Supermasochist Bob Flanagan

March 10, 2011 9:00 PM

Bob was sick He didn't take it the way you or I might. He got pissed off. And he took it personally.

Other people noticed him as well. But he was just a normal guy in pain.

posted by Splunge (9 comments total)

And I forgot this, sorry. Ebert on Sick.
posted by Splunge at 9:09 PM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, man, Happiness In Slavery. I'm still scarred from having watched the Broken film. But Bob Flanagan had a lot more depth than just what he did for NIN. I nearly wish I had a Netflix subscription so I could watch SICK right now.
posted by hippybear at 9:22 PM on March 10, 2011

It's really good. There are some explicit scenes, of course, but those aren't the hardest to watch. There's a surprising amount of humor, too, and though it might seem that way, it's not a tragedy - even though he dies, you can tell he fought hard and on his own terms and he really kind of won.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:28 PM on March 10, 2011

Wonderful movie, it's been over ten years since I saw it and it's still extremely vivid in my memory. Bob was a fighter and an artist, an amazing soul.
posted by chaff at 10:27 PM on March 10, 2011

Happiness in Slavery warped my 18 year old mind! I've thought about it over the years (what a trip to watch that just now), but had no idea that there was more to the fellow in the video than just that video. Lined up SICK in my Instant Queue, thanks!
posted by She Talks To Angels at 10:33 PM on March 10, 2011

"Sick" is one of my favorite movies of all time. Best scene is Bob singing a campfire song (to a group of teenagers) to the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with the lyrics:

"Super-masochistic Bob has cystic-fibrosis...Um diddle liddle liddle I'm gonna die."
posted by ColdChef at 5:56 AM on March 11, 2011

Bob Flanagan is one of my heroes. Thanks for the post.
posted by jtron at 11:40 AM on March 11, 2011

Dick has stated that the film received its best response at a screening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where one audience member began masturbating during a scene in which Flanagan drives a nail through his penis.

Um...
posted by KGMoney at 1:10 PM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

A couple people discussed SICK in the fucksaw demonstration thread. I watched it that night, and again later in the week. It's a great film: tragic, hilarious, sexy, gross. The ending montage playing out beneath him reading a poem is beautiful. Very much an inspiration, though I can barely handle having my nipples pinched.
posted by kittensofthenight at 1:32 PM on March 12, 2011