Someone had to say it! Mondo has sold out...
Really. And the pics of Struzan standing there autographing the prints - the man's gotta be saying "free money!". It's ridiculous.
Years ago, I was at a reading being held for Latin American authors, including Octavio Paz who is renowned as one of the best Latin American poets of all time. He was reading one of his new works, and I tell you, it made absolutely no sense at all. It was indecipherable to me, and I'm a pretty sharp guy. Yet, when he was done, everyone in the theater stood up in a roar of a standing ovation, as if they heard G-d himself speak the words. I know that I was not the only person there who thought it was nonsensical, and it dawned on me that everyone liked to stand up and
as if they knew what was going on, so that they themselves could look smart and pretend that they understood by lavishing great praise.
At what point do we step back and say that Mondo really has sold out, and that it's lost touch with where it came from? We all stand here and give them credibility by even talking about their stuff, but they are doing nothing but laughing all the way to the bank, basically printing money with every release they drop. In the old days, Mondo did a great service by adding to the artistic community, doing cool movie showings and matching them up with cool prints for the people that were really into it. Now, they've reached the point of not even deigning to create something worthwhile, and instead just reprinting something that was already done.
I mean, IT'S A REPRINT!
Anyone could do what Mondo is doing now. They've lost their cool factor, even though they still go around wearing dark t-shirts and trying to act bohemian.
In a word, Mondo has become pedantic.
