This is the story of a bird in a cage who
retrofits the
cage so that
the cage can
fly with her in it, only for the bird to discover that the cage
can
fly without
her just as well, and that
she still has no clue what it is to have wings.
Ah! So you noticed. We say "cage-bird" and not "caged bird." There is a
distinction between the two.
A "caged bird"
is a bird that
is caged. The
noun is "bird" and "caged" is a modifier, describing the noun.
It's like a person and a car. Where does
the person end
and the car begin? A car can't drive itself. A person can't move
at those speeds without the car and would die trying to walk across the mojave desert in August. The
association
between driver
and vehichle turns both into a loose form of cyborg. A cyborg
is an entity that is part biological, part mechanical. But wait! There are more levels to this.
It's like body and soul. Your body has a rib cage and propels your consciousness
around, but your soul/consciousness is often under-developed and you spend most of your life tending to and augmenting the body.
This is the sort of paradoxical identity tension we are going for by using "cage-bird" and not "caged bird."
And anyway, that's the phrase they used in the poem translation.
Juju the Cage-Bird Synopsis
WARNING! SPOILERS!
The film opens with a bird flying up over buildings and into the sky. Intercut with a cage. Inside the cage is
paper - a poem. And we keep leaning
into the cage, like we are trying to get into the cage, get through the bars, close enough to read the poem.
And with every lean into the poem, we get to read another line. The first line is: How should the Cage-Bird know
about the air.
It supposes gloomily "I have no wings." It's very meditative.
Cut to the interior of a fancy house, fabulous furniture, wealth and taste. Except we're looking at it through bars.
Most of this film is Juju pov, through bars. We look around the room and hear the narration:
Consider a bird in a cage, doomed to a life of confinement and tedium.
This
is the story of such a bird - acquainted with a cage since
the
day she was laid.
And here we insert a humorous scene in which her "owner" torments Juju, and Juju bites his finger.
But Juju was hatched and raised in a cage, so perhaps her perspective on freedom is a
little different that most of us (cue a wild bird
crashing into the picture window - THWACK). And Juju wasn't
an ordinary caged bird. Juju was a special Cage-Bird, born
mechanically inclined.
No-one knows where she got her materials,
but she had recently been laying some rather large eggs.
And Juju took those materials and hatched a scheme to end
all schemes. She worked and worked, until she had fitted the cage with all kinds of implements
(airfoils, turbo thrusters, heat shields, etc.) and she
was off!
Cue dazzling escape sequence: With the cage retrofit, Juju smashes through
the glass of the picture window - successfully! In stark
contrast to the many birds who smacked into the window
before and failed to break through to
the other side.
And she was FREE!
Free to purchase petroleum products! Free
to go where no bird has gone before! Free to push the envelope
of bird territory - diving deeper under water than any buoyant
waterfowl has gone, ascending higher than any eagle - clear
to the moon.
Cue the moon landing sequence, air-force capture, arrest, courtroom trial sequence: Juju is
in trouble with the FAA for violating federal aviation regulations while disguised as an alien.
"Your honor, my client can't go to jail, he's already IN jail."
Juju is sentenced to aviation ground school and five bird years of community
service, during which time she writes a bestseller:
"Life's a Cage and Then You Fly".
Juju serves her time and is, um, free again. But by now, the stresses of life in a fast
cage are catching up on her. Juju's own voice and muscles are wasting away from
lack of use, and each day, with each upgrade the cage grows
stronger and more impressive, a distinct entity from the
bird inside.
"Look! In the sky! It's a bird! It's a cage! It's a bird that retrofitted its
cage! No, it must be remote control! No, see the little bird
has opposable wings and…It's Juju! The Amazing Techno-Wonder Bird!
But where does Juju end and the cage begin? One day, Juju sets the Cage to auto-pilot…
Cue stunning film climax - amazing flight through the graveyard sequence. And then THE CRASH! Amazing stop motion
sequence of the cage recovering from the crash and flying off, while Juju, so skinny and atrophied that she was flung through
the bars on impact, is left sitting on a gravestone unable to catch up to her creation. Unable, for that matter, to fly.
And we're back to Rumi's poem, full circle. "How should the Cage-Bird know about the air.
It supposes gloomily, 'I have no wings'. "
The Philosophy Behind the Story
The story of Juju was inspired by the Sufi poet Rumi, who asked "How
should the cage-bird know about the air? It supposes gloomily, "I have no wings."
To which the Western bred Juju responds "Oh, yeah? Well not if I'm a Techno cage-bird!"
Juju poses many deep questions about the nature of freedom in a world of barriers, limitations,
technological promise and dependencies. But Juju isn't just another morphin' power ranger robo-creature.
Juju is a classic metaphor for our times. Despite the freedom that comes from the techno-lust and
cage retrofit, Juju still does not know about the air, and "supposes gloomily she has
no wings." The story of Juju is inspiring, funny and philosophical. It shows you there
is a time to be technological, and a time to be spiritual, and a time to go out on the faith
of your own limitations and not hide from them.
Reviews of Juju Cage-Bird
Marilyn Rivchin - Sr. Lecturer,
Filmmaking, Department of Theatre, Film & Dance, Cornell University:
"As a filmmaking student in my 16mm course at Cornell in the Spring of 1993, Rezwan
made a wildly imaginative final project entitled "Juju the Cage-Bird". It's a kind of free-form fable, non-sync, with part animation, part live-action
narrative with clever voice-overs, etc., involving the history,
imprisonment and escape, flight and trial of Juju. Suffice
it to say, it suggested Rezwan had special talents in writing
and visualizing a wacky narrative with many tones and colors.
Hers is a very unique style of comedy, with a multi-cultural
edge. Even though it was made several years ago, I often
still show it in classes and in compilation exhibitions of
student films at Cornell, where it has become a cult classic."
"ReRe" from NY says: Although I saw Juju many years ago I am still haunted by his image. The film
left quite an impression. I think he is an important symbol
for people everywhere who feel trapped or who need inspiration
to think their way creatively through change, through empowerment.
The imagery and animation of Juju is equal to the message
of Juju. They are both a tribute to and an example of the
beauty and power of creativity.
"Juan" says - OK, I have been there...looked for Juju but it is still somewhere in cyberbirth
(it must be traumatic to break out of a shell and still be
in a cage), looked for Jonah but he is being digested by
some cyber whale, looked for the fellows at the bug juice
factory but they are feeding off each other. What to do?
I need my fix! (From the other side of the screen....)
Related Products:
We plan to package Juju the Cage-Bird as a series of children's books or cartoon
adventures that adults will also find fascinating. Toys based
on Juju the Cage-Bird will be fun and educational, as the
building blocks of Juju's Cage are actual functional machines. We are going to release a DVD soon (once
the music rights are cleared or the music is re-done). For now, the only products available are T-shirts,
mugs and that sort of thing. Buy some now!
But wait! You say. I don't care about Juju, I want cages!
Well, if you would like to incorporate cages into your life, here is a good place to start:
The Amazing Waterworks's Etoile Freestanding shower, "modeled on fin-de-siecle shower cages, has 76 water sprays to massage your body,
plus a toe tester. Note that its $26,000 price tag might
be a drop in the bucket next to the cost of retrofitting
your plumbing to accommodate a water heater that can produce
20 gallons per minute." Not the most environmental, but fun to think about. When Ajaban opens its spa/salon
based on principles of the Persian Bath House, we will throw
one of these in for good measure. Everyone should experience
it at least once. I'm not sure if any more are available, but if you really want one, and can
afford it, I'm sure you'll find it.
A "cage-bird" in contrast is a word made up of two nouns joined by a hyphen. Each word
has an equal weight in the identity. They don't modify each other, they are fused. A cage-bird is something that is
both Cage and Bird. Where does the cage end, where does the bird
begin? What happens when they try to separate?
How dependent
is one on the other? 
"Viento del Arena"
