"It's what a film says rather than a question of cinematic style. What matter is what you're saying in it." - Orson Welles
So what am I saying in Poem of the Holy Fool?
I deplore anything that strips away individuality. The purpose of life, why we exist, is to know each and every cell of our body, mind, and spirit. To individualize to the upteenth degree. That's the answer to the existential question, "Why am I here?"
The main theme I'm investigating in the film is GROUP THINK vs. INDIVIDUALITY.
I believe individuality is far superior to group think.
The main problem I have with group think is that it prioritizes the collective over the individual. An individuals morals are suppressed to the group's agenda. And when I look at human history, all of the greatest evils have been done by groups. The man Hitler himself was evil, yes, but the damage he would've done by himself is nothing compared to the group that rose underneath him. To me that is where the true horrors came about - the thousands of people who bought into what he was saying and then the terror that they spread if anyone considered stepping out of line, whether that was out of fear or brainwashing - but ultimately no one feels save enough to assert their individuality and to voice what he or she might feel is wrong.
Poem of the Holy Fool champions the individual.
In 2016, this is the horror that I saw developing in America on the far right and the far left.
This story arose out of my fear.
But there is also a more personal reason why I want to tell this story. I grew up in a family where group think was the norm. We weren't allowed to individualize and since I was born an artist this has really affected me and caused a lot of internal chaos. I've had to work very hard to assert my individuality. There's always been this internal conflict of wanting to please my family but then honor being an artist - which means to completely lean into my uniqueness, what makes Joy, Joy.
It's as if the universe decided to give me this unbelievable internal conflict so that I'm forced to maximally grow. I'm being forced to rewire and fight old patterns so that I can become myself.
The character of the Holy Fool is who I aspire to become.