuart 's early life, and the progression of his sexual awareness through the glam scene. Like Citizen Kane (1941), Haynes uses interviews with those close to Slade and Arthur’s own personal experiences, to tell the story of who Brian Slade was, and who he is now.
Arthur Stuart, our reporter, experiences much internal conflict during this film, the time
“Although what you are about to see is a work of fiction, it should never the less be played at maximum volume,” (Velvet Goldmine, 1998), white letters on a black background fade in and then out to a shooting star. Writer and director Todd Haynes borrows from David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust, Mick Jagger, and Citizen Kane to piece together this montage film in rock-opera style; but does it work or is it just another movie about our own sexual revolution set to music?
What does Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin in 1851, and Glam Rock, which thrived from 1969 through 1975, have in common? If you believe Todd Haynes ' drama/music movie Velvet Goldmine, then gay author Oscar Wilde was brought to earth in a spaceship, left at the Wilde 's front door, and in his childhood yearns to be a pop star. “The characters in this movie consider Wilde to be the godmother of all that is glam,” (Feaster, 1999); and all are connected to Wilde by a broach with a green “space” gem embedded in it, the gem itself changes hands through out the movie, and is a force of power and greed throughout.
Haynes uses flashbacks to tell the story in a Citizen Kane style; Glam icon Brian Slade (aka Maxwell Demon) is at the height of his career and in 1974 he stages his own death during a performance. The movie flashes forward to 1984 in drab Reagan era New York City and British born reporter, Arthur Stuart, is on the trail of his childhood glam idol Brian Slade. Stuart 's editor 's want him to write the piece because of his connection to the glam scene and his UK roots 10 years earlier. The audience is treated to flashbacks of Stuart 's early life, and the progression of his sexual awareness through the glam scene. Like Citizen Kane (1941), Haynes uses interviews with those close to Slade and Arthur’s own personal experiences, to tell the story of who Brian Slade was, and who he is now.
Arthur Stuart, our reporter, experiences much internal conflict during this film, the time
References: Bennett, C. (2010). Flaming the Fans: Shame and the Aesthetics of Queer Fandom in Todd Haynes 's Velvet Goldmine Feaster, F. (1999). Velvet Goldmine. Film Quarterly. 53. 1. (Autumn, 1999). pp 42-44. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3697213 Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. Bridgepoint Education, Inc Harvey, M. (13 October 2002). The Ziggy Stardust Companion. Retrieved from: http://www.5years.com/velvetfilm.htm Vachon, C. (Producer), & Haynes, T. (Director). (22 November 1998). Velvet Goldmine Wyatt, J. & Haynes, T. (1993). Cinematic/Sexual Transgression: An Interview with Todd Haynes