Concrete and the death of civic space John Wilson
Finding Wonder in the Foundation: How One Film on Concrete Rewires Our Understanding of Time and Grief
To truly understand the world around us, one must simply be curious. As director John Wilson suggests, it is embarrassing to know so little about the things that occupy so much of our visual environment. His film, The History of Concrete, is a powerful reminder that the most profound stories are often found in the places we walk right over, the structures we ignore, and the rituals we use to process our lives.
Wilson approaches his work with a disarming honesty, admitting that the pursuit of compelling content can be messy. To find worthy material, he mixes the mundane with the monumental. He pairs the terrifying infrastructures we accept—like the massive BQE bridge—with deeply personal human experiences, exploring themes ranging from unique grieving rituals to the enduring nature of what we build.
In The History of Concrete, the physical act of creating and destroying concrete serves as a lens into humanity’s complex relationship with permanence and loss. Wilson moves through subjects that range from the unique rituals of mourning, such as “tattooed flesh embalming”, to the monumental death of civic space. He suggests that we engage in different ceremonies for these larger losses—the death of a person versus the death of an entire built environment.
This exploration naturally leads to the vastness of time. By dealing with a thousand-year timeline, Wilson prompts viewers to consider humanity as grains of sand in an infinite expanse. He poses the fundamental question: how do we live on Earth when we only have a limited amount of time? The film subtly challenges the cyclical behavior we follow and asks us to look beyond immediate concerns to find a deeper, more meaningful way of existing.
Wilson masterfully uses humor not just for entertainment, but as a tool to examine power. By highlighting the absurdity of our existence and the forces that shape our lives—be it market forces, political structures, or the responsibility of landlords—he uses comedy as a weapon to speak truth to power. This approach encourages us to look at the obvious villains in our lives, whether they are political figures or the systems we inhabit.
Ultimately, the film argues that curiosity is the antidote to boredom. By allowing ourselves to explore any facet of the world—whether it’s the composition of a building or the dynamics of a relationship—we renew our faith in humanity. Wilson’s work reminds us that there is a galaxy within every overlooked detail, urging us to stop passively walking through the world and start actively seeking the stories waiting to be discovered.
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