{"id":133,"date":"2008-08-06T11:48:48","date_gmt":"2008-08-06T16:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/?p=133"},"modified":"2021-08-26T09:31:51","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T14:31:51","slug":"i-a-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/2008\/08\/06\/i-a-man\/","title":{"rendered":"I, a Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Warhol\u2019s first deliberate effort to make a commercial sexploitation film was I, a Man<\/em> (1967\u201368 ), which was supposed to feature both Nico and Jim Morrison, but Morrison backed out at the last minute \u2013 possibly because Warhol wanted him to have sexual intercourse on-screen \u2013 and he was replaced by an actor friend of Morrison\u2019s named Tom Baker. In I, a Man<\/em>, Baker attempts to have sex with eight different women: Cynthia May, Stephanie Graves, Ingrid Superstar, Nico, Ultra Violet, Ivy Nicholson, Valerie Solanas, and Bettina Coffin. The scenes are separated by shots of Baker reflectively smoking a cigarette. It\u2019s a very simple premise \u2013 one that certainly fits the notion of a sexploitation film by presenting an opportunity to display a number of different female bodies, while also being a test of Baker\u2019s seductive power. In terms of the casting, I, a Man <\/em>featured Warhol superstars: Nico, Ingrid Superstar, and Ultra Violet. In addition, Valerie Solanas, the lesbian author of the SCUM Manifesto<\/em> (Society for Cutting Up Men) and Ivy Nicholson would add unpredictable elements to the film.<\/p>\n

Who knew at the time that the inclusion of Valerie Solanas would guarantee that I, a Man<\/em> would become an important historical document whatever anyone thought about the artistic merits of the film. Yet, as strange as it might seem within the context of a sexploitation film, the scene with Valerie, in many ways, epitomizes the real power and energy of Warhol\u2019s cinema. Valerie\u2019s hatred of men stemmed from her own personal history. She reportedly was sexually abused by her father as a child and resorted to prostitution as an economic means of survival. In the SCUM Manifesto<\/em>, Valerie writes with a venomous rage, mixed with trenchant humor, about the inherent inferiority of the male species: \u201cEaten up with guilt, shame, fears and insecurities and obtaining, if he\u2019s lucky, a barely perceptible physical feeling, the male is, nonetheless, obsessed with screwing; he\u2019ll swim through a river of snot, wade nostril-deep through a mile of vomit, if he thinks there\u2019ll be a friendly pussy awaiting him.\u201d She talks about females \u201cwho\u2019d sink a shiv into a man\u2019s chest or ram an ice pick up his asshole as soon as look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Set on a stairwell, rather than an apartment, which suggests a potential site of sexual molestation, Tom Baker\u2019s attempt to coerce Valerie to let him into her apartment bristles with subtext. Even if you didn\u2019t know anything about Valerie, there\u2019s a creepy quality to the scene, but, Warhol, of course, is interested in creating a situation that has built-in dramatic conflict. The two characters have opposite goals. Baker wants to get inside her apartment, whereas Valerie wants to prevent this at all cost. Given her personal background and his ostensible desire to screw, it has the potential to develop into a combustible situation. That\u2019s why its recreation in Mary Harron\u2019s film can never measure up to what Warhol managed to stage in I, a Man.<\/em><\/p>\n

The scene begins with a pulsating stairwell that been lit to look like a German Expressionist set, with the verticals suggesting prison bars. Valerie comes up the stairs followed by Tom Baker. When they arrive at the door to her apartment, he asks, \u201cYou got the key?\u201d Valerie searches her pockets, has second thoughts, and suddenly asks, \u201cHey, what am I doing up here with a finko like you?\u201d A strobe cut restages it on the landing just below, but we hear Valerie repeat the last part of her dialogue. She then says, \u201cI can\u2019t figure it out \u2013 you\u2019re a fink.\u201d This makes even Baker laugh. He responds, \u201cYou don\u2019t even know me.\u201d They talk about the business of his squishy ass. He wants to go inside, but Valerie indicates that her roommate is there, and adds that she\u2019s squishier than him. Valerie asks him, \u201cBut what else have you got?\u201d He says, \u201cI don\u2019t talk about those things, baby.\u201d Baker suggests that they can explore each others bodies, but Valerie quite rightly insists, \u201cLook, I\u2019ve got the upper hand. We must not forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valerie squeezes Baker\u2019s ass once more in an attempt to get rid of him, but he trails after her. At the landing, Tom says, \u201cListen, Valerie, just stop here for a second. I just want to see something.\u201d They disappear into the shadows, but he has his hands on her. Valerie, says, \u201cHey, come on, man. I mean, like this is rape. I don\u2019t dig that shit.\u201d Baker takes off his shirt, while Valerie struggles, \u201cHey, come on, man! Goddamn it. Hey, come on! What\u2019s this shit, man?\u201d She protests, \u201cMy roommate\u2019s very jealous. She\u2019s possessive. She\u2019s very possessive.\u201d After strobe cuts, the two smoke cigarettes in a different location on the stairs. Valerie claims not to like his \u201ctits\u201d and they argue about them. Baker finally says, \u201cWhat is it in your head that you don\u2019t dig about men?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the strobe cuts that follow, Valerie waves off the camera and then later smiles for a very brief visible moment \u2013 a decidedly mixed message that matches the bizarre dynamics of the situation. Alluding to the SCUM Manifesto<\/em>, Baker asks her, \u201cWhat is it some philosophy you have in life that you don\u2019t . . . ?\u201d Valerie, however, turns the tables on him by inquiring whether Baker likes men. He indicates that he hasn\u2019t \u201cballed\u201d men since he was young. He argues that, in pursuing women, he\u2019s following his \u201cinstincts.\u201d Valerie responds that she\u2019s also following hers, and asks pointedly, \u201cWhy should my standards be lower than yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

Since they both share the same instincts, Baker suggests a possible threesome with her roommate, but Valerie indicates that her roommate wouldn\u2019t like him. After strobe cuts, the camera moves closer to Valerie, as her face, especially her eyes, moves in and out of the light. Baker tries to block her way, but Valerie claims not to\u00a0live there and, in a stunning gender reversal, says, \u201cI want to go home. I want to beat my meat.\u201d She pushes past him, and, in another shot, Valerie asks the crew whether she should go all the way down the stairs, as she heads out and the scene ends.<\/p>\n

Baker claims that he never felt that Valerie posed a personal threat. Instead, he says, \u201cI found her intelligent, funny, almost charming, and very, very frightened.\u201d Baker never explains why Valerie seemed frightened, but it\u2019s clear that he has been given enough information about Valerie to push the scene to the limits \u2013 the hint of possible rape, the allusions to the SCUM Manifesto<\/em> and the biological basis for her sexual politics \u2013 in order to make Valerie feel threatened and uncomfortable. Warhol listed Valerie in the published credits under a silly pseudonym \u201cValeria Solanis.\u201d Although Valerie reportedly was humiliated when she saw the actual film, she nevertheless wrote Warhol a postcard dated August 25, 1967: \u201cDear Andy, I\u2019ve been noticing gross misspellings of my name in articles & reviews connected with \u2018I, A Man.\u2019 Please note correct spelling.\u201d In the true Warholian fashion, even Valerie appreciated the value of publicity.<\/p>\n

Note: For a detailed analysis of I, a Man <\/em>and other Warhol films, please see my book The Black Hole of the Camera: The Films of Andy Warhol<\/em> (University of California Press, 2012).<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Image \u00a9 2010 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy of The Andy Warhol Museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andy Warhol\u2019s first deliberate effort to make a commercial sexploitation film was I, a Man (1967\u201368 ), which was supposed to feature both Nico and Jim Morrison, but Morrison backed out at the last minute \u2013 possibly because Warhol wantedRead More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,10,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4295,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions\/4295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jjmurphyfilm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}