''Spectres of the Spectrum'' is a 1999

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

collage film Collage film is a style of film created by juxtaposing Found footage (appropriation), found footage from disparate sources (archival footage, excerpts from other films, newsreels, home movies, etc.). The term has also been applied to the physical ...

by American filmmaker

Craig Baldwin Craig Baldwin (born 1952) is an American experimental filmmaker. He uses found footage (appropriation), found footage from the fringes of popular consciousness as well as images from the mass media to undermine and transform the traditional doc ...

. The story follows a father and daughter living in post-apocalyptic wasteland as they fight against corporate control of the

electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...

. The film mixes found footage with live-action scenes.

Plot

In the year 2007, a telepathic woman Boo Boo and her father Yogi live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The New Electromagnetic Order rules the world, opposed by the TV Tesla resistance movement. Boo Boo, able to withstand the radioactive atmosphere, must go back in time 50 years and trace TV broadcasts of '' Science in Action'' to find an encoded secret from her grandmother. Meanwhile, Yogi scans the history of the electromagnetic conflict. After decoding the secret message, Boo Boo flies into the Sun to unleash a chain reaction that weaponizes the Sun's energy.

Cast

* Sean Kilcoyne as Yogi * Caroline Koebel as Boo Boo *

Beth Lisick Beth Lisick (born December 13, 1968, in Saratoga, California) is an American writer, performer, and author of six books. With Arline Klatte, she co-founded the Porchlight Storytelling Series of spoken word performances in San Francisco in 2002. ...

as Boo Boo (voice)

Production

Baldwin worked on ''Spectres of the Spectrum'' over three years. The film primarily draws from archival material that Baldwin kept in the basement of his studio space in San Francisco. His collection included hundreds of educational '' Science in Action'' episodes, discarded by the

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

. Baldwin was motivated to use these because the show regularly had military figures as guest stars, which he thought perfectly captured "the reality of science being coopted by the military". Additional live-action scenes were shot on

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

. Caroline Koebel's scenes did not have

sync sound Sync sound (synchronized sound recording) refers to sound recorded at the time of the filming of movies. It has been widely used in movies since the birth of sound movies. History Even in the silent film era, films were shown with sounds, often ...

, and voiceover was added instead.

Release

''Spectres of the Spectrum'' premiered October 5, 1999 at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

. It was selected to screen at the 1999

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

, the 2000

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

, and the 2000

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

. When the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

found out about a mention of

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscie ...

's time working as an intelligence agent, they sent Baldwin a letter documenting their account of Hubbard's life.

Critical reception

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', '' Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

wrote that the ''Spectres of the Spectrum'' was "exhausting and ultimately bewildering… utnot without a certain visual and conceptual brilliance, or, thankfully, a sense of humor." Jonathan Romney of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called it "radical pop art, and head-spinningly entertaining storytelling, if you manage to keep up with it." In his review for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine, Ken Eisner described it as a "concentrated lightning bolt of fascinating weirdness" but noted that it was relatively inaccessible for mainstream audiences and could become "a coveted item among youthful cognoscenti."

References

External links

''Spectres of the Spectrum''
at Other Cinema * {{IMDb title, 0224156 1999 science fiction films 1999 films American science fiction films American collage films Films directed by Craig Baldwin 1990s films about time travel 1990s avant-garde and experimental films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language science fiction films