Cinema, the Sequel

Posted on June 27, 2024 by John Biscello

In the cinema, hypnotized, I died a drugged and stupefied death, again and again, crucified by the diminished returns of flickering images. I die, tranquilized, a sweetly solemn refugee from reality. This is the escapist way, its creed. Why pretend otherwise? Why justify? It has always been about escape. Escape from long withheld screams inflating black balloons in one’s stomach, escape from silence and jargon that says nothing and says it loudly and does nothing relentlessly, escape from so-called advances and progressions, escape from stories and shows that never quit. Reruns are all there is. If you see yourself playing yourself again and again and again, it is because you are the prey and primary chess-piece of syndication.

About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.

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