by 
Out of context, Population: 1 may well come off as an overly esoteric and artsy diatribe about not much in particular. Viewed in the correct context, however, Population: 1 is representative of so much more than the sum of its parts. Staring Tomata du Plenty of the ground-breaking techo-punk band The Screamers, this musical mash up from Dutch director Rene Daalder (Massacre at Central High) has a timeless feel to it, while simultaneously not seeming to fit into any one period of time, either esthetically or thematically.
Prescient in it’s use of video and digital special effects, which were to become staples of MTV programming a couple of years later, Population: 1 tells the “story” (in the loosest sense of the term) of the last man on earth (du Plenty) spending his days in a bomb shelter. There he reminisces of the former greatness of the American empire, offering a revision of history in which fellow punk Sheela Edwards frequently plays a starring role (in one instance as a USO entertainer, in another inexplicably as a “jazz vampire”).
But the plot is far from being important. Essentially a collage of other unfinished projects and live concert footage of du Plenty and co., Population: 1 is significant if only because it represents a coalescence of counter culture – the center of a web of inherently original and creative people. To illustrate this point, this film features such notables as Vampira (whose career du Plenty revived after she was discovered living a destitute life in a paring lot), famous Fluxus artist and grandfather to Beck, Al Hansen, and Beck himself in a brief cameo at the tender age of 12.
For those unfamiliar with the work of Tomata dy Plenty, this two disc set acts as a great primer. Straddling the line between camp and sincere artistic expression, du Plenty was a veritable pop culture force who supposedly had a major influence on David Byrn, Iggy Pop and the Dead Kennedys among others. Ironically, there are no official recordings of The Screamers available as they refused any record contacts offered to them. Abandoning his music career in the 80s, du Plenty would focus almost exclusively on painting outsider-like portraits of his many musical influences over the years. Many of these painting are seen in a feature about du Plenty’s artwork.
Frankly, what’s more entertaining than the feature itself (which runs just shy of an hour) is the lengthy interview with Daalder on the extras-packed second disc of this newly released DVD. Sparing few details, Daalder lets loose with the warped and twisted tale of how Population: 1 came to be, a tale including such characters as king of camp Russ Meyer, film critic Roger Ebert, the Sex Pistols, the guy who played Lurch in the Addams family, and current pioneers of cinematography Jan De Bont (Speed) Bill Pope (The Matrix trilogy) and Oliver Wood (the Bourne trilogy).
It’s quite fascinating to have a record of this time and place where the paths of so many varying talents seemed to converge – where the old school and the new school collided resulting in an unparalleled work of raw expression.
Also featured on the DVD are several features about the supporting players surrounding Population: 1. Excerpts from the documentary Vampira: The Movie offer amazing sound bites from the octogenarian scream queen as she casually mentions her relationship with Tony Perkins and how she was both the inspiration for Bewitched and, strangely enough, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
We’re also given some rare footage of Al Hansen, who along with being a life-long outsider artist also “managed” The Screamers and would later become the artistic inspiration for his much better known grandson. Never truly receiving recognition beyond a cult following, his daughter (Beck’s mom) talks about the difficulties of having her father’s itinerant life style imposed on her as a child.
My personal favorite feature from disc two, however, was the short film Je Maintiendrai in Hollywood, Rene Daalder’s mocumentary about life in Hollywood in the late 70s. Completely absurd and often insanely funny, Daalder portrays himself as an egomaniacal and inept director working on a lurid feature about forbidden love in the time of slavery. While the piece is really just a 25 minute joke done for the benefit of his native country (who, as it turns out, didn’t get the piece and actually wrote Daalder off as a loser), it nevertheless does give an insight into the bizarre culture which was itself largely responsible for inspiring the work of du Plenty and everyone else in this twisted tale.
Screenshots:
