The Jumping Ruler – single channel experimental video art
Duration: 00:05:41. Original language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Armenian
“The Jumping Ruler” (2017) is a silly experimental video on demagoguery in the addresses of politicians.
Serving as an example of demagoguery in political addresses, the main text of the video is compiled of excerpts from inaugural speeches of five incumbent leaders: Donald Trump (USA), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Emmanuel Macron (France), Xi Jinping (China), and Justin Trudeau (Canada). The only modification introduced to the text of the speeches is replacing names of the countries and nations, with the words “our country, our people.”
The countries are chosen as representatives from different parts of the world, where the political power is different from one another – while demagoguery in their speeches is quite similar. These countries serve as recognizable examples in the video; this is not a critique aimed only at the mentioned countries, but a wider critique of empty, at times misleading words used by people in power, regardless of the regime or a party.
The video is peppered with the iconography of media production, such as blue and green screens, providing an association with the empty and interchangeable words, while the foley sounds highlight the slippery reality outlined in the piece. The nature of these audiovisual relationships highlight the simultaneous detachment and power of the demagogue to shape the environment of their constituents and their opinions.
Text by Mirosław Gwiazda
Sources of inauguration speeches:
Vladimir Putin – http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/48210
Emmanuel Macron – http://uk.businessinsider.com/full-text-emmanuel-macron-first-speech-president-2017-5
Justin Trudeau – http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/justin-trudeau-for-the-record-we-beat-fear-with-hope/
Donald Trump – http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trump-victory-speech/index.html
Xi Jinping – http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-20338586
SCREENINGS
2019 – ARTENS. ΞΟΥΘ Festival Greece
2019 – MOMus-State Museum of Contemporary Art. Videoland, Greece
2018 – 1st BCK Film Symposium / Balkan Can Kino, Greece
2018 – Video Art Miden, Greece
2018 – “One Shot” International Short Film Festival, Armenia
2018 – fliQs queer film nights, Canada