ART AND INFLUENCE AS CROSS-CULTURAL EPHEMERA

The Key Players...

Brad Pitt (actor): He's HUGE in Japan.

Wes Anderson (director): The quintessential new-school cool auteur's TV spots have been in high demand ever since his innovative 2006 AmEx short.

SoftBank (producer): The Japanese cellphone company has boatloads of money and doesn't mind spending it on commercials (they've worked with Brad Pitt before, in addition to other megastars like David Beckham).

Jacques Tati (inspiration): The ad is a remake of a scene from the 1953 Jacques Tati film M. Hulot's Holiday, which introduced the seminal French comedic personage Monsieur Hulot. Somewhat akin to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, Hulot has also been cited as a key influence for Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean.

France Gall (sound design): The 60's Franco-pop chanteuse's "Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son" serves as the advert's soundtrack. Serge Gainsbourg wrote the song, but it's been covered by many including Belle & Sebastian and Arcade Fire.


Why Copyright is Relevant: In Lessig's Free Culture, he invokes the notion of film sampling. More specifically, he speaks of a reported Mike Myers/Steven Spielberg project in which the man behind Austin Powers was going to be digitally reinserted into classic films to "allow audiences to see old films in a new light."  This venture never came to fruition, possibly due to copyright barriers.  Anyhow, the sampling of film styles is nothing new, as homage is considered one of the highest forms of flattery and outright remakes are commonplace.

In regards to the SoftBank commercial, the reference to Tati will probably boost his film sales and all parties will be satisfied, but the Internet seems to present a number of unforeseen issues.  When a clip was uploaded to YouTube, it was quickly removed due to a claim of infringement, and now the only version on that website is completely in Japanese.  I'm not familiar with the country's copyright laws, but they may have something to do with all this.

Furthermore, Wes Anderson has taken liberal influence from a number of other filmmakers to develop a style that is distinctly his own.

There's quite a bit to unpack here, but it's a lovely gem of a video.