VDB Experimental

The Video I am reviewing is Shirley Clarke and the Camera, as seen on VDB.


There is a great deal of static in the opening and soon a woman holding a camera is seen. She is playing with the new found technological wonder and is still learning to use it. A man helps her understand the functions of the camera, and she is intrigued by its nature. What makes the scene so interesting is not the subject, but the background. Behind her is a clutter of bottles and books on a shelf, with a couple posters littering the walls. It is strangely innocent: an odd peer into the life of this woman whose life seems to be messy, unorganized and unstructured. Yet she is happily learning to use a film camera, one of the most advanced creations in human history. She then explains what she wishes to do with the camera, perhaps with the technical know-how to do so, perhaps not. Under further watching, the viewer realizes that she is in fact on set and may be in fact be the director of a film, which adds to the intrigue of the situation. How can such a woman, who seems to need help operating the most fundamental piece of filmmaking equipment, be directing her own film? The video then cuts off, leaving the audience forever pondering the strange irony of the situation.