Meeting People Is Easy

I am not here and this is not really happening.

Meeting People Is Easy is a Rockumentary of the band Radiohead during their world tour for their third album, OK Computer. It was produced and filmed by Grant Gee, who also directed Radiohead's "No Surprises" video (there is a "making of" section for said video).

The thing about Meeting People Is Easy is that while it follows a cohesive timeline, it doesn't even bother with a plot. Instead, the general atmosphere of the tour is the subject, focusing on the ennui of stardom and the band's eventual burnout, as well as lead singer Thom Yorke's gradual mental breakdown leading to the later creation of Kid A and Amnesiac. There's no real focus on the relationship between band members or their personal lives. In acheiving this goal, Gee used a direction style akin to the creation of a collage. Most footage falls into five main categories:

  • Music writing,
  • Live performances,
  • Interviews,
  • Promo material, and
  • Abstract things.

There's an abundance of 1-star ratings on Amazon from people who were expecting something informational to complement the numerous 5-star ratings from people who think this film is absolute genius. That being said, some scenes are truly insightful and emotional, the film itself is chock full of artistic merit, and if you're a hardcore Radiohead fan, this film is definitely worth a look.

The film also contains an early performance of a song then called "Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)", which a decade later would be released in a different arrangement as "Nude" on the band's 2007 album In Rainbows.


Tropes used in Meeting People Is Easy include:
  • Completely Missing the Point - The talk show hostess who comments on "No Surprises" as "music to cut your wrists to".
  • Deliberately Monochrome - Sometimes.
  • Gratuitous French - Spoken by Colin early on in the film.
  • Mood Whiplash - During a photo shoot in Japan, there is a moment where the camera focuses on Thom's face amidst the increasingly louder snaps of cameras. For a second, the sound cuts out, leaving the audience staring at Thom as though he is a caged animal... and then the rest of the band is shown during another photo shoot, looking considerably less angsty about having their pictures taken.
  • Rockumentary
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