What Manner of Person Art Thou? Review
By Mary Collins
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Exhibition ends March 15
The film follows two zealous Puritans, the violent, visionary, and blue-haired Elijah Yoder and the closeted, humble, and red-headed Enoch Troyer, on a journey through modern America. The villages of Yoder and Troyer have been destroyed by a grain fungus similar to the one that may have precipitated the Salem witch trials. The epidemic of madness wipes out the communities of Yoder and Troyer, until only the main characters have survived. Elijah Yoder and Enoch Troyer are the only survivors, but it’s not clear whether they have escaped without going mad themselves.
Yoder and Troyer go in search of other Yoders and Troyers, righteous relatives who may have been enveloped by “fallen” society. However, Yoder and Troyer encounter the Seven Deadly Sins, in seven encounters with modern folk who have replaced older worship with newer obsessions: Dungeons and Dragons, Scientology, reality television, fan-fiction culture, academia, eating disorders, as well as other false idols.
The film is frightening, insightful, and funny. Yoder and Troyer react with confusion and violence, and every sentence is a reference to God. Their conversations with narcissistic 21st-century Americans is hilarious and strange. The animation uses flat body forms inspired by the medieval Bayeux Tapestry, combined with psychedelic colors and images of insects, fish, angels, and monsters. It is definitely a must-see film!
Entrance is free with your BruinCard. Catch it before it’s gone!
For showing times and other information, visit the Hammer Museum website: