I had a super hard time with it, so decided to write a blog post to maybe force myself to dissect Super Mario Movie?
I like how uncanny it looks, I was honestly pretty uncomfortable with the graphics behaving in a way I didn’t expect, it kind of got me interested in the potential for videogame horror. Not scary videogames, just horror having to do with them. Especially the “bitrot” parts, the screen flashing with unpredictable graphics and deteriorating was jarring because i’d normally expect technology to stay the same all the time, all it needs is a battery to continue working smoothly. It made something eternal weak or with the potential to fall apart, I liked Cory Archangels take on technology’s potential to do that.
I also think it was interesting how Archangel humanized the characters and the game itself. It was really weird to just watch Mario be still, which is something I don’t often see him do or make him do, so it gave him an autonomous feel. Again, this was really uncanny, seeing a familiar character move in an unfamiliar way, especially out of my control since the video form of machinimas takes the controler aspect away from you. It was weird to see him abandonded, the fact that he may have been autonomous the entire time as we play as him was a spectacularly sad concept.
Also, the way it was made is amazing, I like the creative use of the game format itself. This again also rejected my usual perception of the technology since it looked like it was being hacked. It kind of took away from my expectation that technology provides a permanent unchanging scenery regardless of if it gets stuck in a “closet for 20 years.”
Honestly I was a little confused by the plot, and lowkey disoriented the whole time, but I liked the small details. I wonder what the screen flashing what looked to be the word “JOY” all over meant? Maybe how Mario feels his purpose is, but once abandoned that disintegrates? Notably, he doesn’t have any enemies to fight, its a lonely movie.
