At Cannes the opening speaker of Saatchi and Saatchi’s 2013 New Directors’ Showcase was Great British evolutionary biologist, Professor Richard Dawkins.
Never afraid to be the provocateur Dawkins is hated, with vitriol, by many of the same people who oppose gay marriage, for his publicly expressed sentiment regarding a belief in God. Regardless of whether you’re bothered about his joyous banging of the atheist drum I rank The Selfish Gene as possibly my all-time favourite popular science book.
At the 5-minute mark of Dawkins’ NDS intro, the ensuing new-media-nightmare-trip – designed to illustrate the idea that the spreading and transformation of internet memes is analogous to (and even an extension of) evolution by genetic mutation – doesn’t really do justice to the memic beauty that flowed from Antoine Dodson’s brilliant Hide Yo Kids, Bedroom Intruder, news segment (this all ties in with the theme of the showcase this year). But, the floating Dawkins head, the Mars Attacks brain graphics and Dawkins electric recorder performance is well worth checking out.
http://youtu.be/GFn-ixX9edgBesides all that, Peter Brings the Shadow to Life by friend-of-the-bird Joe Pease ended up being featured in the showcase. He shot it on his telephone, during various afternoons and evenings between November ‘11 and Summer ’12. That it’s been included in the reel is a wonderful, encouraging, positive, turn of events for the oftentimes persecuted young warehouse manager.
Well that was super interesting and trippy, it would have been epic to see in person! What a boss Dawkins is.