Bye Bye Monkey

The film unfolds in a bleak, almost retro-futuristic present where the city feels timelessly decayed. Neon hints and derelict infrastructure create a surreal mood that transcends a specific year. The setting implies a perpetual dystopian present rather than a defined historical period.

A dark, surreal version of New York City serves as the backdrop. The world is sparsely populated and industrially cluttered, with a waxwork museum that houses macabre recreations of ancient scenes. The story moves between the Hudson River waterfront near Battery Park City and the museum, underscoring urban decay and a fragile, claustrophobic atmosphere.

🎭 Power and Control

Authority figures manipulate art, memory, and perception to extract obedience or compliance. Flaxman collaborates with Paul Jefferson to alter a sculpture’s face, illustrating how institutions reshape history for political ends. The wax museum becomes a stage where truth and spectacle are weaponized.

♀️ Violence and Gender

The film probes gendered violence through the feminist theatre group’s provocative discussions and the act of Lafayette being assaulted. The pregnancy of Angelica and the ensuing relational dynamics reveal how power and desire are negotiated in a hostile urban world. Violence is treated as performance within art and social interactions.

🎨 Art and Reality

The waxworks, Caesar-to-JFK transformation, and the chimp’s fate critique how art commodifies life and history. The boundary between art, manipulation, and exploitation blurs as characters pursue personal freedom. The setting’s grotesque displays mirror the characters’ moral compromises.