Chain Camera

Year: 2001

Grade: B-

Country: USA

Director: Dick

Review

high school students are given a camera for a one week span and told to film their lives; 16 of these students are represented in the film. since it’s a short documentary and there are so many people represented, there isn’t a great deal of depth in any of the segments. sure, we get intimate portraits of some of them, but there simply isn’t enough time to cover anywhere near a full range of emotions/experiences. the students are generally presented as kids who experience life with one archetypal identity. for example, the lesbian talks about not liking boys and being in love with her army shirt-wearing girlfriend. the ethiopian girl is seen talking almost exclusively about race and american culture’s views on race. the nerdy asian (?) guy with braces and glasses talks about people being stupid and wanting a girlfriend, but not being able to get one. there are moments where the filmmakers allow us to see the kids outside of these identities, but those are few and far between; and greatly outweighed by those times when their archetype determines their image. because i’m not privy to all the raw footage i can’t know whether the kids are truly one-dimensional or if it was simply a choice of kirby dick’s. while i don’t hold much hope for the future of america’s youth, i do think they’re more capable and textured than this film tends to portray. certainly part of this is a matter of time and economy, but i think that more of it can be attributed to dick’s world view. in sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, dick portrays a man who is completely defined by his medical condition. in derrida, dick portrays a man defined by an idea. and in chain camera, dick portrays students who are defined by a singular attribute – whether it be their race, sexual preference or hobby.  .