Oddball Films and guest curator Lynn Cursaro present, Sugar Shock: Sweet Visions of Candy, Culture and Industry. This taffy pull of gooey ephemera is sure to please both sweet tooths and film fans. From the rustic, snow-covered tapping camps of the 1920’s Maple Syrup and Sugar to the modern Hershey bar conveyer belts of the The Great American Chocolate Factory it’s a big job satisfying the yen for ambrosial treats. The perfectly piped icing of a highfalutin royal wedding cake is only one mind-blowing work of Artistry in Sugar, he can even make edible dishes. Kids get into the act in At Your Fingertips: Sugar and Spice, a guide to molding sparkling crystals into Christmas and Easter treasures! Vintage cartoon fantasies of an all sugar moon beckon in Candy Town. We haven’t forgotten to include the stunning dental hygiene claymation The Munchers. The usual suspects are giving and getting pies in the face: The Three Stooges in Scheming Schemers and anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant in news footage. And MORE! Plus, home-baked gingerbread “sugarcubes” will be among the complimentary treats from the curator’s kitchen.
Date: Saturday, April 7th, 2012 at 8:00PM.
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Featuring:
The Great American Chocolate Factory (color, 1975) (excerpt)
Behold the humble, maligned Hershey’s Kiss. Even in these days of sky high cocoa content and single source, varietal beans, we still harbor fond memories of these silvery parcels. This corporate info flick trades on our childhood dreams of large scale lusciousness while assuring us with lab-coated quality control professionals share the Hershey promise of all American treats. It may lack the romance of the artisanal, but the mechanical action that makes Kisses truly does resemble a chaste peck on the cheek.
The Munchers: A Fable (color, 1973)
A must-see claymation from Art Pierson! This trippin’ dental hygiene epic takes its style from the anti-drug films we all know and love - the smokin' score and a depraved orgy complete with tiny clay chocolate bars - possibly making Twizzlers binges look downright badass. The cape wearing pusher man is flamboyant and gleefully evil Jack Sweet - think Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. Is the case for wholesome snacks helped or hindered by depicting fruits and vegetables in a dorky line dance?
The Sugar Cereal Imitation Orange Breakfast (color, 1973)
Satire, PBS style. No one can read a list of ingredients with the twisted verve of comic and consumer advocate Marshall Efron. Here he gives us the tongue-incheek dirt on crunchy dessert-like breakfast cereal and demonstrates the "recipe" for "Rainbow Mush". Next, Efron examines an amazing variety of sunny-colored breakfast beverages from the big mess of fresh-squeezed all the way down to 100% orange-free Tang. Hey, kids, just because the astronauts drink it . .
At Your Fingertips: Sugar and Spice (color, 1975)
Beautiful, pure, crystalline sugar, so very seductive. This colorful crafting film encourages kids of all ages to fashion it into festive Easter eggs, Christmas ornaments and even “paintings”. But don’t worry about waste. This film features a lovely Bacchanalian scenes of the moppets actually eating their creations.
Artistry In Sugar (Color, 1970s)
Sugar artist, Eric Sagar really takes the cake and transforms it into a basket of buttercream flowers. Sagar studied under the master confectioners Britain and even worked on a royal wedding cake or two, but we get more than a peek at a master. The film’s intro states, “Every object featured in this picture is the product of sugar craftsmanship.” Yes, Willie Wonka fans, you CAN even eat his dishes: Among the spectacles step-by-step crafting of an edible Wedgewood plate.
Scheming Schemers (b&w, 1956) (excerpt)
The Three Stooges are bumbling plumbers on a call to a swanky mansion and soon every pipe and wire in the place is crossed. And of all nights - the arty set is coming over for the grand unveiling of a newly acquired masterpiece and, you know, some pastry. One of the guests has sticky fingers even before the pie starts flying. Can Moe, Larry and Shemp save the day?
Plus! For the Early Arrivals!
Candy Town (b&w,1934)
Two love struck felines on a nighttime boat ride take a detour to the moon which is
made of massive candies, cakes and ice cream.
Tommy’s Healthy Teeth (b&w, 1950)
Tommy has some very good eating and dental care habits and he’s just one surreal
dental visit away from becoming an impossible bore about it.
About the Curator
Lynn Cursaro is a local film blogger. Over the past two decades, she has worked in research and administrative positions a variety of Bay Area film organizations.
