Memory Room 451
The subject matter of Memory Room 451 is the cultural and historical significance of 20th-century hairstyles – the Afro, the conk, dreadlocks – in Black communities on both sides of the Atlantic. Akomfrah has disguised this exploration as a science fiction story – in the manner of the groundbreaking writers profiled in The Last Angel of History – while providing a bravura display of the aesthetics of video art in the 1990s. The tale of visitors from the future who gather dreams from unwitting subjects in order to construct a history of the Black diaspora both defamiliarizes Akomfrah’s ongoing project and points to the danger that extracting history from memory can be a kind of expropriation.
Description: The subject matter of Memory Room 451 is the cultural and historical significance of 20th-century hairstyles – the Afro, the conk, dreadlocks – in Black communities on both sides of the Atlantic. Akomfrah has disguised this exploration as a science fiction story – in the manner of the groundbreaking writers profiled in The Last Angel of History – while providing a bravura display of the aesthetics of video art in the 1990s. The tale of visitors from the future who gather dreams from unwitting subjects in order to construct a history of the Black diaspora both defamiliarizes Akomfrah’s ongoing project and points to the danger that extracting history from memory can be a kind of expropriation.
Genres: Science Fiction, Documentary
Budget: $0 | Revenue : $0
Runtime: 25 minutes
Release Date: 1996-01-01
Return of the Tooth Fairy
Fears
Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1
Fighting Chance
Hello...?
Fien & Teun gaan op schattenjacht
Undergrowth
Return to Rajapur
Enescu, Skinned Alive
Leaves from Satan's Book
No cast info found
Backdrops
No artwork found
Posters
Logos
No artwork found