Connected:
A Declaration of Interdependence
(in development)
"When you tug at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world."
--John Muir
Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence
Synopsis: How does the disappearance of honeybees link ecosystems, botox, global economy, and reproduction? What does sperm and egg donation reveal about colonialism, population density and the environment? How is mercury affecting the food chain, population and link to our society’s desire for speed of information? How do Roe v. Wade and urban crime rates connect to China’s One Child Rule? And what do Margaret Sanger, advertising and genetic engineering have in common? Mixing powerful visuals, humor, and serious messages, Connected will take audience members on an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness journey into the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, technology and morality at the dawn of the 21st Century.
"When you tug at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world."
--John Muir
Style: Connected is a fusion of documentary and narrative. It communicates through a visual language that attaches symbolic meanings to images. As the ideas and links in the film become more complex, viewers begin to see the same images in different contexts, making them laugh, making them think, and then making them rethink their preconceptions. Connected mixes old-school narration with a new-school visual style, remixing archival footage, animation, word play and avant-garde visual techniques to explore the interconnections between technology, biology, and culture in a tightly woven network of causes, effects, and unintended consequences. The narrator is introduced as anonymous and omniscient yet is ultimately revealed to be the protagonist, a pregnant woman considering the state of the world into which she is bringing a child. The unique rhythm of images, music, and narration invites viewers to not just feel the pulse of the world but to ride the currents that connect it. Past work is enclosed to see style in action.
Objective: As the world becomes more complex and mass media tend to focus on isolating individual issues, Connected draws attention to the linkages between those issues. By revealing connections among honeybees, fertility, crime, Botox, bacteria, ethical codes, , genetic codes, and an array of other elements, the project will illuminate the surprising links of our actions, and the complex relationship between humans and the greater networks to which we belong. While we have all become aware of our “links” through the Internet, this project aims to reveal the underlying interconnectedness at play every moment in the real world. This display of interdependence will give a glimpse into the larger narrative of the society in which we live, and suggest that only through collective efforts that take an interdependent approach can we begin to understand the challenges the world faces today.
Tiffany recently gave a talk outlining the new film at The Idea Festival Sept 14, 2007.
* Ethan Zuckerman’s Blog “Idea Festival: Tiffany Shlain’s Web of Ideas”
Watch a film clip from The Idea Festival Interview
This film was developed last year during an Artist-in-Residency at The Headlands Center for the Arts.
Credits:
Directed by Tiffany Shlain
Written by Tiffany Shlain, Ken Goldberg, Carlton Evans and Leonard Shlain