Buttery Coldness

An experimental biopic on Poul Thorsen (1884-1962), a Danish business magnate who used the profits from his margarine factory to study hypnosis. He then wrote what were essentially instruction manuals for how to manipulate of women and enforce gender roles through hypnosis, seances, and parapsychology.

Thorsen’s books are unexplored precursors to pickup artist manuals like The Game or Speed Seduction, recent best-sellers that distribute detailed recipes for men to manipulate women with, often appropriating hypnotherapy techniques. Buttery Coldness explores these methods of sexual oppression and exposes its techniques.

The film Buttery Coldness employs Scandinavian men as textual mediums; resurrecting Thorsen’s words through live-translation. For all public screenings, this film is accompanied by a workshop on contemporary pick-up artist techniques taught by a female instructor.