Father John Misty - Total Entertainment Forever

What this video is

Released April 26, 2017, as a single from Father John Misty's critically acclaimed album Pure Comedy (Sub Pop), the video arrives at the peak of mainstream anxiety around VR technology, social media overstimulation, and the commodification of celebrity death and counter-culture icons. The video literalizes the song's satirical premise—virtual reality as a new opiate—by staging George Washington in a VR simulation…

Why it matters

Represents a landmark example of 2010s satirical indie folk music video production: low-budget, concept-driven, and densely referential. Situated within a lineage of art-collective-directed music videos that use absurdist theatrical staging to amplify lyrical critique, the video elevates the NYC…

The director

Adam Green (b. 1981, Mount Kisco, NY) is an American singer-songwriter, visual artist, and filmmaker; co-founder of The Moldy Peaches; pioneer of the NYC anti-folk scene; co-founded art collective 3MB with Macaulay Culkin and Toby Goodshank; directed feature…