Taping Yourself

Dead Prez - Hell Yeah

Why is the beginning to this video so dope? Shit reminds me of that beautiful protracted take in the forest in Children of Men.

+/- (Plus/Minus) - Fadeout

We should champion artists like these guys instead of the Fergie-era Black Eyed Peas.



When I found these videos I was immediately reminded of that French film that Orlando burned for me (which I haven't finished yet and have forgotten the title of) in which the narrative is visually controlled and literally framed by the actors who do double work as the cinematographer; what you see are the characters in the film obviously taping themselves. I wonder if this visual style is emerging as a symptom of the way we view our world today or if I just haven't really noticed this kind of filmmaking before. Taping oneself can obviously have the danger of evoking the amateurism of self-portraiture that is ubiquitous to MySpace culture, but it is an interesting device nonetheless.

Above I mentioned Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men because, while risking the statement of a cliche commonly attributed to the medium of film in general, the action sequences make you feel like you really are there through the clever positioning of the point of view. It is not an example of taping oneself, but it does provide an alternate psychology to the normative Hollywood construction, blurring the line between the viewer and the viewed with feelings that are also evoked by found footage and "taping yourself."