Ok, here is my Thoughtful Response to 200 Motels

This came from a previous post, where the original poster said the film sucked and gave no real reasons for his/her/its opinion. This was my response. He/she/it never acknowledged any of my ideas and promptly deleted his/her/its messages. Whatta lop.

Any way, any thoughts would be nice.

lets discuss "the Orchestra Question." This is off the top of my head. All quotations are really paraphrases.

Zappa puts the orchestra in a concentration camp, which for me is a commentary on the state of classical music. Zappa felt most symphonies were the equivalent to bar bands playing cover tunes. (I got this from a Zappa interview in one of my books. If you need to know where it came from, I can find it for you.) The symphony members show up, review Beethoven’s ninth, the conductor waves his wand and the old blue hair patrons swoon in ecstasy. No real creative work goes on in these symphonies just rehashes/repetitions of the past. They repeat what was once revolutionary. I believe Zappa does not believe repetition equates creativity. So the concentration camp, in one reading, is imprisonment self-imposed by the symphonies that accept funds to exist then are trapped into playing/repeating the classical greatest hits. Foundation funded classical music is a concentration camp killing creativity. It is the death of new music.

Of course, they need to play the classical pop hits to sell tickets and gain donations. These symphonies are guided by the search for money to keep playing. A snake eating its tail, if you will. If they play new works, they won't please the money holders and they may not continue with their financial contributions. So the concentration camp becomes a symbol of capitalism and how the search for money can lead to death of creativity. Irony is that Ringo Starr gives "the Orchestra Question" speech. Of course rock and roll and pop music operate the same way. Bands need to create music that repeats what is currently hip in order to appeal to the masses. This way they can make a profit. Very few pop hits are completely revolutionary. They exist but are far and few. The Beatles started out in a self-imposed concentration camp of 50s American rock and roll and blues, but some of thier work is revolutionary and popular, I suppose. "The Orchestra Question" creates a symbolic comparison of symphonies to rock and roll bands and how the creativity of each form is killed thru capitalistism and repetition.

Also in the animated sequence, Jeff Simmons (played by Martin Lickert) bailed the band because he was tired of playing "Zappa's comedy music, while Zappa eats." "Comedy music", for me, is Zappa's creative music, music that doesn't merely repeat forms, but combines forms to create something new and maybe not so pleasant to the population at large, so all the audiecne can do is laugh awkwardly. Simmons caves in to the capitalistic pressure (or better yet, caves in to the pressure to "eat") and plans to join popular money making bands of the time, such as "Grand Funk, Black Sabbath, and Coven." Note two of these bands are nearly forgotten today and the other plays greatest hits tours.

Throughout his life, Zappa has been screwed by music unions, especially when working with symphonies. I won't go into all this, but read the Real Frank Zappa book for more info. By putting the symphony in a concentration camp Zappa is killing off the symphonies and union members who have made it very difficult for him to get his classical pieces performed. A symbolic act of revenge for past and future transgressons. During the last song "Strictly Genteel" we even catch a glimpse of a cello player packing up while the music continues, a perfect example of how difficult it was to get people to dedicate themselves to Zappa's complex and demanding work. Another thought: Maybe it is only through the concentration camp's totalitarian control can workers/symphonies be impelled to play this music? Another irony, Zappa built the concentration camp. He put the symphony in it, which makes him symbolically the Nazi in complete control. At the end in "Strictly Genteel," Kaylan says the "guy over there off camera is making me do all this stuff." This is then intercut with flashes of Zappa's eye. The eye of god, the creator? Of course, how can Kaylan complain since 1) He is only repeating what Zappa tape recorded him doing during the last tour and 2) He is being paid to do this stuff.

Keep in mind all of the above criticism can be levied at Zappa himself. Zappa is self-aware and sees his own contradictions, thereby ridiculing himself.

As you can see, as you start to investigate one idea in the film, it splits off to other ideas as you discover the many interconnections between the motifs. A good Zappaphile, then, can start making connections to things that happen not only in the film but in works both prior to and following "200 Motels".

I didn't dash this off as an essay. It is unorganized and full of clunky sentences (as is "200 Motels"), but I think the ideas are evident.

I did a bit of work here for YOU.
Can you add to the discussion or will you just repeat it "sucks"?
That's a friendly challenge, by the way.










Dictated, but not read.