Bowie on screen: when the alien became an object of study
Oh, David Bowie. The man who fell to Earth and, it seems, never left. Or at least, not his ghost. Because ever since he decided that this planet was an interesting place to make art, we haven’t stopped dissecting it, analyzing it, and packaging it into digestible formats for the masses. One of the most representative figures of pop culture since the seventies, they say. Come on, a modest title for someone who was basically a Martian with lipstick.
His influence, we are told, transcended music. What a novelty! As if putting on an orange wig and singing about spiders from Mars wasn’t already enough of a contribution to Western civilization. No, good David also wanted to try his luck in front of the cameras. And what luck: he interpreted aliens, historical figures and fantasy beings with the same naturalness with which one puts on socks in the morning. Who hasn’t dreamed of being a goblin elf one day and Nikola Tesla the next?
The ‘Bowie-ology’ industry: documentaries to decipher the chameleon
Of course, such a mythological creature needed its own documentary industry. They started filming them even when the guy was still breathing – what a lack of patience – but after his departure in 2016, things got serious. We now have more material on Bowie than there are pictures of kittens on the Internet.
The most recent is “Bowie: The Final Act” (2026), which focuses on his latest album Blackstar and his reflection on mortality. Because nothing says “reflection on mortality” like a music video where a skeleton jeweler guards a book in space. Very subtle, David.
Then there is “Bowie in Berlin” (2026), where they review those magical years between 1976 and 1978 when the man decided that the best way to cure his problems was to move to Germany with Iggy Pop. The logic is impeccable: depression? Let’s go to Berlin to make experimental music! Who didn’t think of it before?
But the award for the most meta documentary goes to “Moonage Daydream” (2022), the first authorized by his heirs. “Conceived as an immersive experience”, of course, because seeing normal Bowie would be too boring. We need unreleased material, special effects and probably virtual reality to understand a guy who sang about strange boys.
The list goes on: “David Bowie: Five Years”, “The Last Five Years”, “Finding Fame”, “The Man Who Changed the World”… It seems like every year of his life deserves its own documentary. When is “Bowie: The Breakfast Years” or “The Hair Philosophy of Ziggy Stardust”?
From Martian to Tesla: when acting was another disguise
As for his role as an actor… well, let’s call it “extended acting.” His most iconic role was in “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976), where he basically played himself: a confused alien in our world. Acting method or simply arriving late to the set without getting out of character?
Then came Jareth, the Goblin King in “Labyrinth” (1986). A demanding role that required tight leggings, an impossible wig, and the ability to maintain dignity while singing about dancing the dance of magic. Spoiler: he did it.
Bowian’s filmography is as eclectic as his changes of look: from vampires in “The Hunger” to prisoners of war in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. But my personal favorite is when he played Andy Warhol in “Basquiat.” A pop icon playing another pop icon – it’s like those metalinguistic Russian dolls that give you a headache.His disturbing appearance as Agent Phillip Jeffries in “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me” could not be missed. Because if there’s one thing David Lynch needed to make his nightmares more surreal, it was… well, Bowie.
And then there’s that glorious cameo in “Zoolander” as a beauty pageant judge. Because after having been an elf, a Martian and Pontius Pilate for Scorsese, what do you do? Well, judging male models alongside Ben Stiller, obviously.
These films and documentaries make up what we now pompously call David Bowie‘s audiovisual legacy. An “object of study”, the academics say seriously. A professional chameleon, the rest of us say.
The truth is that we have been trying to figure out what the hell was going through that platinum blonde (then orange, then brunette…) head for almost half a century. And perhaps that is precisely the point: we will never fully know. As someone once said -probably in some documentary-:
His career was marked by his constant capacity for reinvention and his disruptive spirit.
In other words, he was never bored and he liked to break things. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
The fascinating thing is not how much we have analyzed Bowie, but how much we continue to be fascinated by analyzing him. Forty-seven years later we are still wondering who this man-star-elf-Martian-Tesla-Warhol-Pilate-judge-of-models really was.
And you? Have you already seen all these documentaries or do you still think Ziggy Stardust was just a phase? Share this Bowian journey with other lost Earthlings and continue exploring how one man could contain multitudes… and so many disguises.
