Motihari Brigade – ”Reality Show” [Short Film Review]

“Reality Exists in the human mind and nowhere else.”

This quote from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four appears at the end of Motihari Brigade’s new promo film for “Reality Show,” a track taken from their new album, Algorithm and Blues.

The song itself is an interesting mix of slow reggae and pop, with a strong Orwellian message that we are all being controlled by the powers that be. It’s a much-used theme and has been employed by many artists before, but to give the band credit, their film is very aesthetically pleasing.

A band of nomads with what appear to be VR headsets stumble through an arid land and are faced with mind-bending visuals on floating TVs. This is overseen by stereotypical corporate figures and a doctor plugging them into the system. It’s very literal at this point.

The band claim that the release “…explores the struggle to perceive reality amidst the onslaught of corporate-state technological dystopian narrative control.”

It’s a complex statement that describes a fairly basic video that, much like the song, becomes a little repetitive – but maybe that’s the point.

It’s not clear who gets the upper hand by the end, the nomads or the corporates, as they appear to return to their original states. What is clear, though, is the political stance of the band and the view that since the release of Orwell’s book in 1949, social control is still very much an issue and continues to be the topic of music, art and film.

Mothari Brigade’s new album, Algorythm and Blues, is out now, and you can pick up your copy here.

Motihari Brigade ‘Algorithm & Blues’ album artwork