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O Night Without Objects

O Night Without Objects, A Trilogy explores the relationship of conversion experiences - therapeutic, political and religious - to technology, fear and family.  The segments are stylistically diverse, employing theatrical, documentary and narrative means.  When viewed as a trilogy each segment informs and reinforces the common thematic concerns of the others, however, any segment may be distributed or viewed independently.  This film was produced during an artists’ residency at Xerox Parc, designed to bring artists and new technology research scientists together.

The Adventures of Blacky (TRT-9:12)  Narrates the administration of a psychological test to a young girl. She views a series of cartoon drawings of a family of dogs and listens to questions concerning each of the cards.

Based on a Story (TRT-43:14)   Explores the widely publicized encounter between Jewish Cantor, Michael Weisser and Grand Dragon of the Nebraska Ku Klux Klan, Larry Trapp.  After months of harassment from Trapp by mail, phone and cable TV, the Weisser family befriended Trapp, who then renounced the Klan, moved into the Weisser family's home and converted to Judaism. 

Time Bomb (TRT- 7:12)  Tells the story of a young girl’s experience at a Baptist retreat where a game called ‘time bomb’ becomes the measure of her desire to accept Jesus into her life. This piece explores memory, the power of crowds, rituals of conversion and the isolation of the child lost in the world of adults.

# Title Artists Run Time Year Country
1 The Adventures of Blacky Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse 00:06:00 1997 United States
2 Based on a Story Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse 00:44:00 1998 United States
3 Time Bomb Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse 00:07:12 1998 United States

The Adventures of Blacky

Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse
1997 | 00:06:00 | United States | English | Color | | 4:3 | Video

DESCRIPTION

Using a psychoanalytic tool from the 1950s, a series of black and white drawings illustrate the adventures of a family of dogs, dramatizing a young girl's appointment with her psychiatrist.

This title is also available on O Night Without Objects.

Based on a Story

Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse
1998 | 00:44:00 | United States | English | Color | Stereo | 4:3 | Video
Tags:

DESCRIPTION

Based on a Story explores the widely-publicized encounter between a Jewish Cantor, Michael Weisser, and Nebraska's former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, Larry Trapp. After months of harassment from Trapp by mail, phone and cable TV, the Weisser family befriended Trapp, who then renounced the Klan, moved into the Weisser family's home and converted to Judaism. Trapp, who was a double amputee and blind from childhood diabetes, died in the Weisser's home six months after he moved in. The Weisser/Trapp story, which was sold by the Weissers to the Disney Corporation, is presented as an intimate tale of family and childhood that evolves into a media event, built around the fear and shifting terrain of public and private life. The unique visual construction of the video concludes with the narrator appearing on camera, suggesting that the piece's narrative shares the constructive nature of the interview footage.

Original Music: Michael Becker & Pamela Z.

This title is also available on O Night Without Objects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Bomb

Jeanne C. Finley, John Muse
1998 | 00:07:12 | United States | English | Color | Stereo | 4:3 | Video

DESCRIPTION

Time Bomb tells the story of a young girl's experience at a Baptist retreat, where she is called upon to accept Jesus into her life after a coercive game of terror. This piece explores memory, the power of crowds, rituals of conversion, and the isolation of a child lost in the world of adults. Fear and family values motivate action and create an empty arena for escape. Visually, Time Bomb proceeds through a sequence of images that figure the "light" of memory as simultaneously revelatory and obscuring, constructive and destructive.

Time Bomb was created during an artist residency at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center designed to give artists and scientists working with new technologies the opportunity to collaborate.

This title is also available on O Night Without Objects.