What better way to kick off a website devoted to one of the most fascinating and influential figures in the history of world cinema than by turning our attention to Weird Al Yankovic's half-baked parody of Lorde's mediocre pop hit "Royals" - oh so cleverly entitled "Foil" - in which the indefatigable pseudo-satirist waxes conspiratorial about the psychotronics-blocking properties of everyone's favorite sandwich wrapping medium? If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it here and now...
Although I confess to being somewhat perturbed at the evolution of Kubrick's posthumous legacy - from representing a high-water mark for artistic integrity and technical perfectionism to becoming fodder for soft-headed Moon Hoaxers and would-be Illuminati "exposers" - I can't say I didn't get a kick out of this video. There's something about Weird Al's best work that balances equal measures of goof and snark in a way that reminds one of Mad Magazine in its prime. And, of course, it's hardly Weird Al's fault that a few creeps in the "conspiritainment" industry have latched onto Kubrick's name and films in the hopes that some of their mojo might rub off onto them.
By the way, just to be clear, the Kubrick reference in this case isn't in the actual song lyrics; it's in the video. It can be seen during the "faked moon landing" footage, where "KUBRICK" is clearly printed on the clapboard being wielded by a chunky bearded fellow who I'm assuming is also meant to be some kind of Kubrick stand-in. Here, take a look for yourselves...
Well, there you have it. My inaugural post at the KubrickU Blog! I've been meaning to start up a website where I can let my Kubrick obsession run riot for quite a long time, and hopefully I'll have some more substantive content for you all in the very near future. In the meantime, if you spot a Kubrick reference that you feel is worth a STANSPOTTING post, then, by all means, please pass it along to me and I'll see that it gets posted!
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