We all can imagine it: that immediate tug at one’s insides, that look which registers beyond any look, the sky-opening-hallelujah of a meeting: falling in love, at first sight. And even if we haven’t really ever felt it ourselves, the idea has assumed a cultural omnipresence. This is the variety of romantic acquaintance against which all others are measured. It’s doled out to us on a daily basis by movies, TV, magazines, advertisements for underwear, chocolate. This piece would be an exploration of where this notion of love-upon-impact comes down—is it Hollywood fantasy? Everyday reality? … Either way, why does it have such a hold on us?
The piece I envision would combine audio of people of a range of ages talking about whether or not love at first sight exists, and why they’ve come to believe what they do about it. I’d have a couple of people telling their own stories of it, and want to establish a tension between the “believers” and the “skeptics.”
To accompany this audio, I imagine a long, panning shot of a crowd of people. Perhaps at Grand Central station, or some place where we’re offered a large range of ages, ethnicities. The camera rests on individual faces, but only momentarily…as if implying that anyone of these people could hold the possibility of that lightening strike.
Posted in: Collaborative Projects Blog.
