InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 11

SXSW 2023
filmed, but we’re treated to incredible footage of its setup,
backstage, crowd, and the surreal motorcycle caravan that
escorted John and Yoko from the airport to the field (one of the
film’s best sequences). This isn’t exactly a by-the-book concert
documentary — we don’t get full performances from any artist —
but it still manages to convey a palpable energy from each
performance. The film is also chock full of endless amazing rock
anecdotes: from the birth of Alice Cooper and his unhinged
on-stage antics, to the undeniably weird yet forward-thinking
avant-garde of Yoko Ono, to the crowd raising a sea of lighters to
welcome Lennon to the stage (now a time honored practice at
every concert ever). Yet it’s Chuck Berry’s performance that
proves to be the film’s standout sequence. Backed by a group of
teen musicians he’d never played with before, Berry overflows
with joy and charisma. And there’s something so pure and bygone
about his performance that it’s simply a marvel to see on screen.
The wealth of talent interviewed for the film offer great insight
into the significance of the day — as well as lend it more humor
than expected. Two particular highlights are Edjo Leslie, a
rough-riding heartwarming Santa Claus and founder of the
Vagabonds Motorcycle Club who provided security detail and
funds for the show, and Rush’s Geddy Lee, who was in attendance
that day and apparently tripping balls. The only two living artists
not featured are Yoko Ono (who declined to appear) and Eric
Clapton (who never responded to the filmmakers’ requests). Both
polarizing figures, Clapton’s presence isn’t particularly missed,
yet Ono’s would have added an extra dimension to the story given
her complicated legacy, love story with Lennon, and unapologetic
boldness she demonstrated on stage in Toronto.
“… observing how it all came
together is a thrilling part of
the ride.
Over the 50 years since the decade that transformed culture as
we now know it, many moments have been recognized as the
symbolic end of the idealistic ‘60s — from the police riots at the
1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to the murders
of MLK and RFK to the disastrous Altamont Speedway Free
Festival. Even more have been given for the end of The Beatles.
The Toronto Revival invigorated Lennon with the confidence he
needed to leave the group, sparking music’s greatest divorce.
Given the incredible legacies swirling in Toronto during that
summer of ‘69, Revival is a welcome addition to the history books
and concert doc canon (and yet further required viewing for
Beatles fanatics who need no convincing). Brimming with both
revelry and reverence, Revival69 remembers a time when
anything felt possible and arrives at a moment when we could all
use a little bit of the optimism that felt so potent back then and
so foreign to us now. It’s a welcome trip down a memory-holed
alley of memory lane.— NICK SEIP
ANOTHER BODY
Sophie Compton & Reuben Hamlyn
A sobering reminder of the minefield the Internet can be for
women, the documentary Another Body, from filmmakers Sophie
Compton and Reuben Hamlyn, is perhaps one of the more
unnerving recent examples of form being shaped by subject
matter. We’re introduced to college-aged engineering student
“Taylor.” “Taylor” is ambitious, academically accomplished, and
outwardly happy until one day she learns from an apologetic
male friend that there is a video on a popular porn website which
appears to feature her engaged in an explicit sexual act. “Taylor”
is mortified to discover that the video is not actually her but is a
deepfake. For those blessedly unfamiliar with the term,
deepfakes are a controversial form of video where, using
commercially available software and A.I., “regular people”
(although, boy, is that a relative term) are able to create
photorealistic, full-motion facsimiles of human beings appearing
to say and do things that they otherwise never would. Alarm bells
first sounded about this technology years ago, primarily in
anticipation of it being employed to spread disinformation and
potentially swing elections (Jordan Peele even made a PSA on
the subject back in 2018 which made convincing use of his
Obama impersonation). However, as with all emergent
technology, it’s primarily been applied toward pornography. More
specifically, creating reasonably convincing video clips where
everyone from movie stars to politicians to amateur citizens can
have their faces nonconsensually imposed upon porn actors, at
which point the videos are uploaded online and viewed by
millions of people.
This may be the appropriate place to discuss Compton and
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