Auterism
Gregg Araki is an independent American filmmaker born December 17, 1959 in Los Angeles California. He grew up in Santa Barbara and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He eventually got a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production for the University of Southern California.
He is involved in New Queer Cinema which is a movement for queer-themed independent films. The movement began in the 1990’s and found its roots in the all-encompassing word that is queer, a word that surfaced in 1980’s academic writing. The word queer includes gay, lesbian, bisexuality and transgender activity. The movement elaborates on the identity and experiences of these groups and highlights the fluidity of sexuality. The idea of fluidity is derived from post-modernist theories from the 1980’s; that sexuality is a cultural construct. It should not necessarily be seen as a fixed idea but rather an ever-changing lifestyle. New Queer Cinema films often subvert regular modern conventions of film for they usually depict scenes of raw and explicit sexuality between two people of the same sex. The movement forces viewers to reconsider traditional heterosexual conventions such as implicit same-sex intercourse, marriage and family, often portrayed in modern cinema. Due to its harsh content and subversive material, it is considered to be a radical movement
Araki is considered to be an important filmmaker for he gives a critical voice to queer teenagers, often considered to be misunderstood individuals. Araki uses this voice as a common thread in his films that unifies his body of work consisting of 11 films, 10 of which he wrote. These films are Kaboom (2010), Smiley Face written by Dylan Haggerty (2007), Mysterious Skin (2004), This is how the World Ends (2000), Splendor (1999), Nowhere (1997), The Doom Generation (1995), Totally Fucked Up (1993), The Living End (1992), The Long Weekend (1989) and Three Bewildered People in the Night (1987).
Another common thread in his films is his unique aesthetic often categorized as ‘guerrilla’ named after the style of warfare, unlegislated by the government. Which means his film style is unique and sometimes raw and real. His harsh style of film, his explicit imagery and his subversive messages forces him to be an outsider in the Hollywood system. However, his messages do not go unheard for he highlights pressing issues gay youth face, one of which is isolated suffering.
'The Sad Young Man'
Some refer to this theme in Araki’s films as being ‘the sad young man.’ Araki often portrays this character in his films to offer a visual and physical presence of this specific sort of suffering. In ‘Mysterious Skin,’ there are two sad young men, Neil and Brian who both suffer the consequences of being abused as children by their baseball coach. This persona is also featured in his film ‘The Long Weekend’ about a young gay man named Michael who reunites with his college friends in attempts to rediscover their sense of brotherhood. Michael is sadly mistaken when this sense of closeness is gone and the weekend becomes a complete disappointment.
The Journey
Another theme found in Araki’s films is a sense of journey. In ‘Mysterious Skin’ Neil is on a journey to amplify his life and venture away from his small hometown. He travels to New York City to be with his best friend Wendy however only ends up in more trouble and almost gets killed in the process. He eventually finds his way back home and is able to seemingly close that dangerous chapter in his life by enlightening another victim of child abuse, Brian. Brian too is on a journey of discovery in attempts to understand strange alien flashbacks. He uses recordings of his dreams to locate Neil who ultimately solves the mystery of his past. An example of journey in another of Araki’s films is ‘The Doom Generation’ a film about three teenagers on the road who attempt to find love and experiment sexually without judgment.
Straying from the Hollywood System
Although Araki’s films are unique and differ from those in the Hollywood System, it is difficult to completely separate one’s work from its conventions. Araki often portrays stereotypical themes of buddies and juvenile delinquents. However Araki does not wish to copy Hollywood’s convention of realism. To avoid this gutter, Araki often integrates impossible plot twists such as the idea of space aliens in ‘Mysterious Skin’ and its portrayal Brian’s experiences with extraterrestrial life. The idea of the supernatural, especially space aliens, surfaces in other films such as ‘Nowhere’, a film about a group of L.A teens and their weird everyday lives.
Our Generation
Araki believes our generation is “lost”, “hopeless” and “fucked up.” In order to illustrate this belief, he creates characters that possess the above characteristics. To this avant-garde filmmaker, these characters represent modern youth. In ‘Mysterious Skin’, Neil is representative of this persona. His personality is dark and void. He cares very little about his health, relationships and dignity. He focuses on making money and abandoning his hometown. Perhaps he is solely corrupted due to the trauma he was subject to as a child, or perhaps he ultimately represents our generation as a whole.
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