Meaning of Style by Phil Collins

Meaning of style is a unique experience in many ways. Originally commissioned by the 2011 Singapore Biennale, the film is experimental British filmmaker Phil Collins´s view on the relationship between East and West. In order to explore the theme he traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he discovered an entire subculture of Skin Heads, very much like those found in many suburbs of Great Britain in the 1970´s.

Far from the stereotype of the skin heads we find today in Europe, this group is loyal to the original skin head movement, born out of the rise of Caribbean and Ska culture in the XXth century.

Using a sequence of slow motion panning shots and a dream like soundtrack the characters are shown as fully embracing western culture. They read western publications, such as Melody Maker and the Radio Times, they listen to western music, they dress in western clothes and they fight among each other just like western youth.

In many ways Meaning of Style is an abstract portrait of two worlds coexisting in relative harmony. Throughout the film East Asian symbolism is repeatedly persistent, with butterflies and Buddhist swastikas forming the setting, while western habits are all too dominant

Above all this piece stands out for its brilliant conjugation of simplicity and visual beauty taking the audience into an artist vision of two worlds colliding.

by Fernando Vasquez