Plastic Masks: Possibly in Michigan as Urban Legend

Possibly in Michigan is a work of American video art that brings Surreal fantasy into dialogue with feminist critique. In it dwells an absurd synthesis of Melpomene and Thalia, a grotesque grin creasing tear-stained cheeks, topped with a nest of snakes like the head of Medusa. Its story is a fable, told in operetta and masquerade. Masked players populate this elsewhere, somewhere in America, somewhere we met before, possibly in Michigan, or in the suburbs of Cleveland, where it was shot. They are symbolic, lurking, stalking figures, but they know how to party. Sometimes they wear animal masks, which is appropriate because they are the frog princes and big bad wolves of fairy tales, but they are also just humans in masks—humans who are frailer and crueler, more tragic and less innocent than other creatures of the earth. Sharon and Janice meet in a mall, where they are stalked by Arthur. Don’t worry about Arthur, though: he’ll never guess after whom he’s walkin’... In this episode, Stephen Broomer takes on Cecelia Condit's video in relation to epic theatre, the fairy tale and the urban legend, and veristic surrealism, inquiring to the limits of video's documental nature, and the motives of Condit's plastic disruptions. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Prologue 01:15 - Absurdism, Surrealism and Horror 02:57 - Possibly in Michigan 05:18 - Possibly in Michigan as Urban Legend 07:48 - Possibly in Michigan as Veristic Surrealism 09:47 - From Epic Theatre to Viral Video 12:18 - The Structure of Possibly in Michigan 15:16 - Patriarchy and Cannibalism 17:17 - Possibly in Michigan as Fairy Tale 19:01 - Possibly in Michigan as Distant Memory 20:34 - Possibly in Michigan as Political Operetta -- If you enjoy this video essay, consider following and watching more of Cecelia Condit's remarkable work here: https://vimeo.com/user3987476 Subscribe to Art & Trash:    / @artandtrash6095   This video is made possible via the sponsorship of Patreon supporters. Consider signing up for advance and exclusive content. My Patreon:   / artandtrash   Follow me on social media:   / artandtrash_     / artandtrash_     / trashandart   #exploitationfilm #videoart #artfilm #videoessay #undergroundfilm #filmcriticism #videoessay #canadiancinema #experimentalfilm #filmcriticism #cultclassic