Hype!
Doug Pray:
Hype! (USA, 1996)
84 min. - English
True to the title, Hype! tells about the unbelievable large phenomenon that grunge evolved into in the early 1990s following the worldwide success of Nirvana and other groups, such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. The hype around grunge was largely created by the media: the Seattle area groups themselves didn’t want to represent a unified genre or bandwagon of any kind. When the mainstream media and big record companies fixed their eyes on the city, the local musicians saw an opportunity to fool the business, pulling it on a leash. After seeing Doug Pray’s documentary Hype!, you’ll never again believe anything the mainstream media wrote about grunge.
Wrapped in 1996, Hype! was made exactly at the right time. The biggest fuss around Seattle had already calmed down, but the most remarkable personalities were still visible in the city. The documentary features interviews from giants like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, but also from the bands that sold less, record label representatives and the music professionals that experienced grunge. For Nirvana fans the documentary features the first live performance of the classic, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Hype! is an interesting period piece and a wonderful depiction of the birth of a musical genre. Seeing the film makes you understand the mechanism that harnesses the underground for the benefit of the market forces. The saddest contradiction is that the people originally behind the hype are the very same ones that ended up loathing the monster they created.
See also:
» Sacha Gervasi: Anvil! The Story of Anvil
» Matti Penttilä: Fire Inside - erään yhtyeen tarina
» Emmett Malloy: The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights
» Sacha Gervasi: Anvil! The Story of Anvil
» Matti Penttilä: Fire Inside - erään yhtyeen tarina
» Emmett Malloy: The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights
Wed 17th Nov at 6:00pm at Tapio 4
Thu 18th Nov at 2:00pm at Tapio 4
