Dear all, blogger did not let me comment- so here the feedback as a post- if any of you want to take the trouble to post as comments from PN account, please feel free- sorry about this!
Cynthia
(1) What
visuals or movement might you imagine to this piece?
For some reason I am drawn to the contrast between walking like
Radha and Walking like a feminist- so possible variations of walking- just sets
of feet filmed from above.
I know this is very sketchy, but my sense is for a continuous
walking, covering space, which we don’t see, but get a sense of due to the
progression and continuity of the walking.
Maybe changing footwear? But then its hard to get the continuity
in walking…..
(2) What parts of the text are you drawn to and
why? Conversely, are there places where your attention falls away or that
you would recommend cutting?
I find the mention of the nation state jarring-
and parallel to it the imperialism- I think because they are loaded and the
brief mentions end there…… It jars the otherwise poetic text- maybe that’s
intended- but then I would maybe play with how they relate to each other. The
terms as they are used now come across more black and white than they are, I think,
esp when paired with an artistic practice.
Otherwise, I maybe get lost a little in the “love section” at the
end-
(3) What emotions do you experience when
listening to this soundtrack? How would you describe the emotional arc of
the work?
1: discomfort about physical Non-belonging
2. conflicting femininities: domesticated vs
feminist
3: bridging cultural difference?
4. how do we love?
It moves to me from personal- to more
personal/political to love as expansion (love as a possibility towards political
change?)
(4) What light does this study shed on the
theoretical concept of cultural queerness?
I actually perceive more tension than embrace of
the obliqueness (which to me resonates with the queerness)
Except at the end where the interesting proposition
of love as a mode of (political) expansion connects different layers of
queerness (much like rapture/rupture)
(5) Other comments?
In general, in terms of content, I feel that its
clearer how the American feminist side confronts the “classical Indian” and its
nationalist entanglement- but less how the classical Indian disrupts the
American feminist- the puncturing goes in one direction- towards the classical,
which comes across as more “passive” in this case. I am curious what the
relationship looks like if the other direction is emphasized
Shyamala
1.
what is the tone of this piece for you? does it
change over time?
The tone of the piece is a
fascinating mixture of light/fun and serious. Overtime, I feel that both qualities get enhanced- ending in a
tongue- and-cheek way- I really like the ending of you laughing and taking off
the hat!
2.
what do you experience watching it?
The
Oh I am totally drawn in from
the beginning. I think the blank/serious expression on your face contrasting
the more and more adventurous identity (stereotypes) provide a good contrast- I
also like how interjections in the sound track (questioning) and in the facial
expression mirror each other.
3.
would you like there to be more in the sound
score? if so, what?
I am torn about this one. I
kind of like the sparseness of the soundscore. Anything more, might highlight
one or the other mood too more and throw off the careful balance.
4.
how do you feel about the length and
pacing? Does it include everything you would like or do you feel it is
too repetitive?
I like the length, and also the
progression, in terms of pacing maybe there could be some playing with the
editing- for some reason I can picture a fast forward or rewind kind of effect “summarizing”
the stereotypes and also the mixed up ones.
5.
Any other feedback?
I really like how
cultural/ethnic/religious and gender identity get addressed simultaneously- I
think there could be some more thought/variety into what other variations might
be possible---- I think there is more potential there
I also think it would be a fun
model for all of us to follow and do a kind of video installation with…….
Meena
i) what stands out to you in terms of what this body
doing?
Posing, lounging, confronting (through looking)
Offers itself, owns itself
In control
Seducing and troubling by not-conforming
ii) how would you describe this body?
Open yet confrontational, relaxed, comfortable in its
non-conformity
Self-reflexive, in charge
iii) is this body doing anything subversive?
Mostly I feel the contrast between seduction (inhabiting
sexualized feminine poses) paired with a gender-non-conforming subjectivity
The looks into the camera- calm, stern
Less the body than the editing—the pulsing of the poses, the
switch from flowing from pose to pose, to chopping them next to each other
iv) how is this body
constructing its own subjecthood (if this body is indeed constructing its own
subjectivity)?
The careful choosing and deliberateness of the stances, poses,
the juxtaposition of seduction and gender-noncoformity
The choice of telling a story away from the camera (that gets
blurred) interjected with the stern gaze into the camera
v) how is the camera and/or the editing constructing (co-constructing?)
this body's subjecthood?
I think I already addressed this above, regarding eth switch
between flow from pose to pose as against chopped up stringing together,
enhanced but the pulsating in a pose which is clearly edited,
The move from blurred to clear
The choice of camera angle (looking directly into the camera vs
abhinaya into diagonal, away from camera)
The background sound during abhinaya vs the silence which
staring
vi) anything else?
