Under Pressure

Under Pressure

We go to see Unbreakable. The movie isn’t.

Later, I go alone to see Requiem for a Dream. The movie assaults its audience. I’ve never seen a more invasive strip of celluloid.

There is also a special effect in this film — a camera trick — that captures exactly how I feel when my blood pressure (usually regulated by chemicals) is out of control.

When my blood pressure is high, I feel as though I’m standing still and moving too rapidly at the same time. If I could see myself, I would expect to see me jittering the way blades of grass do in time-lapse photography. At the same time, the world around me grows more sluggish. Voices distort. Tiny noises swell.

We go to see Unbreakable. The movie isn’t.

Later, I go alone to see Requiem for a Dream. The movie assaults its audience. I’ve never seen a more invasive strip of celluloid.

There is also a special effect in this film — a camera trick — that captures exactly how I feel when my blood pressure (usually regulated by chemicals) is out of control.

When my blood pressure is high, I feel as though I’m standing still and moving too rapidly at the same time. If I could see myself, I would expect to see me jittering the way blades of grass do in time-lapse photography. At the same time, the world around me grows more sluggish. Voices distort. Tiny noises swell.

Mark McElroy

I'm a husband, mystic, writer, media producer, creative director, tinkerer, blogger, reader, gadget lover, and pizza fiend.

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Who Wrote This?

Mark McElroy

I'm a husband, mystic, writer, media producer, creative director, tinkerer, blogger, reader, gadget lover, and pizza fiend.

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