The video, In My Own Language begins with a person moving in constant, spiral motions. The setting takes place in the kitchen of someone’s home. There are no words to be read or heard. All you see is this person, who seems to have characteristics of a man, judging by the loose and comfortable the person is wearing and the short hair cut. Also, the front side of this seemly eerie and disturbed person is not revealed until later on in the video.
The video purposely directs its viewers to feel uneased by this person and their indifferent ways. The film shows the person repeatedly practicing what one may conclude as a ritual of some sort. All the viewer hears is humming from this mystery person, who is soon revealed as a woman.
In the beginning of the video, people assume she has some type of disorder because she doesn’t talk. She continues to hum through most of the video and performs unusual norms of the average person. We know she is the director of this unspoken documentary because it is a home video and at all times we see at least one hand, meaning the other hand is being used to hold the camera.
However, towards the end of the video, there is an explanation, titled: A Translation. The woman explains how she separates herself and her language from the norm. She refuses to change and is totally comfortable with herself. She is very intelligent and her diction is exceptional. The way she explains how people view her and others like her is powerful and intense and it really made me and the class reflect on how we view people. I actually was quite surprised by the film. I felt proud of her for being able to totally kill any and all negative thoughts people may have had towards her and completely silence and memorize them with her ingenuity.
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