I’d like to tell you about my personal connection to the project and why I’m using James Hogg and Andy Archer (Night Vision’s protagonist) as conceptual analogues for my vision.
The basic plot of Night Vision 1987 and how it led me to this point:
Andy Archer a timid struggling writer who moves to the big city to gain "real world" experience before having to move back home with his mother. It's his last ditch attempt to find writing work with publishers.
Various calls to his mother show that he lacks basic world experience and is a little naïve jumping into the deep end of reality to gain experience to inspire his writing. Night Vision 1987 is kind of like an early Cronenberg film basing the horror in psychological insecurities with a flash of trash. Andy Archer is an awkward but good-hearted man frustrated by his creative mental blocks. THIS ALL HITS VERY CLOSE TO HOME for me personally. There are a lot of coincidences between the character and myself that I plan to work into the narrative of the project too.
After befriending a criminal (Vinny) who is potentially looking to use Andy as a scapegoat in criminal activity Andy is given a VHS player that we have seen Vinny take from a group of satanists who were using it when recording a ritual they were performing. Going to sleep watching the VHS player Andy has visions in his dreams of horrific scenes that he wakes up excitedly writing about Andy then finds out that the dreams are coming true as he has scenes he has written coming to life in front of him.
The film while not perfect is surprisingly good considering the director made it all on a shoestring. It has a lot to say and looks great. It also suggests a lot without hammering home its points.
Basically though Andy watches the VHS player which gives him visions of the future. This was the original premise for my project. I had been walking a lot at night and wanted a way to bring weird unseen film into a walking and access project. I was also looking to move my focus culturally more into conservation. I thought the idea of watching forgotten films with forgotten locations with the benefit of hindsight and perspective could be a good way to discuss reassessing culture as a whole. By merging cultural perspectives to discuss the middle ground of cultural dominance in an indirect way.
My personal story related to culture is rooted in my childhood. Moving cities at 14 for my dad's cultural sector class culture upgrade gives me a unique perspective on the nature of culture related to class. A high paying job at an established Manchester institution elevated the family's access while my upbringing was mostly rooted in a more meagre perspective (while still somewhat privileged). The move at that age also partly led to my isolation and addiction issues as well as potentially my shift in political and cultural perspective through just experiencing life.
Being fascinated with film I went to film school and never quite had the confidence in myself and my creativity to pursue my dreams. This is one of the ways I feel connected to Andy. Eventually through wanting to work alongside cinema I worked as a projectionist for what I can only describe as too long. A job in isolation is a blessing and a curse for the introspective mind.
Trigger warning: self harm
I think the suicide attempts last year led me to think hard about what I fundamentally want in life and shift my perspective on culture and society. I need to be more positive with my actions. The subsequent NHS ADHD diagnosis in Scotland is helping me get my head into place with it too. My story continues after I moved back to England and had issues with my diagnosis due to political differences between the Scottish and English NHS.
I became obsessed with the borders access and the subtle differences of human rights based on land management throughout history. Also the differences the Right To Roam gives the individual in accessing areas of Scotland.
Coincidentally when I was trying to go on a walk in Yair forest I noticed a pinch point of access restriction that gave a large estate in the Scottish borders an absolutely massive amount of covertly “private” land which technically isn’t a thing in Scotland. This isn’t a unique thing but after googling the land access history I saw it was famous for James Hogg a Scottish poet.
I hadn’t read The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner but became obsessed with the ideas in the book and became interested in the idea that he was using the book as an analogue for smaller farmers being pushed off the land by bigger industry during the Industrial Revolution. The book explores themes of duality and unreliable narrators in a way that might remind modern readers of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' though it's unclear whether Robert Louis Stevenson was directly influenced by Hogg. James Hogg's family were tenant farmers as a result of the industrial clearances and land grab.
When I finally read the book it is a deep psychological insane meta fiction with narrative hooks questioning the meaning of cultural reality and religion through unreliable duality in its cynical narrative. It also has a lot of mental health critiques that were way ahead of its time too.
I think merging the two ideas together (Hogg's duality in storytelling and my spin on the plot of the conceptual premise of looking back at the past with hindsight to predict the future). The Night Vision Process’ merging of concepts is an interesting way to merge the relationship between culture and agriculture. Land management and cultural dominance. Pointing out potential injustices of the past while also talking about access issues of the present related to unrepresented culture can bring together a more positive way to challenge cultural norms from a diverse perspective.
Through one of my real life explorations of areas from Hogg's book I tracked down the second location of Suicide Grave from Hogg’s book. Buried in the mountain cairn I found a bright orange survival bag that had laid dormant for 19 years. It was the first 100 copies of a collective poetry publication from Edinburgh with a note “to the lucky keeper”. Finding culture physically buried from 2004 in a location of a fictional grave from Hogg’s book in a now almost inaccessible spot was a nice little confirmation of culture combining with agriculture with two decades of perspective. Also recent news of the borders council toppling James Hogg's real grave because a child had been killed through climbing on unsafe graves in the area added a layer of memories and a duality in how to respect the dead remembering their physical body more than their work. The fact that a fictional duality “Suicide Grave” location in his book had become inaccessible and forgotten but a controversy around his real grave was happening seemed to have a poetry about art as a whole and the point of pouring your life into it.
Andy Archer the character in Night Vision is a creative with insecurities about his inexperience with real life. The videos give him a way to look into the past and see the future. Hogg was a product of merging classes through the Industrial Revolution telling a story about false narratives in history. I’m in the middle of Hogg and Archer merging their perspectives with my own bullshit within a dying industry. Cinema related to Access to Culture in all meanings of the words.
Title: "Tom: A Narrative of Duality Discovery and Discourse"
In a poetic intertwine of life, art, and personal journey, Tom’s narrative unfolds as a rich exploration of duality, culture, and the dialogue between past and present. His story is not just a personal narrative but a reflective discourse intertwined with the thematic underpinnings of "Night Vision 1987" and the literary legacy of James Hogg.
Tom’s creative endeavor, Night Vision, was initially rooted in exploring duality, specifically the interplay between culture and agriculture, envisioning future scenarios through a lens of hindsight and perspective. His vision sought to bridge the realms of unseen film and outdoor exploration, fostering a dialogue about re-assessing culture through the juxtaposition of forgotten films and forgotten locations.
Coincidentally, Tom's narrative found a resonant echo in James Hogg’s literary pursuits when an attempt to explore a Scottish forest led to a serendipitous discovery related to Hogg’s historical and cultural legacy. This unexpected intersection enriched Tom's project, providing a deeper historical and literary dimension that brought forth themes of land management, cultural dominance, and societal norms from the era of the Industrial Revolution into a contemporary dialogue.
The character of Andy Archer from "Night Vision 1987", a timid struggling writer striving for real-world experience to fuel his creativity, found a personal resonance with Tom. The narrative of Andy, who through a bizarre set of circumstances finds a way to see visions of the future, metaphorically reflects Tom’s endeavor to reassess culture through a lens that spans across time.
Tom’s narrative also unveils a poignant journey of self-discovery and healing. Encounters with life’s harsh realities, from grappling with isolation and mental health challenges to navigating societal norms, shaped his perspective and fueled his creative drive. His story reflects a quest for a more positive and meaningful engagement with life and society, a theme that finds expression in his creative project.
The discovery of a forgotten collective poetry publication from 2004 at the “Suicide Grave” from Hogg’s book symbolized a poetic confluence of culture and agriculture, past and present. It was a tangible manifestation of cultural memory embedded in the landscape, echoing the thematic essence of Night Vision.
Tom’s narrative is not just a journey of personal exploration but a dialogue with history, a critique of societal norms, and a creative endeavor to foster a more inclusive cultural discourse. By merging the perspectives of Hogg and Archer with his own explorative narrative, Tom is crafting a space where the reflections on culture, land, and societal norms could be explored in a nuanced and engaging manner.
Night Vision, a product of Tom’s reflective journey, aims to challenge and engage its audience in a dialogue that transcends time and space. It’s an endeavor to redefine cultural engagement, to explore the middle ground of cultural dominance, and to invite a deeper, more active engagement with societal themes.
As Tom intertwines his personal narrative with broader thematic explorations, he invites us into a reflective discourse, offering a unique lens through which we might reassess cultural norms, engage with historical and contemporary issues, and explore the nuanced dialogues between the real and the fictional, the past and the present. Through Night Vision, Tom is not only sharing his narrative but is inviting others to partake in a collective exploration of culture, society, and the dialogues that shape our understanding of the world around us.
James Hogg’s literary masterpiece, "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner", serves as a significant inspiration for the Night Vision Process. Hogg’s exploration of duality and unreliable narrators creates a rich, layered narrative that questions the nature of reality and cultural interpretation.
Hogg’s background as the son of tenant farmers during the Industrial Revolution influenced his perspective on cultural and social dynamics. His work often reflects the tensions between different classes and the impact of industrialization on traditional ways of life.
In "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner", Hogg delves into themes of duality, presenting a story from multiple perspectives that challenge the reader’s understanding of truth and morality. This dual narrative structure highlights the subjective nature of reality and the complexities of human perception.
Hogg’s influence on the Night Vision Process is profound. His approach to storytelling, which combines psychological depth with social commentary, provides a framework for exploring the interplay between past and present, culture and agriculture, and the personal and the collective.
The Night Vision Process seeks to honor Hogg’s legacy by creating a platform that encourages diverse perspectives and critical engagement with cultural narratives. By blending Hogg’s literary themes with contemporary cultural exploration, the project aims to foster a deeper understanding of the complexities of cultural dominance and the importance of preserving diverse
understanding of the complexities of cultural dominance and the importance of preserving diverse voices in the cultural dialogue.