The Institute of Gremlins 2 Studies publishes "world-class commentary and analysis of the film Gremlins 2: The New Batch" on its Twitter account @G2Institute and, allegedly, a scholarly publication titled The Quarterly Journal of Gremlins 2 Studies. Joe Dante, director of Gremlins and Gremlins 2, seems to dig it. At The Quietus, Robert Barry interrogates the anonymous director of the institute:
What prompted you to start this account?
What prompted me to found the prestigious Institute of Gremlins 2 Studies? That’s obvious. If you look around at the world today, you will probably feel like someone trapped in an over-the-top parody of past events. Only one film fully captures this feeling. Just look at how other accounts have attempted to imitate us using other films. Inevitably they all fail. Nobody holds a candle to the great work our Institute is doing. The reason for their failure is simple – only Gremlins 2 can be exhaustively returned to, combed over, analyzed in this way. What “genius” people may see in the Institute is only a reflection of the genius of Gremlins
Why Gremlins 2?
There are many reasons why Gremlins 2 remains relevant, even twenty-eght years after the film’s release. One important reason is the way the film adapts the cartoonish ethos of Looney Tunes, which allows it to treat reality with a certain playfulness and plasticity. In recent years this has become popular again – surreal humor and elaborate descriptions of cartoon violence are mainstays of internet humor, perhaps reflecting a media and political environment that has become unmoored from reality.
Gremlins 2 was aware of this connection (between mass media and unreality), which is why the film takes place in a skyscraper that houses the Clamp Cable Network studios. This is also reflected in the nature of the Gremlins themselves – the more they reproduce and multiply, the more absurd and novel the types of Gremlin must become.
The delirious, exaggerated atmosphere of the movie sequel has invaded every other aspect of our culture. The demand for ever-escalating novelty – in products, movies, television, news – can only end in one place. Gremlins 2: The New Batch is the inevitable terminus of this culture.
"Joe Dante's Inferno: Inside The Institute Of Gremlins 2 Studies" (The Quietus)
I especially like the reference to the first "Gremlins" as the "inferior prequel!" https://t.co/otSEjz71Un
— Joe Dante (@joe_dante) September 5, 2018
Teleology is ultimately a form of magical thinking. The accelerationists will be chasing after the technological singularity in the same way an anorexic endlessly pursues the idea of thinness. There is no teleology to consumer capitalism, only Gremlin-esque irrationality & waste.
— Institute of Gremlins 2 Studies (@G2Institute) August 5, 2018
