After blowing our socks off with their dystopian thriller, The School Duel, Florida-based filmmaker Todd Wiseman Jr. is back with a new short, Six Stars. And like their feature film, the filmmaker is still expressing concern about the state of things in the "United States" of America and its youth, especially the males.
Of the many properties in popular media that have been at the center of controversy and concerns of parents and media advocates, the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise rises to the top of their lists with each new release. For nearly three decades (THREE!!!), fears have been ongoing about the game's excessive violence and criminality, the portrayal of women, racial stereotyping, and minority targeting. The 'Hot Coffee' scandal didn't help things either.
These have always been the vexations with GTA, so that made it a prime property and a backdrop for Wiseman Jr. to use to share his own worries about masculinity and a facet of U.S. culture that is sold and bought around the World. Entertaining and perturbing, it's a must-watch. Check it out, below.
SIX STARS is written, directed, and produced by Todd Wiseman Jr., whose dystopian thriller THE SCHOOL DUEL is arriving in American cinemas this year from Altered Innocence. It is produced by Christa Boarini, stars Milo Machado-Graner (ANATOMY OF A FALL), and is composed by Trevor Gureckis (M. Night Shyamalan's OLD). In the film, a French teenager (Graner) goes on an “American rampage”, spiraling through a world that can’t look away... where violence is packaged, shared, and applauded.Shot against the backdrop of Tampa, Florida, Wiseman Jr.’s hometown, SIX STARS questions the representation of masculinity in today's entertainment while simultaneously confronting the glorification and entertainment value placed on violence, one of the United States' chief exports.