Bottleneck

single channel HD video & sound installation
3 min. 26 sec. variable loop
2011

Bottleneck is a partial reenactment of a famous western-themed catfight scene from the 1939 film Destry Rides Again. Working with the original soundtrack of a crowd of cheering men, the video reinterprets the scene to depict two stuntwomen fighting in a generic art studio space without any visible male characters, deconstructing the male gaze and rupturing image-sound relationships.

credits:
Director & Editor: Julie Orser
Stuntwomen: Melissa Barker as Frenchy and Meegan Godfrey as Mrs. Callahan
Camera: Julie Orser and Michael Underwood
Second Camera & Lighting: Christopher Richmond
Hair & Make-Up Artist: Mira Cho
Costume: Jennifer Bruce
Crew: Jon Irving and Noah Spindler
Additional Props: David Bell
Sound: Appropriated excerpt from the 1939 film Destry Rides Again
Max/MSP/Jitter Programming: Chris Bassett
Special Thanks: Chris Bassett, Jennifer Bruce, Whitney Hubbs, Jon Irving, Steven Simon,the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures, Katie Rowe, Michael Underwood