Confessions of a Chameleon

View Resource

Read the Fine Print

Subject:

Social Sciences

Institution Name:

WGBH

Collection:

WGBH Open Vault

Abstract:

At the onset of the Lynn Hershman's work, she tells the audience that as a child she used fantasy to escape the abusive reality of her home life, inventing elaborate stories. This introduction casts a shadow of doubt over the stories she proceeds to tell, which includes accounts of attending college at the age of 12, working as a call girl, and spending several years in a hospital on the brink of death. The woman describes her practice of taking on, or impersonating, many personalities. The editing technique is one of interruption. Before a story comes to completion, the work will cut to another image of the same woman, in slightly different apparel, telling another story. Often, the same image appears in multiples, or several unique images appear at once. All of the work is shot in varying degrees of close-ups. The narrator continues to confuse the viewer, as at the end of the work when she claims, 'I always tell the truth.' This short segment shows Hershman describing the fantasy world she would retreat into during her childhood, and the blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality.

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Primary Source

Media Format:

Text/HTML, Video

Conditions of Use:

Custom License
Free to view for educational use only. Copyright restrictions apply for all other uses.

Copyright Holder:

Lynn Hershman