[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.92,0:00:05.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[sounds of camera shutter rhythmically repeating]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.34,0:00:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Performance dome]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.68,0:00:11.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Liz Magic Laser, Artist]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.90,0:00:16.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Liz has decoded the unspoken\Nlanguage of political rhetoric.]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.92,0:00:19.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Two presidential speeches are\Nbeing performed...without words.]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.82,0:00:21.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Alan Good, Dancer]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.90,0:00:23.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Cori Kresge, Dancer]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.38,0:00:36.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Seven weeks earlier]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.58,0:00:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LIZ MAGIC LASER]\N--Okay, so I’ll start the camera going.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.66,0:00:47.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[sounds of camera shutter rhythmically repeating]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.56,0:00:49.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Chelsea, Manhattan]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.68,0:01:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Liz Magic Laser Talks to the Hand]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.02,0:01:07.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we were just working through\NObama's most recent State of the Union.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.82,0:01:08.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[BARACK OBAMA]\N--Mr. Speaker,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.64,0:01:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Mr. Vice President,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.98,0:01:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--members of Congress...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.50,0:01:14.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] We had it on mute.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.82,0:01:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[OBAMA] ...distinguished guests...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.78,0:01:22.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] We were looking exclusively at \Nhis arm and hand gestures.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.38,0:01:25.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For instance the first gesture we decided was\N"Here I am".
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.94,0:01:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Here I am.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.58,0:01:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Left over right.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.16,0:01:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Interlace.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.10,0:01:36.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER AND KRESGE IN, UNISON]\N--Point,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.02,0:01:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--one, two, three, four, five, six.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.78,0:01:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[BOTH LAUGH]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.68,0:01:40.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[KRESGE] Left over right.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.54,0:01:44.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[LASER] Let's also play with the pacing,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.52,0:01:47.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--maybe try to go twice the speed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.34,0:01:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Is it too fast?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.68,0:02:00.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] I think I’ve always seen\Npolitics as something very abstract.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.56,0:02:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What are they saying?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.36,0:02:06.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[OBAMA] Some financial firms\Nviolate major anti-fraud laws because...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.32,0:02:08.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] What do they mean when they’re saying that?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.40,0:02:14.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I find it more accessible to just\Nlook at their body language.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.26,0:02:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not really even thinking about what he's saying.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.48,0:02:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[OBAMA] That's not right.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.36,0:02:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Americans know that's not right.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.00,0:02:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] I usually tune that part out, to be honest.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.72,0:02:27.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.62,0:02:36.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] I was struck by the virtuosity of\NObama's movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.90,0:02:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I started to wonder about the choreography\Nthat is being used
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.80,0:02:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to persuade the public.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.58,0:02:49.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These rhetorical techniques can be traced back\Nto Francois Delsarte.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.04,0:02:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He developed a system of oratory to teach\Nactors, priests, and politicians
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.76,0:02:57.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how to to win over their audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.62,0:03:04.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He talks about this imaginary cube\Nthat you have in front of you.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.70,0:03:08.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Touching the bottom side means\Nyou're going to take care of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.48,0:03:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on top, you're communicating that you have possession--
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.42,0:03:17.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you have control over the issues at hand.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.28,0:03:22.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our working title for the piece is, "The Digital Face".
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.84,0:03:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why would Delsarte call something the digital face\Nin the 19th century?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.60,0:03:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Five digits means five fingers,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.84,0:03:34.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so he's talking about the drama of the hands.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.94,0:03:39.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I started to look back at\Nprevious State of the Union addresses.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.48,0:03:41.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[JIMMY CARTER]\N--We will meet these threats to peace.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.30,0:03:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] I had assumed that Reagan would be\Nthe first to be animated,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.00,0:03:50.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he just held his script
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.04,0:03:52.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he didn’t move his hands or arms at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.04,0:03:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The camera pulls back but he’s still not using his hands.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.24,0:04:00.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[RONALD REAGAN]\N--...and God bless America.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.26,0:04:08.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] The first president to use his hands and\Narms quite actively was Bush Sr.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.94,0:04:13.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[GEORGE H.W. BUSH]\N--And he begins his speech to his fellow citizens\Nwith these words--
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.52,0:04:17.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--words of a distant revolution. \NWe hold these truths to be self-evident...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.88,0:04:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Six week later]
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.68,0:04:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] I decided to put Bush Sr. into a gestural dialogue with Obama,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.96,0:04:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to show how politicians have come to maximize\Nthe efficiency of every move they make.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.58,0:04:34.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[OBAMA] Nearly one trillion dollars...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.88,0:04:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] Speech coaches use the camera as a tool to dissect and perfect individual movements.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.34,0:04:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In turn, we used stop action photography\Nduring the rehearsal
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.96,0:04:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to optimize the mechanics\Nof the performer's movements.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.96,0:04:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--I should really get a rehearsal going.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.80,0:05:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We decided to amplify the sound of\Nthe camera shutter clicking.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.90,0:05:09.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This tone of mechanical efficiency became\Nthe soundtrack to the piece.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.78,0:05:14.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[ALAN GOOD] I saw two things from Bush.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.54,0:05:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One was, he's a snake in the sense\Nthat he pounces quickly
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.80,0:05:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with no muscle coiling beforehand.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.90,0:05:27.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These very quick hand movements that came out of nowhere...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.98,0:05:29.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's kind of like being knifed.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.40,0:05:32.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[LASER] Great.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.80,0:05:34.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Fantastic.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.42,0:05:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Let's do it one more time.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.26,0:05:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] Liz and I would come up with\Nour own little language for Obama.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.94,0:05:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It would be like a spank.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.44,0:05:54.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or not looking at the thing that you're\Ntalking about because it's bad
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.28,0:05:55.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or it's not American.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.00,0:05:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s a subliminal quality.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.12,0:06:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[LASER] Okay, great. [APPLAUDS]
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.06,0:06:03.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--Let's do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.32,0:06:19.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] There's one moment that I really love.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.52,0:06:26.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's talking about, "This generation\Nknows that we will only endure..."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.58,0:06:29.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,--[OBAMA] Our way of life will only endure...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.82,0:06:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[KRESGE] He does this delicate plucking of some flower.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.66,0:06:42.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like he's suddenly heartbroken and \Nasking the nation to endure with him.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.76,0:06:47.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[GOOD] In the United States, there's a general\Nfear and loathing
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.32,0:06:48.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the power of government.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.94,0:06:50.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel this piece is saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.56,0:06:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is a system of gestures,\Nunbeknownst to us,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.76,0:06:57.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that looks into us and is being perfected as we speak.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.52,0:06:59.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[One week later]
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.94,0:07:02.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LASER] We are living in strange days
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.64,0:07:08.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where performance itself has become the dominant instrument of power.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.12,0:07:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The style of someone's delivery ends up\Nforeclosing the real content.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.98,0:07:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As spectators, we're being treated as\Nlab rats to be impressed.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.26,0:07:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm asking myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.92,0:07:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Can we reclaim some agency by getting our hands\Non the tools of mass communication?"