Homework - 11.19.2014

The Red Tapes

1. Acconci speaks in several ways.  From the beginning, he whispers to the audience.  I think that this voice plays to his inner thoughts, emotions, and intentions.  His speaking voice plays more to physical actions, recalling real-time events in a sequence of actions.  Acconci speaks directly to the audience, as opposed to his whispering voice that speaks less in complete sentences and reflects raw emotions.  He also speaks in the form of a repetitive voice that repeats phrases such as "what do I do?" and "what do I say?"
2. Acconci talks about a profile of himself: Italian born and bred in the Bronx.  In terms of nationalism, he talks about a countrywide issues of gang violence and murder, while second-guessing his relationship to these events.  We get a better understanding of how to piece together his fragmented stories.  Acconci comments on the contrast between people's portrayal of classic "America the Beautiful" and his personal experience in the slums.
3. He comments on his personal conflict with the American politics [20:49] and his disgust with president Kennedy and what he would do if he was there when he was shot.  Acconci would revel in his death and watch the life leave his eyes.  He pairs this his profile, darkly lit from behind.  This gives him an anonymous feel, a face in the crowd.  This suggest that these thoughts are not coming from only Acconci himself, but this is an opinion shared by a mass of people.
4. The quiet music paired with the paintings gave an admiral feel to the sequence: a classic depiction of America the Beautiful with pine trees, mountains, etc.  When Acconci pairs similar music with a black background, the piece has a much more eerie feel, suggesting that our portrayals of our country are not as they seem.  When Acconci talks about his experience with the car, he quietly repeats "vroom, vroom, vroom" throughout his speech.  This gave his words a more unsettling feel than if he were to insert real audio clips of cars.  His repetition gives us the feel that these words have been echoing in his head for a long period of time.
5. I understand this piece to be Acconci's disappointment with American society.  He comments on the contrast between Americans glorifying their own country with the real life political issues that are going on.