Writer and editor Matthew Shen Goodman and filmmaker James N. Kienitz Wilkins ask what is the value of appropriation today? While the term has become shorthand for a singular kind of cultural misappropriation, creative adoption in film, art and writing has also been a radical gesture of critique and a means of drawing attention to conditions of production. By tracing a genealogy inside and outside of film and rethinking the potential of such acts, they hope to develop a discourse around appropriation that would enliven it as a tool for artists, activists, and anyone else considering the politics of claiming something as one’s own.
We’re thrilled to present a program of James N. Kienitz Wilkins’ works as part of the film selection of the pair’s UNDO FELLOWSHIP research topic, Shape Shifts.
This program is a part of BREAK ꩜UT: A SYMPOSIUM OF SORTS, which celebrates the research, writing and filmmaking initiated during The UNDO Fellowship. We are excited to share the ideas and work resulting from the inaugural year of this endeavor and are eager to hear your questions, thoughts and feedback.
You’re invited to a series of screenings, study groups, and discussions spread over the first two weekends in March . Choose a single thread of inquiry, or weave the connections between them all. Tune into the stream to watch and listen in or fill out a simple application up for an UNDO STUDY GROUP to get the reader and join a rigorous and creative discussion.
Register for a reminder to catch our public Dialogue with Matthew and James on March 7th for a full program experience. If you want to engage a draft of Matthew’s writing and take an even deeper dive, our Shape Shifts Study Group is open by application. Learn more and APPLY!
