Kanye West's new 34-minute film Runaway has been burning up the Internet thanks to the star turn of former Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks, who may or may not represent Kanye's career and who spends the entire flick wearing nothing but feathers pasted all over her anatomy. Love the boob plumage or hate it—as Gawker's Adrien Chen notes, the video "will seem genius to people who think Kanye West is a genius, and stupid to people who think Kanye West is stupid"—the rapper/director deserves credit for infusing Runaway with a rich and eclectic cinematic heritage.
Kanye has a track record of looking to unexpected sources for inspiration, and Dave Bry at The Awl points out Kanye's directorial nods to ten films, from that weird David Bowie movie The Man Who Fell to Earth to Twilight to The Firm. Our favorite? Campy classic Clash of the Titans.Symbolism is a literary technique where you put a giant inflatable bust of Michael Jackson in a music video. #kanyewestlessons
Adrian Chen
Adrianchen
that's the longest tofurkey ad i've ever seen #runaway #kanye
Sasha Frere-Jones
sfj
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments
or send an email to the author at
ereeve at theatlantic dot com.
You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Elspeth Reeve
User Comments
Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register