Better Living Through Circuitry (1999)

Synopsis: An intelligent and analytical documentary, BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY presents an intellectual overview of Rave culture. (A Rave is an all-night dance party to electronic music attended by large groups of teenagers.) Using organized montages of interviews with club kids, party... An intelligent and analytical documentary, BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY presents an intellectual overview of Rave culture. (A Rave is an all-night dance party to electronic music attended by large groups of teenagers.) Using organized montages of interviews with club kids, party promoters, and musicians, the film examines the history of Rave's techno music, and incorporates performance footage of musicians. Interviews with the now-ubiquitous Moby, Wolfgang Flur of Kraftwerk, and former punk-rocker and Acid House "inventor" Genesis P-Orridge (an eloquent British transvestite), explain the idea of Raves as restorative rituals, that emphasize community and spirituality (DJ Spooky elaborates), and the musical and scientific connection between traditional shaman drum circles and techno music. The wide prevalence of drug use is also discussed as are the use of advertising logos for posters and party invites, and the way that the teens embrace childish habits--carrying pacifiers, kiddie nap-sacs, and stuffed animals--as a way of reclaiming the innocence, creative impulses, and unconditional love experienced in early childhood. Shot on digital video and transferred to 35mm film stock, BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY is a professional, entertaining, and interesting look into an otherwise-underground realm of pop culture. [More]