thee istsfor manity reader

Critical Focal Acuity (redux)

(Fade In)

-Series of found moving images as the film racks out of focus

-Series of stills: long open highways receding into the horizon line; traffic jammed still; parking lots (these sequences without people in the frames)

-Series of of shots resolving into sharp critical focus: buildings from various anonymous downtowns

(Fade Out)

 – 4 seconds of clear leader

(Fade In)

-4 seconds of black leader

(Lap Dissolve)

-Asynchronous sound of obtuse observations about reality shows broadcast on the E! Network, c. 2007 / Over clear leader

-Mundane observations about obscure European celebrities / Over black leader

-Silence / Over cut-ups compiled from 33 sequences of film, all exactly 105 frames long, thrown into the air, and then assembled by chance operations

(Lap Dissolve)

-A Random Series Of Magnified Images Of Fleas

(Voice Over):

“The way that fleas become infective is due to a feature of their alimentary system—they have not only a stomach, or a ventriculus, but also a proventriculus, which acts as a valve that regulates the food that the flea is ingesting and trying to get to its stomach.”

(Lap Dissolve)

-American National Anthem plays 

-A flagless flag pole pings as the wind whips two metal swivel flag snaps on a rope resoundingly into metal pole.

(Voice Over):

“This concludes our broadcast day …”

(Fade to Black)

White Noise.

“But Mom took me in her arms the moment she saw me: a tiny, brown, swollen blob fish. She had been trained to accept filth as her fate. Dad hadn’t.”

— Valeria Luiselli / The Story of My Teeth