The Hours...you will spend

I recently stumbled upon this video that Brad Troemel posted on his blog. It was directed by Tony Kaye, who directed American History X; it stars Sienna Miller and the art direction was done by Damien Hirst. It is by far one of the worst examples of human expression I have ever seen and I can’t recommend it enough. Ever since I saw it I have been telling everyone to watch it.



Confused as to what I thought, a friend asked, “so is it good? Or is it so bad it’s good?” “No,” I replied, “it’s terrible, but the joy you will get from the hate it brings out in you is like an addiction.” And it’s true. The video clocks in at seven minutes and forty seconds, but it goes by fast. There are videos I like that are half as long that I get bored watching. See the Light by The Hours is so pretentious, self-important, vain, clichéd and unimaginative that it is farcical. Farcical on a level rarely attained. This is achieved by the whole-hearted commitment on the part of all the key participants, the director, the actress, the art director and the band whose song it’s a video for.

The best parodies are things that are parodies of themselves. The most satisfying and devious laughter is at something that doesn’t realize in the slightest how funny it is. There are any number of scenes in popular comedy that play out the way successful, shallow and self-absorbed celebrities horribly fail at being serious artists, but this is better. Because this video is literally an attempt, a successful one it feels, at making a work of depth and substance. The humor comes from watching it; from the viewer seeing it’s absurdity and humor, and the piece itself carrying on as though it is a heart breaking work of staggering genius.