A Critique of "2 Girls 1 Cup"
First, two women affirm life by throwing themselves at each other in a passionate embrace. We begin to wonder; is the filmmaker attempting to shock us? To challenge us? We've seen this before. There are no textual clues in the film at this point- the filmmaker lets us begin to process this meta-monologue, to discover for ourselves whether we are the audience for this piece or its subject - or both. Then, one of the women devastatingly deconstructs the intertwined concepts of hygiene, food, and modern convenience by doing something horrible into a cup. The two women explore this concept further, in visual monologue and discussion. At this point, many viewers look away in fear as their ontological assumptions are shaken to the core. Just when the viewer is on the verge of assimilating this critique and passively accepting it as just another Debordian spectacle, the two women launch themselves into a Dionysian celebration of the body that calls- nay, commands- the viewer to join them in their abandon. My body reacted as theirs did- the most visceral piece of interactive art I have ever experienced. At the end of the video, the two women kneel and smile into the camera, their final action a defiant coda which recalls their first transgression. The framing of the final scene (and indeed the entire film) is unassuming, even aggressively banal. You realize with a shock that the artists have no need to rifle the lexicon of film; their statement is one of such rare power that such technical tricks would add nothing. Are they brave? Are they debased? Their art challenges us to look past such dualities. It asks us to experience disgust as joy, to see despair as play. It asks us to examine ourselves as humans. Most of all, it will fucking make you puke. Jesus, don't watch it. | 
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
prufrock451's journal
