Alienation presents a fictional account of the long forgotten era in human history known as 'space control telepathy times.' This milestone in human history, being overlooked in history books, has now only been dusted off in the form of a B-movie by Raul Marroquin, who uses the emulatory style to make a comment on our own simulated realities. Marroquin's reality is not so distant from our own, in fact-the primary difference being that most communication is conducted through telepathy, eliminating the need for spoken word. That is, until an unexplained affliction known as Alienation Syndrome, or A.S., grows to contaminate 55% of the population with symptoms such as vocal enunciation of speech and total loss of interest in politics and social activities. The ter…ible epidemic is frantically discussed by the Supreme Council, but amidst their ineffectual bureaucracy, the matter of public health is taken under the jurisdiction of the private corporation O.S.I.A., or Outer Space Intelligence Agency. Our heroine, A.N.E.T., is the agent assigned to the case. She embarks on her mission in a series of strange encounters with other agents, officers, and scientific experts, moving through backdrops befitting any range of detective, sci-fi, or gangster films. This is Marroquin's ultimate playground, with an eccentric cast of characters and settings all recognizable but distorted in one way or another, through caricature, graphic manipulation of the image, and the disjunctive voiceovers given to the miming actors. The result is a suspense story of an absurd sort, whereby a satire critiquing corrupt state agencies can still be visually joined with a fairy tale ending set against a painted beach scene. (Elaine W. Ho)

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