In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution

Directed by

Chuck Statler

Country

United States

How it feels

This short film presents the band Devo in a factory setting, where they wear work suits and face masks while operating machinery. It includes performances of two songs and uses odd sounds and surreal imagery to convey a message about de-evolution.

quirkysatiricalunsettlingsurrealenergeticabsurdlo-fiplayfulcryptic

What happens

The Truth About De-Evolution (full title: In the Beginning Was the End: The Truth About De-Evolution) is a 9-minute short film written by Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh part of Devo, a band, and directed by Chuck Statler. It was filmed in May 1976 and contains two songs: "Secret Agent Man" and "Jocko Homo". It won at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977 and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts. The Truth About De-Evolution is included as an extra on the Criterion Collection's release of Island of Lost Souls (1932). Stills from the film were used for the front and back cover of European releases and the inner sleeve of American releases of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978). The film begins with an extreme close-up of a television, switching between channels while odd gibberish noises play in the background. The film title is superimposed over the television screen. The scene fades to a shot of a factory (filmed at the Goodyear World of Rubber in Akron, Ohio). Members of Devo in its quartet stage are seen in blue workmen's suits, operating machinery, until one notices it is time to go. All the band members wear clear face masks, except for Mark Mothersbaugh, who appears in his Booji Boy mask. The members leave work and get into a car. They pull up in front of the burned-out Kent bar The Water Street Saloon which was two buildings down from JB's in Kent, Ohio. The next clip shows them going in JB's through the front door, carrying instruments. A sign on the door says "Tonight: 15-60-75", a reference to the Numbers Band, for which at one point Gerald Casale played bass. The "Secret Agent Man" performance begins, featuring Bob Mothersbaugh on guitar, Gerald Casale on bass, Jim Mothersbaugh on electric bongos, and Mark Mothersbaugh/Booji Boy on synthesizers. The performance routinely cuts away to bizarre visuals like two men in monkey masks spanking a woman with ping-pong paddles, or a punk playing a double-neck guitar plugged into a space heater. The segment ends with a fadeout of Mark in a John F. Kennedy mask with a painted on bullet wound. The "Jocko Homo" segment begins with Booji Boy running through a parking lot off of Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He enters a building through the fire escape to meet with General Boy. They exchange papers and General Boy says, "In the past this information has been suppressed, but now it can be told. Every man, woman, and mutant on this planet shall know the truth about de-evolution." Booji replies, "Oh, dad, we're all Devo!" A series of rapid-fire cuts of the letters in "DEVO" appears (with the music of "Mechanical Man" also on Hardcore Devo: Volume One) and there is a cut to Mark in a Kent State University classroom (actually the Governance Chambers), giving a lecture. While Mark delivers the lyrics to "Jocko Homo" (the version can also be found on Hardcore Devo: Volume One), the classroom enters a frenzy of excitement, ending in a near riot. As the film ends, Booji Boy is stabbed and his mask is removed. The credits play in a style similarly to the title with an extremely distorted cover of "Because" by the Beatles playing. As the film ends the word "DEVO" in neon is shown flashing off. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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