Interviewing Frank Kozik tomorrow: got any questions?

His last post was on Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:03 pm. I don't call that checking the board.
We are in 2010.

 

I'm old enough to have seen this guy on the TeeVee, but also old enough not to be sure what the ad was about. Was he crying because of littering? Is that the implied comment: you're littering in the forum?

 

Nevermind. You weren't around and obviously didn't read this whole thread.

 

I think it's funny that that actor isn't native american, I think he was Italian or something.

 

What, wait? This whole thread was about this Indian?

I think I get the stuff about Kozik, I'm just asking about the Indian ad from the 70's.

 

Whoops, my mistake, I absent-mindedly thought that was 2010...

 

Here is the original ad in video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R-FZsysQNw

 

Hey liquidsky - just wanted to clarify that I'm not calling you an elitist asshole. I was just poking fun at the time he called you and I out for being assholes (as seen near the bottom of page 2 in the link below), and was pretending that my hands were clean.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=22515&p=309255&hilit=liquidsky#p309255

 

everytime you buy an eric scarecrow piece, monstrecliff sheds a single tear...

 

Jesus, I think when that was originally on my family still had a black and white TV. Thanks!

 

Random, b/c I don't know you, but Liquid Sky is one of my favorite 80s movies, and its stellar soundtrack is perfect for driving bad neighbors bonky on repeat.

Anyway, I don't disagree that giving the hardsell on a fan forum is not always appropriate, but since I wasn't around, I can't comment directly. My point when it comes to Kozik is just that that's his thing--he will tell you straight up, he likes money. So it seems like it would fall under "Known Issues." In the interest of not stirring up more old shit, I'll just get back to transcribing!

 

No big deal.

I just wanted to clear up any misunderstandings some might have and also share my perspective.
And of course, I wasn't the only one butting heads with Frank.

I suppose I was much more passionate about things in the past.
I really didn't get or understand the east/west fusion thing. Still don't for the most part.
I was all about purity and ragging on the custom coalitions in general.

And no one should really rent Liquid Sky as it's a B movie that's kinda difficult to watch.
But yeah, that's where the handle comes from...

 

For what it's worth the "crying Indian" commercial is one of several from the 1970s that made an indelible impact on people who saw them because they were shown frequently, and because they were well-done in terms of making a strong impact. There's a reason why the phrases "ancient Chinese secret," "you're soaking in it," "try it, you'll like it" and "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" are stuck in the minds of people who saw TV in the '70s.

The "Indian" was indeed an Italian dude with no Native American blood. He didn't just do his act for the commercial. He was known as "Iron Eyes Cody" and had a lot of people seriously duped. I remember some city council giving him this big honorary title with all sorts of praiseful resolutions lauding him for raising eco-consciousness from a Native American perspective, which in fact he didn't represent at all. Basically an offensive fake, despite the effectiveness of the famous ad.

I don't remember what liquid's context was for posting the image, but there's some pretty heavy duty resonance there that might have been a comment on the general frustrations with FK's participation at this board.

The objections to some of FK's antics didn't come about because this is a community of jerks. They were basically about a certain sense of integrity, tradition and community which FK was seen to violate with obnoxious cynicism and a dearth of understanding about J-vinyl and kaiju (as well as totally unprovoked personal attacks, etc.) A carpetbagger, in other words.

The fact that Skullbrainers can be a bit passionate about circling the wagons is mostly a good thing. It goes too far sometimes but usually for well-intended reasons.

 

When he thought it was cool to degrade things by calling it "gay" I had issue with it and decided to call him on it. He and his fans didn't appreciate it, but I didn't appreciate the comments. A simple edit or mea culpa would have sufficed, but he was unapologetic am so am I.

Was any of the money donated to a gay cause? Or maybe it's a mockery, kind of like how he uses the Swastika.

 

I didn't know about those labbits but I do remember that he originally announced what later became his "Pickle" colorway as the "Gay Pride" colorway. Made no sense, but then, I'm not sure "Pickle Surprise" did, either.

 

OK, here it is: http://blog.neonmonster.com/library/fra ... h-mr-kozik

 

"Classic" FK interview. He makes some good points about the generality of the OG punk scene, but immediately thereafter talks some bitter hypocritical nonsense about the kaiju scene. "Dealing with elitists" LOL ... sour grapes, anyone?

There's so much more to kaiju appreciation than elitism or an opportunity for a cash grab. As usual, he talks whack to demean others when in fact the nature of his own opportunism was the real problem. Dude didn't know jack about kaiju history.

Still, congrats on getting the interview. It's nicely presented and FK's studio is an admirable accomplishment and workspace, always nice to see photos from it.

 

I'm only 1/3 into the interview but I'm enjoying it. I think he nailed something by pointing out the "power through exclusion" phenomenon. Wish he'd come back here one day.

 

Great interview! Well done and Frank still rocks

 

I need to get a job from nike...how does one "Design" things??

 

With a Mac and CS4

 

It's good to see that we were just another bunch of folks in the ever-changing scenery of his gigantic money pot. For a while, I thought there might be some hard feelings on his part.

Nicely constructed interview. I find it a little weird that for someone who makes his current livelihood producing toys, Kozik does not talk much about toys except as sales objects.

 

So my 6 year old pc and photoshop 7 won't do Nike quality designs?

 

Great interview, in true Frank Kozik style. Really wish I could be at WonderCon this year, would really love to talk with good ole Frank. Very glad he's still rolling strong as ever.

 

I don't know, the tease on MonstreHero looks pretty cool. Are those monkey boobs? Is King Dong getting a misses?
I guess the only question is can Kobe Bryant fit in the MH resin lightbox?