A Look at Life

Trinh T. Minh-ha's piece “Reassemblage: From the Firelight to the Screen” gives its viewers an excellent view into the life of a different society. This film showcases the lives of people in Senegal, but it is not an entirely objective work. Throughout the movie, Minh-ha reminds her audience that she holds the power of persuasion in this scenario because she created the piece. For example, the brief jumps in the sound or the complete lack of sound at certain points in the piece work to show viewers the filmmaker’s voice. “Sink or Swim” was a bit slow at times, but I feel like the timing was excellent for this piece to be made since the '90s were definitely a decade filled with divorce. Coming from a home with two parents, certain aspects of this film were really interesting to me. I particularly liked the scene in negative where the girl writes a letter to her dad on the typewriter. The last part where she says she wishes she could actually mail the letter depicts just how awkward her relationship with her estranged father is. I have some friends with similar stories, and I think it’s great that Friedrich took the time to make a movie about this subject.