Kappa

Synopsis

Deconstructing the myth of Oedipus within the framework of an ancient Japanese folk story, the Yonemotos craft a highly charged discourse of loss and desire. Quoting from Bunuel, Freud, pop media and art, they place the symbology of Western psychosexual analytical theory into a cross-cultural context, juxtaposing the Oedipal and Kappa myths in a delirious collusion of form and content. The Kappa, a malevolent Japanese water imp, is played with eerie intensity by artist Mike Kelley; actress Mary Woronov plays Jocasta as a vamp from a Hollywood exploitation film. Steeped in perversions and violent longings, both the Kappa and Oedipus legends are presented in highly stylized, purposefully "degraded" forms, reflecting their media-exploitative cultural contexts. In this ironic yet oddly poignant essay of psychosexual compulsion and catharsis, the Yonemotos demonstrate that even in debased forms, cultural archetypes hold the power to move and manipulate.

Main Cast

Mike Kelley

The Kappa

Age : 57 | Popularity : 5%

Mary Woronov

Jocasta

Age : N/A | Popularity : 49%

Keye Luke

Narrator (voice)

Age : N/A | Popularity : 35%

Edward Ruscha

Age : N/A | Popularity : 10%

Crew

Department	Role	Name
Directing	Director	Bruce Yonemoto Norman Yonemoto
Sound	Music	Carl Stone
Production	Producer	Bruce Yonemoto Norman Yonemoto
Writing	Writer	Bruce Yonemoto Mike Kelley Norman Yonemoto
Visual Effects	Animation	Mike Kelley Jim Shaw
Camera	Director of Photography	Nick Elliot
Department	Role	Name

Join the discussion