I firmly believe that you cannot fault the film for being overly controversial, as that was Aster’s intention from the start. While The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is one of the best short films I’ve seen in a while, it is not without fault. We recoil from what we see on-screen, yet we can’t look away. It is this balance that makes The Strange Thing About the Johnsons so mesmerizing. Ari Aster gives us just enough information and visual cues to induce disgust, but not enough to be explicit. To be clear, the film never feels pornographic at least, not through its intention. The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011) Nonetheless, despite being just short of 30 minutes long, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is a very uncomfortable watch from start to finish. Moreover, Aster focused his story on an African-American family, which many found to be offensive in its own right. It addresses what cannot be addressed: a father who is sexually abused by his own son. It’s easy to see why many viewers find The Strange Thing About the Johnsons so controversial.
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Sidney’s book infuriates Isaiah, leading to a series of violent events that tear the Johnson family apart. The manuscript is his way to finally tell his story and reveal his tortured life to his wife and the world. Over the years, he could never fully address the issue or reveal it to Joan. The manuscript chronicles the years of sexual abuse Sidney has faced at the hands of his own son. Sidney leaves a manuscript entitled Cocoon Man: Confessions by Sidney Johnson under Joan’s pillow, only to have Isaiah discover it first. Though Joan doesn’t speak of what she saw, Sidney attempts to communicate with her by way of a book. When Isaiah’s mother, Joan (Angela Bullock), starts looking for Isaiah, she finds him performing fellatio on his father, who grimaces and appears highly distressed. The film fast-forwards 14 years to the day of Isaiah’s wedding.
As Sidney leaves the room, the camera pans to reveal that Isaiah was masturbating to a picture of his father. While Isaiah is naturally embarrassed and wants his father to leave, his father reassures him that it’s completely normal and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. His father, Sidney Johnson (Billy Mayo), walks into the room.
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons opens on a scene of a young teenage boy, Isaiah, masturbating. It has since gone on to draw a lot of attention and controversy online. The challenge of showing the unshowable and speaking the unspeakable pushed Ari Aster to submit The Strange Thing About the Johnsons as his thesis film at the American Film Institute. Aster claims that the idea for the film came about while discussing things that you simply could not show in a film. “Unspeakable” is probably a word that applies best to this 30-minute familial horror film.