Krypton Is Doomed2005

KRYPTON IS DOOMED
Ken Jacobs Computer assistance, Nisi Jacobs.
2005, 34 min, color, sound; Original radio broadcast of Superman
drama, 1940.

NOTE: This work should not be viewed by individuals with epilepsy or
seizure disorders.

In his 5th floor walk-up on NY's pre-fashionable Lower East Side,
Jack Smith was determined to complete the beautification of his
kitchen cabinet. AIDS was pressing. His friends pitched in,
accepting slave status. Jack demanded this and Jack demanded that
but because he wanted it perfect (as he had wanted his films to be
perfect), and because perfection proved elusive, the remodeling
finally had to be abandoned. Each friend going her or his own sad way.

We are living under the imminent threat of GODS. The Republican
Party ploy of allying with the religious right for votes proved
shortsighted (grasping individuals tend to be shortsighted) and our
religious crazies are now frustrated, concerned they might be cheated
of prophetic fulfillment. You've got to hand it to those who resist,
for the sake of the grass and the animals and the children, and for
the preservation of the occasional work of art among the Faberge egg;
who knows but that they will succeed against all odds and swerve
their respective societies in time away from sure doom. We like to
think so and it's easy to, after a lot of movies and the fact that
all the living are beneficiaries of the ones who made it through, all
those Papas and especially Mamas that did succeed in sending forward
their young.

In the late 1930's two Jewish teenagers came up with the story of a
couple that sent their infant child on a lone trip of escape through
space from an exploding planet. We all know the story: the boy would
survive on Earth but would have to keep his identity secret. Were
Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel dreaming out loud? Was Krypton actually
the Old World heading into WW 2 and was the child -with his secret
identity- escaping the fate of the Jews of Europe? (Put aside for a
moment your stress regarding Israel, intended as a refuge from
genocide.) The Jews then, all of us now.

Jack's friends failed to convince him to make a will. "Why bother?",
he asked. "To protect your work in the future." "The future?", Jack
replied, "The future will be worse."