Degree Type

Honors Capstone Project

Date of Submission

Spring 5-1-2012

Capstone Advisor

Andrew Fedak

Capstone Major

Art

Capstone College

Visual and Performing Arts

Audio/Visual Component

yes

Audio/Visual Location

Honors Library

Capstone Prize Winner

no

Won Capstone Funding

no

Honors Categories

Social Sciences

Subject Categories

Broadcast and Video Studies | Film and Media Studies | Visual Studies

Abstract

Carneys Point is a fifteen minute short film shot on 16mm film that tells the story of a woman's life, fractured into three facets each representing an important crossroad of a single life: the disenchanting prelude to the coming of age, the anxiety of motherhood, and the mental decay of old age.

The film is divided into three vignettes, which overlap to paint a multi-layered portrait of a woman, a trilogy of the human spirit, heart, and mind.

One is the story of a little girl who is obsessed with flight and dreams of escape. Though she has the naïve belief that she can change the world through her idealistic mindset and superhero-like intentions, her innocent faith comes to an end when she sees something sinister on the playground.

Another tells the story of a woman burdened by the anxiety of motherhood who loses her dog, her only companion, while on the beach one day. In the search for her dog she comes to the distressing realization that the responsibilities of caring for her child-to-be may be more than she can handle.

Lastly, as an old woman tries to perform her daily tasks it is revealed that her mental state is rapidly declining. She is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease causing her memory and ability to communicate to interfere with living a normal life.

The idea for the film stemmed from my relationship with my grandmother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago. As I witnessed first hand the decline of her mental state, I became curious about memory and how it manifests itself in a woman who is losing it.

What began as a focus on memory became a new way for me, as a filmmaker, to represent a person’s life, through stories of their past.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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