A British professor is planning to spend the next year of his life living as David Bowie, with plans to adopt the rockstar’s various looks, eating habits and musical tastes, all in the name of “science”.
Will Brooker, a professor of film and cultural studies at London’s Kingston University, will undergo the ch-ch-ch-changes as part of “research” into the enigmatic figure of David Bowie for his forthcoming Bowie-themed monograph (for non-academics, that’s a written study about a specialised subject), Forever Stardust.
This will include not only dressing up as the shapeshifting British singer’s multiple famous personas, but also “method acting” as Ziggy Stardust et al. in order to achieve a fuller grasp of their inherent Bowieness.
“The idea is to inhabit Bowie’s headspace at points in his life and career to understand his work from an original angle, while retaining a critical and objective perspective at the same time,” Brooker, who otherwise looks a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch, explained to The Guardian.
But as well as dressing and acting like Bowie, Brooker also plans to adopt Bowie’s strange dietary habits — including the infamous milk and red peppers regime he lived off of during the seventies (which, as A.V. Club points out, was actually more like milk, red peppers and cocaine. Just if you wanna be, like, accurate about it).
However, Brooker has admitted that his 365-day Bowie masquerade, sadly, will only get him so close to the real thing.
“[Bowie’s] mansion in Beckenham has been demolished, for instance, and I’m unlikely to have a fling with Mick Jagger,” he offered in a statement. “However, it is possible to engage with and get a feel for his experiences without immersing oneself to a dangerous extent.”
I wonder if that means he won’t be engaging in Goblin King-level crotch-stuffing. Because let’s face it, it’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.
Watch: David Bowie – Through The Years
