Marginal Understandings (Dirt: Part Two)

Marginal Understandings is a poetic exploration of the American relationship to space, the soil, and ownership. While the drama of the European invasion and occupation of the American continent was justified as being the “destiny” of white people, there have always been alternative ways of living on the land, practiced by people who have been pushed to the economic margins. A collage of poetic imagery, music, and abstracted, incantatory language, the film follows two men in an excavation of our cultural soil, using improvised dialog. Their words gives rise to unexpected landscapes, populated by bats, conquistadors, and flying fiddles. A postmodern video opera, Marginal Understandings bathes the viewer in music, language, and visual spectacle.

Year

2023

Director

David Finkelstein

Duration

22 min

Country

United States

Language

English