“Are you bipolar?” A Casual Interview with Richard Perez

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Themes of Political Incorrectness and Rape in
PERMANENT OBSCURITY
OR
“Are you bipolar?”
A Casual Interview with Richard Perez
by Rebecca Goodman-Smith

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What made you write PERMANENT OBSCURITY?

I wanted to do something very different from my first (The Losers' Club), which was a quasi-documentary style, neo-realistic romantic comedy.

So how is this different?

It takes its influence from exploitation cinema rather than slice-o-life neo-realistic drama. PERMANENT OBSCURITY is actually my version of a sexploitation drama, in particular referencing those films from the 1960s and 1970s.

Why the 1960s or 1970s? What makes that era so special?

It was before "political correctness" came into effect, which lends more raw honesty to it. I'm a big fan of politically incorrect comediennes like Sarah Silverman anyway; politically incorrect humor is like subversive art in that it's often jolting; it has the capacity to awaken you.

Why do you need to be awakened?

Because, like most people, I'm usually sleep walking. Or numb. Or whatever you want to call it. In order not to succumb to perpetual anxiety attacks, human beings are in denial about everything: down to the fact that they're going to die. Are dying.

But why sexploitation specifically? As opposed to horror?

Horror is done to death. How many more vampire and zombies stories do we need to see before we drop into a coma? Sexploitation, which I often find more subversive than horror, hasn't really been reexamined. So this is like revisionist sexploitation -- through female protagonists -- and the exploitation this time runs both ways.

What's subversive about a pair of big tits?

There's more to sexploitation than tits. There's gender politics, there's the power dynamics (which questions "status") and the subversive power of sexuality, which makes most of us uncomfortable on some level, as it seems to challenge moral and ethical behavior.

Is PERMANENT OBSCURITY anti-feminist?

I don't see it that way. I was totally in the head of Dolores Santana, the female narrator, as I was writing it. If anything, writing this book made me more aware of how women are vulnerable: emotionally, psychologically, physically. I definitely have more empathy now.

More empathy in what way?

Well, let's take the physical aspect: the way women are always being hit on and harassed, which is something you don't have a clue about when you're a guy. Guys are ignored. Even in bars. You don't get free drinks, but you also don't have to put up with corny pick-up lines. There's much less bullshit directed at you as a guy, much less flattery. And that's a good thing. Men don't typically think about being raped either unless they're in prison. But rape is always a very real possibility with a woman -- a huge threat that looms over a woman's life ... because there's always that possibility: being the target of male rage or violence. It's an unfair balance in nature. And in writing PERMANENT OBSCURITY, I saw how Dolores and Serena were always vulnerable that way; it made me worry right along with them. Serena, in particular, is a beautiful woman who was always an object of lust, and this brought her unwanted attention and unhappiness mostly; it even interfered with her normal development as a person.

How would being beautiful interfere with being normal?

Well, it often does. A woman who is perceived as an object of lust, and who's accustomed to being perceived that way will always be "on," will always see herself as delivering a "performance" of sorts. A beautiful woman is like a performance artist really, and her femininity is just part of an artificial persona. And that's how Serena sees herself: a "fake." Her body and looks are what "make her special" in many ways, and she hates herself for it. Or resents it, while neurotically embracing it too. The joke about her butt being perfect and her name being "Moon" is deliberate of course; talk about being resentful for a physical attribute. That really comes out in the book, and she acts out this resentment -- exacts her revenge in the most perverse way. Not just against the writer of her scenario, but against all men, in general. My favorite line of the book is when Dolores says, "What I wouldn't give for a punishing ass like Serena's!"

So is the story of PERMANENT OBSCURITY mostly about Serena?

It's a mutual misadventure between Dolores, the narrator, and her best friend, Serena. But Serena looms large in Dolores' pot-soaked brain. Serena is the one person she'll never forget in her lifetime -- that's how big a part she plays. It's Dolores's recounting how her obsession with her best friend brought her a shitload of pain. Kind of a sad story, really, which Dolores alleviates in the telling with her relentless sarcasm.

Why did you choose a woman's voice -- a female first person narrator to tell the story?

I thought it would be fun. And it was. If you're a guy, it's liberating to write from a totally opposing perspective. Females characters are also granted a much wider range of emotion, and that was a blast. I'm an emotional person anyway; probably too emotional. Emotions, not rational thinking, rules my life and influences nearly all of my choices, and boy does this get me into trouble. In much the same way, Dolores Santana is on the same roller coaster ride. From one moment to the next, you never know what she'll do or say, because she doesn't know herself and she's comfortable with surfing her emotions to wherever they'll take her. Unpredictability can be fun, but it has an annoying and wearying side too. It can be exhausting.

So are you bipolar?

No, I'm Spanish. That's the best I can say in my defense. (Laughs.)

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An INTERVIEW with Richard Perez by Rebecca Goodman-Smith: filmmaker, non-fiction writer, and friend. Read INTERVIEW #2

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 Yours at --------> AMAZON!

PERMANENT OBSCURITY:

Or a Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography and Death by Dolores Santana (as told to Richard Perez)

IS THIS EXPLOITATION NOVEL RIGHT FOR YOU?

~ Visit:  PermanentObscurity.com

WHAT IS IT?  ------> find out RIGHT  HERE

PERMANENT OBSCURITY: the title and where it came from

BAD GIRL CINEMA (and its influence on the novel):
Thelma & Louise, Baise-Moi, Heavenly Creatures, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!....

The subversive power of sexploitation

Buy now from Amazon (U.S.) >> PERMANENT OBSCURITY from Amazon U.S.

Permanent Obscurity:

Or A Cautionary Tale
Of Two Girls
And Their Misadventures
With Drugs, Pornography
And Death

by
Dolores Santana
(as told to Richard Perez)

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