The first time I saw pink flamingos is still fresh in my memory. It was during my first year as a Bachelor and I couldn’t care less about pink stuff I actually relished the opportunity to assume the role of “that nasty b*tch” who despises popular culture. For this reason, I remember I felt able to empathize with Javier Polo Ganda’s The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo, as why his protagonist’s character. He (Rigo Pex, who acts as himself) is the one type of intelligent family outcast that every family needs, and his wardrobe always consists of all black clothing. He happens to be a sound engineer turned deejay, and this is how the story goes; how he became permanently affixed to the dominant symbol of Pop pink flamingos.
There’s no argument when it comes to the unique beauty of flamingos. Yet, at the same time, there is something frightening about the faux Warhol-sequel mirrors that seem to encase the birds surrounding the pink-feathered ones. Every little thing one wishes to purchase comes in the shape of a flamingo. They are everywhere, and wearyingly, do little to quench the thirst for loveliness associated with these birds. But, this does warrant an explanation. This is what makes the hero of ‘The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo’ travel far and wide to meet the most prominent people in the world of art and kitsch such as filmmaker John Waters (Pink Flamingos, 1972), the world famous drag queen divine and His Irreverent Pinkness – Eduardo Casanova. Rigor aims to deeply examine the nature of pink flamingos and delve into one of the great questions of society’s obsession with these birds.
Wherever you go, there are flamingos! Their gracefulness is simply impossible to elude. By blending Ikea-designed plastic fantasies with surrealistic dialogue and pseudo-documentary captures, Gandia’s meticulous filmmaking provides reality with a comedic twist. The film, ‘The Mystery Of The Pink Flamingo’ does not fail to start debates on the intense love that surrounds flamingos which is absurd. There are real issues being tackled, and there is actual courage put into the madness of the venture. Did you know that the knees of flamingos bend backwards? Now tell me, how cute would you think of flamingos if you focused on them for a moment? What actually do flamingos mean to humans? Why do we keep making copies of them? Can we use flamingos to figure out who we truly are?
In my opinion, somewhere between these two cultural critiques, there is an answer: what can we say about society through the lens of David Foster Wallace? Often, countless people flock towards the “sex appeal of the inorganic” as Mario Pernille named it.
An interpretation of the film has to be tried from Laura Mulvey’s perspective too, but to be just, I do not feel like undertaking it, and I do not think that The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo warrants such attention anyway.
As a result, I do not believe there is a message in The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo that we ought to understand. This film is without a doubt much more than a documentary or a collection of interviews. Gandia’s work is an objective portrayal of cultural fascinations of Peru or, as Perniola puts it, the next thing that will engulf us in its silence. Our future promises to be marvelous, and in order to reach it, allowing ourselves to be obsessed with letting us become all flamingos is the first step on a very long journey. For now, we can relish in a uniquely styled and charming queer film piece, that brightens up an October night. And now please, I can notice another delivery of flamingo looking flower pots on my door step.
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