Noesis in Confidence

The word that I chose to focus my video essay around was “divination.” Divination (most often considered the practice of foretelling the future through the reading of omens) has many connotations, many of which are historical and supernatural in nature, but I’m choosing to focus on the word as a sense of knowing—a gut feeling or intuitive perception. The word in the title “noesis” is a term from ancient Greek philosophy that refers to "understanding as the ability to sense, or know something, immediately." My film examines that unusual insight as a means of heightening self-confidence. It argues that following your “instincts,” those inexplicable feelings you have in a given situation is for the best. The topic itself is personal, so I will work from my own experience and it will be introspective. The basic setting will alternate between outside around campus and inside my house in Brooklyn—I will be exploring my own space and environment. In terms of cinematography, I will cover a more overarching concept of the word “divination.” I will create alternate states of reality and switch between them to investigate the relationship between objectivity and subjectivity in relation to divination—this will include the contrast between day and night. I will also incorporate the more historical and supernatural aspects of the word into the audio portion of the video essay. For example, I will read from an essay by Lucian from the 2^nd century called “Alexander the False Prophet” which dismisses the art of divination, but will bring to light an important counter argument. I will include the moon as a visual motif as well as images of the night sky that connect to the practice of astrology and its dianoic counterpart, astronomy. I will conduct interviews, but they will most likely be audio rather than audiovisual. It’s still very much in the works, but the basic idea I want to convey is that listening to and considering gut feelings can be a great tool in developing a person’s confidence.