Cinema for Brunch THIS IS BUZZ Review

A hypnotic, dense documentary about daring television, Mark Pellington’s “This Is Buzz” sheds a light on a short-lived MTV series which predicted present day’s oversaturation of media.

Synopsis

THIS IS BUZZ is a documentary that explores the radical impact and lasting relevance of Buzz, an avant-garde, genreless MTV magazine series from the 1990s. Directed by Mark Pellington, the film uses archival footage and interviews to connect the analog media landscape of the early 90s to today’s internet- driven information age.

Review
“Television is the result of endless experiments”. TV in the 80s-90s, specifically MTV, was a glorious experiment that paid off in waves, even if society didn’t recognize it yet in the moment. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. We look back on antiquated things such as old 90s commercials including Blockbuster ads, cereal ads, early seasons of The Real World, The Simple Life, etc. saying we miss these things but did we enjoy them when they were around? Mark Pellington, known for thrillers such as “Arlington Road” and “The Mothman Prophecies”, arrives with the documentary “This is Buzz” – a documentary about “Buzz”, an MTV slice of life docuseries he co-created with Jon Klein that aired with 13 episodes in 1990. With each episode covering different topics including happiness, character and the future, “Buzz” was an avant-garde program that uncovered often undiscussed corners of global life. This documentary, not just showing the episodes themselves or interviewing those who were responsible and/or witnessed the rise of this indelible series, also shows us how this series predicted the future of media oversaturation. Everything from Instagram to TikTok to YouTube owes its staying power – and its remarkable retention for everything being viewed (or experienced) at the click of a finger – to this series and its eclectic, shapeshifting content.

Within its first 20 minutes, as the film unpacks the background of “Buzz”, we are given a nostalgic trip to the past when MTV was cool and television was not afraid to be challenging. As TV was in an era in which it was not afraid to be daring, in walks Pellington, a self-described, punk-rock loving preppy jock and Klein, a media carnivore man who Pellington himself describes as having a “brain on fire”. It’s the perfect odd couple to bring forth a news show shot like a music video – about as apt a description as you could give an episode of “Buzz”. To give one an idea of how weird this show was, consider its inception – Klein describes having the genesis for the idea of “Buzz” while under a drug’s influence at a concert. Images, words on text, talking head interviews – all blaring at you at once, for a whole episode. An acid trip as dazzling and visually sumptuous as anything David Fincher or Nicolas Winding Refn have put their hands on. The talking heads of the documentary range from the creators themselves (Pellington and Klein) to U2 band members to media execs and artists like Catherine Owners – all of them adding to the myth of Buzz.

This documentary is almost a meta commentary of its subject, its pacing and editing as disorienting and dizzying as its subject matter. Even though the film keeps you engaged with its subject matter and its reflection with other filmmakers, the unfortunate downside of Pellington’s film is the oversaturation of it all. With actual episodes, talking heads, flashing images, flashings texts on screen being thrown at the audience all at once, there can be a lot of overstimulation towards the halfway point of the film. The film becomes art imitating art at this point as it somewhat speaks to the reason why “Buzz” was cancelled. As a joke shared between Pellington and a talking head, you can’t be “weird, depressing and expensive” all at once. While “This is Buzz” may not be an expensive documentary and not even really depressing in theory, it definitely is weird. The eclectic editing and overload of Buzz lore could be a lot for a moviegoer that did not grow up with this unique series – it’s a bunch of heady information that is thrown at the viewer with little let up. But I guess, in a sense, that’s the power and influence “Buzz” still holds over our use of media today.

Closing Thoughts
Shows like Adult Swim’s “Off the Air” would no doubt not even exist if it wasn’t for the ballsy swing that was “Buzz”. “This is Buzz” is a hypnotic documentary that makes the case for daring art, no matter the cost of commerce. While the series itself stood as a dangerous potent for what takes over our television screens today, “This is Buzz” digs into why this type of entertainment is infectious. That kind of entertainment challenges us and shows us things we would never witness in a million years. While the pacing and editing of “This is Buzz” may alienate some viewers, the message of “purpose within entertainment” is not lost on the viewer and the fight to push creativity into art is something that should be fought for, now more than ever.

Trailer