Anomaly #2, or why JMM calls it "Black Loan"

Check it out!

Kerry snags an owl in the women's bathroom of Otherlands coffee! Great oogly-boogly! That's the way to do it! I'da never found it, at peril of criminal violation. There's lotsa reasons why folk could stand to be more like Kerry, but this is one of 'em. If you see an owl, send me a pic, or let me know about it! I'm on the hunt to track as many down as I can.

And check out Kerry's blog (http://ilovememphisblog.com/,) while you're at it. Come for the breakfast brackets, stay for the trenchant and dynamic Memphis commentary. It'll do ya good.

Today I want to approach another conspicuous element in the Black Lodge dossier that seperates them from not only chains like Blockbuster (well, duh..) but also from many ("many" being pretty relative, here,) independents.

When was the last time you paid your late fee at Black Lodge? If you're like me, it's probably been awhile. And not just because they're doin' me a solid because I'm making a documentary about them. It's always been like that, from the first time I rented there.

Which is kinda crazy, isn't it? When I think about the amount of money for late returns that they haven't collected - accrued over almost ten years of operation - good grief! That's a decent coupla two three simoleons, right?

Matt and Bryan both say, though, that they're kind of sympathetic to the pathologically-late customer. They can identify with it, and as Matt says, "Why would I penalize someone for doing something that I'd do myself?" Which is pretty cool.

Also, (and, who's with me on this) how many of you folk have a couple of video stores around town that you have to avoid because you have a late fee? I mean, the late fee drives business away from the store, see? So, in a way, it's also smart business to get the customer out from under that black cloud, and back into the store.

Is it worth the sacrifice of the potential revenue stream from late fees? Does it even out? That's a good question, and one I hope to talk to Lodge staff about. I think, though, it makes the place feel a little more comfortable, and a little more personal.

I dunno...why do you think they do it like that? Is it mad? Or, maybe your experience is different from mine. Have you gotten jilted by Black Lodge for some reason or other, along these lines? As always, please, please let me know what you think, or what you'd like to talk about in re: Lodge.

Have a great weekend!

Anomaly #1

Hey, folks. Sorry I've been a little lazy on the updates, but these term papers and presentations aren't gonna finish themselves, y'know. What, do you think I've got nothing else to do but hang around and talk about Black Lodge?

New stuff to report, though - just sent away for 100 mini-DV tapes for $215.00. That's $2.15 a tape, people! Cheap! Give it up for http://www.tapestockonline.com/! And, I gotta give credit where credit is due - mucho gracias to Jason Scott for tipping me off to the special. Jason Scott, by the way, is almost painfully cool. Go see how cool by visiting him at http://www.textfiles.com/.

He is, among other things, a fellow documentary filmmaker, and (especially if you're into all things computer) has an excellent documentary on the old BBS systems that proliferated in the eighties before the internet, as we know it, came to be. He's also embarking on a project about independently run video stores, so, natch, we clicked pretty well. I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude, not only for the cheap tapes heads-up, but also because this guy, who barely knows me from Adam, is letting me borrow his camera so I can have a second camera for the Black Lodge shoot! Awesome!!

I need to get one more shout out before I talk Lodge, and that is to Memphis Connect, which you can find by going here: http://www.memphisconnect.com/. They've been good enough to retweet my blog on twitter, which will hopefully drive some business over to this here collection of ramblings. Not only that, but they've offered to possibly do a short Q&A which might go up on their site. Holy moley! So, go check out their site for all things Memphis: they're the bomb!

So, back to the issue at hand. I am continuing to prepare for embedment at Black Lodge. Looks like I'll be coming in somewhere between December 8th and December 14th, and starting the shoot. Come down and say "hello!" Or, say "hello" here! Just say it - it's gettin' lonely on this page.

There's a common theme when I talk to folk about Lodge - I'd say 20-30% of them, the first thing they notice or comment on is the fact that you run smack dab into the (diverse and spacious) porn section upon entering Lodge's front door. I mean, you can't avoid it. Some folk are turned off by it, some think it's funny. I've talked with Matt and Bryan about it and - while it's definitely part of the grand Black Lodge scheme - they are (typically) a little evasive about the reasoning behind it.

Matt says that one reason for it is to bring the largely threatening (for most folk) topic of human sexuality out into the open. Everyone's having sex (or wishing they were having sex,) most everyone is watching some kind of porn (yes, even your humble narrator,) but the going strategy is to place it in a creepy back room with lots of sinister security cams recording your every move. If Matt's theory is right, by moving it into the open (indeed, to the very front of the store,) there's a certain onus (yes onus, not onanism,) that is removed in the process.

Do you buy this?

I think what Matt has given me is a theory that came kind of after the fact. I mean, I kinda dig where he's coming from, but I also think there's a more confrontational psychology to having the porn so open and in-your-face, that probably was the first reason it is where it is. Look, I love Lodge, but they're kind of a misanthropic bunch (an aura that they gleefully cultivate.) I think there is a lot to be said for the porn being there because its a way of seperating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, customer-wise. The folk that are badly offended probably aren't the kind of folk that are interested in renting many Lynch/Jarmusch/Herzog/et. al films, anyway, right? Not that Lodge is all about arty films or arty directors, necessarily - just that their stock veers off the beaten path quite a bit.

The unknowing customer searching for Titanic (presuming, of course, that they can get past the spray-painted building with the creepy sign,) is presented straightaway with an environment that is about as candid as they come. And I think there's a certain relinquishment of control that goes along with that - another aspect of Lodge I hope to try to capture in the film. You (or I, or the customer,) are in their house. They have their own rules. You abide, or you leave. It's actually pretty freakin' honest, in my book.

Anyway - what do you think about why they do it? Am I completely off target? Let me know what you think!

-PB

Black Lodge 101

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

I took the day off and drove up to Kennett, Missouri to eat with the woman and her family. First time really hangin' out with her folks, and I managed not to appear too awful creepy. Which is good. I think more than anything they were probably curious as to why I was wandering around in socks (had to pull the woman's car out of a mudhole along the way, so I guess I figured it would be more anti-social to track mud in the house than to walk around in socks...) but nobody said a word.

Anyway, back to the fray. I thought that - seeing as how no-one has arrived here to talk with me about Black Lodge - I'd review the basics. Who I am, who they are, and what it is that I'm trying to do.

"Tucked back from the road on Cooper Avenue stands the unnerving sign for Black Lodge Video. For the uninitiated, the bloodstained letters coupled with the heavily spray-painted house behind it make entry seem, at best, a dicey proposition. Folks in the know, however, march right in to Black Lodge Video, a fiercely independent rental business that specializes in independent, foreign, classic, and genre films ranging from the wildly eclectic to the wholly obscure. Black Lodge Video is also the home of the owners/curators, Matt M., and Bryan H., friends and self-professed “cinephilejunkyfreaks,” who share a militant passion about film, film history, and aesthetic quality. Living the lives of film ascetics, Matt and Bryan have watched Black Lodge evolve into something of a community center since it opened in 2000. Who are the customers who identify with their vision? What is their vision? What is Black Lodge Video really all about?"

The above paragraph was the initial pitch I made to my professors at U of M to be able to do this project. My name is Patrick Buttram, I'm the filmmaker, and the Black Lodge documentary is my thesis project for my Master's degree. I'll be embedding myself at Black Lodge Video over the Christmas holidays and into the New Year. As in, sleeping on their couch, and sharing some living amenities with Chris Bratton, the guy who lives upstairs. And, hopefully, over the course of those thirty days or so I'll be capturing a LOT of footage.

The documentary has evolved a bit from when I first started working on it. I'm a lot more interested, now, in the community of individuals who make up the Black Lodge core - it's not just about movies, you know, a lot of folks are there because it's a place where they feel, more or less, normal and accepted. I also am interested in talking about the threat to Black Lodge (and other places like it,) that comes from services like RedBox and Netflix. These independent video stores are really up against it in the coming years. Matt Martin (co-owner of the store,) speaks pretty catastrophically about the coming years for Black Lodge, while Bryan Hogue (the other owner,) seems to be a little more optimistic.

So I'll be talking with Matt and Bryan and quite a few others (Coffin Joe, Farmer, Brooke, Chris Bratton, Patrick Halloran, local filmmakers and cinephiles, more and more as I find them.) This is where, hopefully, you come in. I've canvassed, posted flyers, and now I'm doing this blog to try and find folk that are interested in talking about Black Lodge. If you're out there and have a story to tell I would really love to hear it. This isn't necessarily a gloss piece, either, so if you've got some bad blood for Black Lodge, you'd find a willing ear for that too, here. Anything and everything you've got - I'll take it. Be advised, you may find yourself sitting in front of a camera and telling your story there, as well.

So, there are the basics. Read, think, respond! It's a collaborative age, people! I need your help.

Regards,

-PB

Black Lodge Memories #1

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Know Your Owl!

Okay, so, the woman was chatting with me about my most recent blog post, and began to advise me about a local antique dealer that keeps a lot of antique owls in stock. Which, is cool.

Not, however, the type of owl I'm looking for.

So, I figure I better spell this out. See the design in the picture up above? Not the circle part, but the diamond in the middle with wings? That's a Black Lodge owl. More specifically, its a Black Lodge owl tattoo, and even more specifically a Black Lodge owl tattoo worn by Farmer, a Lodger who you've probably seen working the desk if Matt or Hogue aren't around. These are what I'm looking for. I hear estimates that there are some 35-50 owl tattoos that are specifically Black Lodge Video inspired (interestingly, Matt tells me that he has had the experience of meeting someone with an owl that was a fan of the Twin Peaks television show before they ever heard of Black Lodge Video - how far out is that?)

I've talked with Hogue and Matt about this phenomenon...I mean, bars have regulars, restaurants have regulars, all stores have regulars, but not all stores have regulars who go get a tattoo of the store logo, right? I've gotten some interesting answers out of them and others as to why this happens. Some of them are kind of "Church of the Subgenius"-style answers: it's a cult that's anti-cultist. Others roll their eyes and say it's a fad that everyone will regret sooner or later.

Why do you think they do it? Or, if you have one, why did you do it? Even better still, are you thinking of getting one? What is that process like?

Finally, I wanna get down on a major "thank you" to Kerry Crawford, and her totally rockin' I Love Memphis blog. Go check out her stuff at http://ilovememphisblog.com. If it can be done in this town, Kerry's clearin' a path and goin' and doin' it. Food, music, culture, local product, local celebrity, local sport (Go MRD!) She's got it all, so go have a look-see.

Be good to one another,

-PB