I fell in love with Gregg Araki’s cult classic Nowhere (1997) two decades ago. When I was in college, the film virtually impossible to find—in part because like all true cult classics it bombed after its initial release. (Though I suspect licensing issues around the iconic soundtrack may have played a role as well.) In 2005, my friends and I had no other option than watching the movie via a grainy VHS rip that had been uploaded to the then-new YouTube—in segments of course as was the pirate-style of the time. When it was restored and rereleased in 4K last fall, it was one of the few times I’ve actually been excited to “buy” a movie on Amazon.
Nowhere is the third installment of Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy—which includes Doom Generation and Totally Fucked Up. But unlike the depressive Gen X mood of its two siblings, Nowhere has a schizophrenic media-saturated energy that feels contemporary—the only real distinction being that the lead, Dark wanders Los Angeles with a video camera, not an iPhone.
I invited over some friends younger than the movie itself for a screening. In the first thirty minutes Blair, one of my researchers, asked “Wait is this movie old or new?” It’s a testament to the ouroboros of nostalgia we are living through—and the spectacular capabilities of digital restoration. Blair took it upon himself to match the characters to contemporary TikTokkers and other digital creators whose vibes bear a striking resemblance to their late Nineties counterparts. See below: