Benjamin John Power | Through the Shattered Lens

Hi! Lisa here, with today’s music video of the day. The Rat is the latest video from Blanck Mass, the solo project of Fuck Buttons’s Benjamin John Power.

In this video, Benjamin John Power stares straight at the camera while riding through the It’s A Small World ride in Disneyland. He never blinks. He never betrays any emotion whatsoever. Around the 3:24 mark, there’s suddenly a brief shot of a bunch of maggots. All in all, it’s rather disconcerting but I really wouldn’t expect anything less from Blanck Mass.

I want to quote two possible interpretations that I’ve come across for this video. The first comes from Power himself. In a press release, Power stated:

“The video itself is a bit of fun and was filmed on a family vacation, but somehow I feel it represents discontent within a capitalist regime and a world full of sugar-coated shit.”

Meanwhile, on YouTube, Crimewaveddd offered up this reading of the video:

“we get it you’re attractive”

Personally, I think they both sound good!

Enjoy!

When Benjamin John Power, the man behind Blanck Mass, was asked about this haunting and surreal video, this is what he told Spin:

“D7-D5′ is intended as the second move in a game of chess initially instigated by Manuel Gottsching when he released (and named said release) ‘E2-E4,’ the recording which many believe pioneered techno. The video was made by [my] good friend Jake McGowan, and follows one man whilst he struggles to deal with a flurry of emotions and human states which are common during a battle of any size, including a game of chess.”

For myself, I’ll say that this video immediately reminded me of the work of David Lynch. Of course, I’m kind of obsessed with David Lynch’s art right now. Until Twin Peaks has finished its run, I imagine that almost everything is going to remind me of Lynch in one way or another.

Still, this video is almost unsettling as that famous scene in A Field in England, that one that featured Blanck Mass’s Chernobyl playing in the background. Remember that scene?

Well, unsettling or not, Blanck Mass helps me to focus, which considering the intensity of my ADD, is no small accomplishment! If not for well-selected background music, I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish 3,000 of the 3,897 things that I have posted on this site!

Enjoy!