In the past few years, very few films have generated as much controversy as Ari Aster’s short film The Strange Thing About The Johnsons. In only 29 minutes, the shocking and taboo movie that also served as Ari Aster’s final film for the American Film Institute’s graduate program, AFI Conservatory, absolutely stunned the world of cinema.
While the Hereditary and midsommar director of the film is an ethnically Jewish male, the director’s breakthrough screenplay The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is a comedy that stars Billy Mayo, Brandon Greenhouse, and Angela Bullock as a Black family who is caught in web predators and insects. The film was one that Aster started considering after a discussion about taboos with colleagues before his debut semester at AFI.
The Strange The Strange About the Johnsons is about Sidney Johnson (Mayo), an internationally acclaimed poet. He suffered years of sexual assault at the hands of his son Isaiah (Greenhouse). When the mother of Isaiah, Joan (Bullock), finds out that Isaiah is abusing Sidney, the older man strays from his autobiography Cocoon Man: Confessions by Sidney Johnson under his wife’s bed to reveal to her all the things that have been happening.
The Most Strange Thing About The Johnsons The Johnsons: Sexual Abuse It’s Seen For The Horror It’s
The brutal, terrifying sexual assault makes a man an endless swarm of fear (sound design perfectly conveys this) as his most trusted friend is silent, generally unprepared to face the situation, but often unwilling even to consider. The clever set-up of Aster establishes his character and the tensions they face beginning in the movie with a style that enthralls and astonishes viewers yet keeps them engaged. For a film of this length, no frame or line seems inappropriate, demonstrating the strengths of a filmmaker in his nascent artistic stage.
Performances by Billy Mayo, Brandon Greenhouse, and Angela Bullock are grounded in real-world realism. It is impossible to choose the best. Each character is awash in shame, fear, and hurt, especially for Mayo and Bullock’s terrifying trauma. Bullock’s character reveals the entire character arc of her character, and for the bulk of the film, she is in silence, sitting at a distance. Through her, the film demonstrates the extent to which people are shocked and how they cannot change beyond a certain point. As she burns witness to the violence, she erases the last plea for help from the voice that had been silenced for years.
Silence and Sound
The film communicates a lot thanks to its fantastic sound design. It portrays brutal, horrifying violence without any physical scene that uses audio. Sidney is always in worry about his son. Hearing Isaiah’s footsteps while Sidney writes his memoir makes one feel dreadful. Two significant instances of sexual violence at the marriage and the second in the bathroom are preceded by the excellent glass breaking. It creates a sense of fear and symbolizes the illusion of normality and respectability being shattered.
There’s a third-person whose perspective we see in both of these scenes. The mother of Isaiah is Joan (Angela Bullock). In the course of her wedding ceremony, she makes in a sea of bright pastels while searching at her husband and son. The music stops as the glass shatters, and she discovers Isaiah molested Sidney. She is horrified, and the next horrifying turn comes in. She wipes away her tears and then puts on a smile and leaves. Then, when Isaiah slams Sidney inside the bathroom, his incident is revealed through Sidney’s screams. The play images depict Joan listening to the sound and then increasing the television volume to block them out.
You are looking for a place to watch. Where can you watch Strange Thing About The Johnsons? Here’s the location where Ari Aster’s short film is available to stream on the internet.
A variety of filmmakers came out in the decade of 2010 as well as the genre of horror has given birth to several who are now considered masters of their art.
We have artists like Robert Eggers, Jordan Peele, and, obviously, Ari Aster.
This 34-year old American director has made waves since his first feature was directed by director Hereditary back in 2018, and his sophomore film Midsommar proved it wasn’t an unplanned event.
The public is eager to know what he’s planning to unveil shortly, but before that is an excellent time to look at his work before Hereditary.
For more information and assistance, visit the following websites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strange_Thing_About_the_Johnsons
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772398/
https://shadowandact.com/what-is-the-strange-thing-about-the-johnsons-really-about
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheStrangeThingAboutTheJohnsons
https://www.indieshortsmag.com/reviews/2021/01/the-strange-thing-about-the-johnsons-sexual-abuse-seen-for-the-horror-it-is/
https://flickside.com/the-strange-thing-about-the-johnsons/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpCdMrj-8ig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57emULelcpY
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-strange-thing-about-the-johnsons/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seqaKKsrNm4