Water Ritual 1: An Urban Rite of Purification
| Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Barbara McCullough |
| Written by | Barbara McCullough |
| Produced by | Barbara McCullough |
| Starring | Yolanda Vidato |
| Cinematography | Ben Caldwell Peter Blue Roho |
| Edited by | Barbara McCullough |
| Music by | Don Cherry |
Release date | 1979, 2013 (restoration) |
Running time | 6 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification is a 1979 short experimental film directed, produced, written, and edited by Barbara McCullough. It is McCullough's first film and is generally considered a pioneering experimental film by an African-American woman.[1] The title card is: "In West African societies, a story-teller charged with maintaining legacies, histories, knowledge and traditions in oral form."
Premise
Milanda (Yolanda Vidato) prepares for and partakes in a purification ritual.[2][3]
Themes
The primary theme of the film is about African-American women within the African Diaspora. The use of surreal lighting and unclear narrative convey the confusion and displacement experienced by African-Americans.[4] Milanda walks through a desolate wasteland with a confident detachment, representing African-American women's resilience despite harsh racial inequalities and a bleak outlook. The titular ritual augments this trope: Milanda's expulsion of clothing, water, and waste invoke African diaspora cosmology.[2][5] David E. James wrote that the film is an "...inter-artistic work that combines collage, the avant-garde jazz of the Los Angeles native Don Cherry, and themes of history, folklore, magic, and the specificity of black feminism."[6] In an interview, McCullough explained that the film "is really about touching [an] ancestral past."[7]
Production
McCullough was inspired to make the film when her close friend had a mental breakdown.[8] The film was initially shot on black and white film. It was then colored to mimic an infrared color film strip.[9]
References
- ^ "L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema - Harvard Film Archive". Harvard Film Archive. 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ a b Steward, Jacqueline. "Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification". UCLA Film & Television Archive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Water Ritual: An Urban Rite of Purification (1980) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Field, Allyson (2015). L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema. Univ of California Press. ISBN 9780520960435.
- ^ Dozier, Ayanna (September 2015). ""Affect and the 'Fluidity' of the Black Gendered Body in Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification and Cycles"". Liquid Blackness. 2 (5): 52–63.
- ^ James, David E.; Hyman, Adam (2015). Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780861969098.
- ^ Gaehtgens, Thomas W.; Zelljadt, Katja (2009). Getty Research Journal. Getty Publications. ISBN 9780892369706.
- ^ "Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification". Third World Newsreel. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Claiming Space: Collage in Cinema". LA Filmforum. Retrieved 31 October 2017.