by Brooke Wolfe

Created on: April 15, 2009   Last Updated: April 17, 2009

Mario Banana 1964/1965 is a compilation of two short films representative of Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola), his works, and his statements, which are all one and the same. The films may have seemed like mild porn in the 60's though they seem tame today. The actor, Mario, often went by the actress's name, Maria Montez, adding to the ambiguity of his sexual identity. He was an important gay icon in the 1960's and participated in other of Warhol's films.

Anyone can tell he is male affectedly dressed as a female (a drag queen), and you're supposed to. He could be seducing either man or woman, but neither man or woman is seduced by him, instead possibly disgusted with his sexualized consumption of food. The two films are less than 3 minutes each and are similar enough to appear to have been filmed on the same day, even if they weren't meant to be viewed side by side. Some people mistake them for the same film just different Technicolor. They are slightly different in the actor's timing and exact motions but Mario does basically the same thing in it. In general, they are not the same but they are of the same thing. In fact, the color version wasn't known to have existed till fairly recently about 20 years after the washed out version was made.

By making two films, Warhol might have been suggesting the infinite possibilities of making unlimited versions of the very same thing. All he would have to do is change one little thingone element of color, one tiny motion by the actor and he has Mario banana 3 and 4. It is uncertain if Warhol actually wanted to do this; but he was able. In paralleling pure art and minimalist sculpture, he could have made 6 or 7 3min. films to suggest their infinite possibilities of the fact, that although they are of the same image and action, they are different films. Also, much like each of his prints has a slightly different quality in the way the ink sloppily blotches when he doesn't clean the screen; so these two films have the same idea.

Almost all of Warhol's works repeat the emphasis he put on "the same" and his obsession with boredom. Mario Banana is a silent film, which adds to this boredom. Warhol likes being bored and thinks everyone should be the same, like a robot without emotions. For example, he ate the same kind of Campbell's soup for lunch everyday for 20 years. Watching Mario Banana 1 and 2, I felt hopelessly bored, but in a good way. I knew what the androgynous actor, Mario Montez, was going to do next and I was comfortable

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