Here my assignment one, posted from "on the road. It could not be embedded yet, here is the link, and password:
I Am, Babli Cabaret Study 1 from Sandra Chatterjee on Vimeo.
I Am, Babli Cabaret Study 1 from Sandra Chatterjee on Vimeo.
Password: I am
Feedback questions coming. If you want to give feedback before I send the questions, don't worry and just address anything that comes to your mind!
I worked with a specific song, but its bilingual, and all the relevant text is also there in English....
Here is the link to the lyrics, I did not want to post it so you are not tempted to read first- I wanted to know if it registers just from listening:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/u/ute+lemper/im+a+vamp_20892194.html
I was particularly struck by the transformation from what appeared to be a "western" woman's sexualized legs and skirt (very cabaret) into a sari. I was most drawn to the opening of the piece, the framing of the legs and how their movement morphed from (western) seductive into an uncomfortable winging and sickling of the feet. Once you stand up, it is surprising to see how much cloth there is -- I wondered if more could be done with your "tail" of trailing cloth. The transition down to the floor could have been a little smoother. I saw a sort of "animalistic" or "primitive" embodiment towards the end, which could perhaps be pushed to more of an extreme.
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted to expand the first section further, it could be interesting to integrating toe-tapping into some sort of rhythmic sounding?
Lyrics/Sound:
Since you address this in your post, I thought I'd note that I didn't understand many of the lyrics from listening, but I tend to be the sort of viewer/listener who doesn't understand lyrics. What did catch my ear was "all that's wild" (which explained the animal print), the purring, "shut up," and something about Hitler. The sound established a very night-life cabaret feel through the piano in combination with the husky voiced woman performer; I also heard what sounded like trickling water. Upon looking at the lyrics, they are super intriguing and engage the character of the "vamp" in many ways. Given the importance of the vamp in Bollywood, the transition between European and Indian references in your costume, and the sexualized western physicality of the legs, I wonder if there are ways in which you reference the physicality of the Bollywood vamp?
Right now the piece seems to play more into a "primitivist" trope than an Orientalist one, which is interesting.
Babli, I'm really interested in this... There is quite a compelling contrast from the feet to the face!
ReplyDeleteHere is my pre-lyric interpretation:
A proper but teasing, European lady wears her stylish leopard print skirt.
First two sweeps of legs are full of Victorian demureness as the legs are together. But then the legs separate and climb up the chair with tension after I hear the words “wild and crazy” in the lyrics. I feel she is trying to break free of her proper-ness, or perhaps she can’t help but break the impossible confines of that proper-ness. The trills in the singers voice rolling her rrrrs like a feline makes me feel her insides becoming wilder.
She seems to gain control of her inner desires as she stands and does little circular knee bends with legs glued together, only to unravel in a different way as the skirt transforms in to sari. This cloth is unexpectedly long.
She drops to the floor like an animal and bares her teeth around the word “gorilla”. “Shut up” I hear, as her head is enveloped again by the garment. I wonder, has her “exotic” animal self come out from behind it's tame façade? She smiles and leans back, happy at the end…is she released?
I just checked the lyrics and feel my interpretation can still work though it makes her wildness more purposeful from the beginning. I like that the movement keeps tension between the woman and the beast, whereas the song lyrics have them clearly united from the beginning.
I hope you continue to explore this character!
I see sexualized woman, "the tigress" of sorts as your feet in high heels with a leopard print material flowing down accompanied by purring and the wild woman sound track boom. This initial framing of your legs and feet heighten the feeling that you represent at once the power of female sexuality which is acknowledged, objectified and consumed by the male stereotype. The feral, wild references do make me also think of the primitive as Cyn suggests. I also haven't read the lyrics just yet. The opening of the legs and turning out to 180 before bringing your feet in to stand are a bold statement. Seeing your entire body enter the frame, with wild hair and bold gaze with laughter almost feel like this woman is self aware of her objectification and is laughing at the one gazing at her or enjoying the power of her sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching the video. It however is not opening for me anymore so I am missing out a few details here.
ReplyDeleteLike Cynthia, the skirt turning to saree intrigued me greatly. As Shy pointed out, I enjoyed watching the contrast going from the legs to the face. I agree with Anjali about the choice of the material, the animal -Leopard print and wild woman indication through it. The leg work - the circling, the splits, the bringing them together thats moves slowly and deliberately, for me, adds greatly to shaping the character and works well with the lyrics.
I only feel that it might be interesting to try and see what happens when the camera moves up slowly, the skirt transforms into the saree with a quick slide down and maybe then captures you in full view. From there maybe the focus shifts to your face and then you wear the pallu/anchal of the saree. The very deliberate movement of the camera (which I know is currently hand held and single handedly shot and is great) might add to the direction that the movement and the lyrics (in two languages) and the music take.