Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023): The Commodification of Art
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
Film as a medium is meant to orchestrate something larger, whether to allude to real-world issues or to instill within the viewer something that will stay with them long after the credits roll. The medium as a whole is meant to take the deeply dramatic feelings of the characters, ones implausible within the confines of our reality, and compose them within a narrative as if they were so; film within itself is a form of absurdist art. With that said, a film I recently watched, Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023), directed and written by Cory Finley and released earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival—embodies this view to a tee.
The implications of the vague statement listed above must be prefaced by the narrative within Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023). This story follows the aspiring teen, Adam Campbell, as he tries to navigate through a world recently merged with that of the “Vuvv,” a superior alien race that has come to intervene in all facets of human activity, seeing their ways as unsustainable and needing change. Their change comes swiftly, and completely reforms society: they stopped the consumption of Earth-based organisms in favor of synthetic products, digitized all education systems, and rid millions of jobs from the market. These beings have made life on the surface of Earth that of poverty, migrating all the wealthy and powerful to floating cities, and creating a situation where millions are desperate to find a way to support themselves, leading many to extort themselves and their emotions for just a bit of money.
Everything expressed within this film is absurd and dystopian, meant to hyperbolically show the reality of our society under capitalism. The Vuvv aren’t illustrated as being godlike figures. Instead, they represent wealthy individuals who view themselves as superior to the average person; paying and extorting them to do their bidding while they sit by and enjoy the show. It is even to the point where the Vuvv pays to sit in on people performing acts of love—kissing and being passionate, not you know what (but they probably do that too)—paying people to wear cameras with their partner. It all acts as pseudo-reality television; the Vuvv views love and all human emotions as something “exotic,” something worth investing money into because they cannot experience anything close themselves.
When it comes to art specifically, the Vuvv view it as the best of all commodities, better than any emotion could ever aspire to be, it is the true culmination of all emotions. In the film, Adam, an artist who creates pieces from the heart, is the conduit to illustrate this; the Vuvv take notice of his work and buy it from the young man, providing him a paycheck that can support his family’s wants and needs with the condition he give up the rights to his work. Due to this, Adam’s art becomes tainted—wiped clean of all evocative meaning and replaced by a shallow reinterpretation of consumer products that the Vuvv enjoy alongside positive imagery. Raw, compelling art is torn apart and reconfigured into a corporate mockery meant to push across messages centric to the corporation.
Art is not meant to convey the mundane, but rather an individual’s powerful, true, and natural feelings. Even with that said, as the power and stake of corporations rise within daily life, it becomes impossible to avoid direct corporate influence on all facets of life. The film industry has a history of this, letting, for example, the Army dictate filmic messages. It even shines through today in companies like Disney, who push away from original storytelling in favor of corporate messaging they know will sell. True art has been permanently tainted by the ever-present rise of corporations within the medium, trading what was once an avenue for freedom of expression for one heavily bogged down by mundane, over-saturated corporate products.
The story of Adam Campbell is one that directly reflects that of an artist within modern times: one who struggles to support or fend for themselves in a world that becomes increasingly divided due to an ever-growing wealth gap; who has to choose between what he loves and being able to support himself long term. Instead of originality, “sticking to the script” is aggressively pushed across as the norm and what should be followed for the sake of profit. This is a message that cannot be taken lightly, carrying with it implications for all forms of art. Art is being reworked, amalgamated from its authentic roots, and reformed into a lifeless husk for capitalist motives.
The film medium isn’t meant to convey these lifeless, repetitive plots; rather, it shows a deeper, prolific truth hidden right in front of us. We all must strike back from the script and embrace the true absurdism within our art because, without it, it will become nothing more than a by-product of corporate propaganda. Be bold and be the creative person you know you are at heart, without fear of our corporate overlords.