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NOVA byLiaGangitano There'sonlyonerealityleft.Thisishere.Thisisnow. (Taylor(CharltonHeston)PlanetoftheApes) Thefuturismofthepasthascaughtup.Computersthatdatenofurtherthan1989 confronttheeyeswiththedimlightoftheirpromptoutdatedness.Theearly MacintoshcomputersthatcompriseLeahGilliam'sinstallationApeshitv3 illuminateTaylor'sprospect:timebecomesabbreviated.Theimages,they'refamiliar, nostalgic.But1973isn'tthatlongagoeither.Encounteringanotsodistantpast forcedtorecedebythevelocityoftechnologyevokesthesubjectoftimetravel,a centrallieofsciencefiction.ThePlanetoftheApesbegins.It's3978.Alltheguys havebeards.Goingforwardintimehasmadethemobsolete. Originallyderivedfrompaintingsofscenes,CharltonHestonconsideredThePlanet oftheApesa"newgenre:thespaceopera."Itsstatusas"racialallegory"hasbeen documented.Thegrandintentionsandaestheticgenealogythatconstitutethisscifi epicseemtothwarttherevisionofitspositionasapoliticalstatementonrace relations.Thismattergoesunaddressedbythevariouswebsitesdevotedtothefilms. Perhapssuchanachronisticrevisionmustoccuronsimilarterms,thatis,formalas wellasideological. Taylor'simminentrealizationthathumanreignonearthisoverissignaledbyhis discoveryoficonicruins,weightyrepresentationsofadestroyedplanet.Likethe imaginedpaintedvistasofbarrentopographyandtheoperaticscopeofitstragic scenery,thelandscapeofApeshitv3insinuates"adark,noisy,polyphonicspace:a lowtechgraveyard,wheretools,technologiesandidealsmightgotodie."1A monolithicflatnesscharacterizesthecoweringearlymodelMacs,risingfrom scorchedgrassandreflectingweaklyonpatinaedwalls.Theirbeigeplastic obsolescence,reminiscentofthetalkingdollfoundinthewreckageoftheforbidden zone,speaksaslostproofofalimitlessfuture. 1.motionofactivity.(capturethem) InreferencetoGilliam's1996videoSapphireandtheSlaveGirl,aworkthat integratesoriginalandarchivalfootage,shecomments"Ithrowthesedecadesup againsteachothertocomparethem,becauseIthinkverylittlehaschanged...."2In herrecentworksutilizinganobscure8mmtrailerforBattleforthePlanetofthe Apes,suchasSplit,aCDROMderivedfromresearchintoprimatologyandscience fiction,thetemporalcollisionofoutmodedandadvancedtechnologiesdraws attentiontothefailedprogressivenessthatthefilmrepresents.Apeshit,avideotape byGilliam,exploitsthisfootage"tohighlighttheunstablerelationshipbetweenthe real,historicalpastandthedistant,imaginaryfuture.(Brieflyreleasedtotheamateur filmmarketinthemid1970s,the'reductionprint'isacheap8mmduplicationsold toencouragethesaleof8mmfilmprojectorsandtopromotenewreleases.)"3 LikemanyofGilliam'saccumulatedworks,thethirdinstallmentofthetrilogyin question,Apeshitv3,impliespriorandsubsequentvolumesthatchangenames, composepartialhistories,remainencyclopedic.Consistentpractices,suchastheuse

ofvideotechnologytoequalizefootagefromdisparatetimeperiods,yield"afeeling ofanextendedhistoricalpresent"4thatiscentraltoheraddressoftopicsranging fromthenamingprocesstothepowerofspeech.Apeshitv3exacerbatesthis historicallevelingwiththeintroductionofarchaiccomputersthatrunmovieswith varyingdegreesofaptitude.TheimageswereprocessedusingPaikRasterControl Units,JonesChannelColorizersandFrameBuffers.Imageswerecompiledand processeddigitally,programmedusingMacromediaDirectorandsetuptorunon 68030basedMacintoshComputers.Anuncannyabilitytodivulgeandmask familiarimages,modifiedandmodulating,seemstobelietheunsophisticated characteroftheseearlyMacs. Gapsbetweenimaginedtechnologicalfuturesandpresentmaterialconditionsare customary.WilliamGibson's1984novelNeuromancerfirstintroducedtheterm cyberspace,whichtheauthordefinedas"agraphicrepresentationofdataabstracted fromthebanksofeverycomputerinthehumansystem,"butthenovelwas composedonamanualtypewriterand"alargepartoftheinspirationfor 'cyberspace'resultedfromhisfirstexperiencewearingaSonyWalkmaninthe summerof1981."5Thatavirtualrealitywasonceconceivedfromasubtleshiftin perceptioncausedbywalkingaroundthecitywithaWalkmaninspiresareturnto thestreamlinedelementsandsimplifiedtoolsthatformtheevocativecontentof Apeshitv3. 3.IagainstI(beholdthetalkingape) BattleforthePlanetoftheApes,likethefourvolumesthatprecedeit,involvesa battleoverspeech.InTaylor'sfirstutterance("getyourstinkingpawsoffmeyou damndirtyape"),theconflictisforeshadowed.BattleendswherePlanetoftheApes begins.Gilliamcomments:"Butinspiteofitsattemptsatreversal,Battleremainsa partial,coloredtext....Thisdystopianallegorypresentsatroublingeconomyof binaryoppositionsandentrenchedracialhierarchies.Futuristicinscopebut retrogressiveinworldview,thefilm'scontradictionsaretechnicalaswellas ideological.Reducedfrom35mm,reprintedinblackandwhiteandthensubtitled, thecinematicandsemioticcodesofthereductionprintreadasbothprimitiveand prescient."6Thisdisparityoflanguages,formats,isincreasedexponentiallyby Gilliam'streatmentandpresentationofthispieceofcontentiousevidence."Istherea relationshipbetweentheseforgottenformatsandthediscontinuedpolitical ideologiesthattheydepict?ServingupBattleforthePlanetoftheApesasproof, Apeshitv3putsforthtoleranceasanoutmodedtechnology."7 Iwanttobecombedoutnow. Reducingwhathasbeenreferredtohereasideologicalsignificance(thepolitical contentsofThePlanetoftheApesfilms)tothesubtitlesthatappearintermittently onthecomputerscreens,Gilliamexcavatescertainphrasestoleveloutthefictional terrain."Cleverape,""Areyoureadytodie,ape?""Nowfightlikeapes."functionas distillationsofanoppositionalpropositionwithoutapredeterminedeffect.By recontextualizingtheirmeaning,aninevitableoutcomeisvaguelyrewrittenamidst thepathosofdestruction.Thewords"pullback,"appearonan"imageintentionally distortedandrasterscannedtohighlighttheape'sflighttosafety."8 "Virtualreality,cyberspace,digitalimaging,andotherabstractmethodsof configuringspace,thelatestproductsofaconstantlymutatingtechnological environment,havereconfiguredourtraditionalphysicalexperienceofthevisual."9 Yetwhenviewingmotionpicturesoncomputerswithoutmodedspeedcapacities, thedigitalimagesimulatesahandcrankedfilm,conflatingthedisparatehistoriesof thefilmicandtheelectronicimage.Despitethefactthatsupposedlyhightech devicesgeneratetheimages,theyrecallearlycinematicprecursors,muchlikethe

flipbook."Variousopticaldevicessuchasthezootrope,thestereoscope,themagic lantern,thepraxinoscope,thethaumatope,andthezoopraxiscopebothcreatedthe illusionofamovingimageandexposeditsmeansofproduction."10 4.don'tevertalktostrangers 1LeahGilliam,projectdescription,Apeshitv3,1999. 2GilliamquotedbyMeredithE.Holch,"ResharpentheEdge,"TheIndependent, July1996:27. 3LeahGilliam. 4MeredithE.Holch,"17WaystoResharpentheEdge,"TheIndependent,July 1996:27. 5BruceHeadlam,"WalkmanSoundedBellforCyberspace"(needcitation). 6LeahGilliam. 7LeahGilliam. 8LeahGilliam. 9ChrissieIles,"TheMutabilityofVision,"NewHistories,(Boston:TheInstituteof ContemporaryArt,1996):110111. 10ChrissieIles:112.