MY MASK IS A MIRROR

My Mask Is A Mirror 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝐹𝑖𝑙𝑚 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝’𝑠 𝐶𝑂𝑆𝑇𝑈𝑀𝐸 / 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑆𝑈𝑀𝐸 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠.  

Wednesday, November 9th 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Millennium Film Workshop   

This one-time screening pairs works by the Zapatistas and the Bernadette Corporation, examining the use of concealment as a political tool. The screening will be followed by a discussion on the many ideas (and frictions) posed by viewing these works together.  

𝙀𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤́𝙣 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙤́𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙖 / 𝙇𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙖 𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙟𝙖 𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙨 / 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙕𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙨  (ProMedios / Chiapas Media Project, 2000s)   A series of short documentaries produced by the Zapatistas (EZLN) which highlight autonomous community projects within Chiapas, collective resistance to extractive companies, and the employment of public demonstrations. Members of the autonomous communities appear masked throughout these pieces as they give personal testimonials and stand up against industrial & state powers. Throughout the ability of the mask to act as both a shield and a mirror is powerfully evoked.  

𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙍𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 (Bernadette Corporation, 2001)   The hipster New York fashion/art collective Bernadette Corporation, in releasing this agitprop video piece in the early aughts managed to capture much of the spirit of insurrectionary anarchism which defined the WTO protests and which, for better or worse, has continued to define popular uprisings throughout the Western world. Ultimately this a valuable look at what inspires middle-class white people to don masks and launch molotovs from within the belly of the beast. A swarming mass of people dressed in black from head-to-toe… through the lens of the Bernadette Corporation and their co-conspirators, this as much a tactic of safety as it is an expression of vitalist philosophy in action.   

**𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱**