AESTHETIC CATHARSIS IN THE ERA OF AMERICAN FASCISTS

Using the failed assassination of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. to impress Jodie Foster as a hyperreal precedent to our post-truth present, Aesthetic Catharsis in the Era of American Fascists is a video essay by James Connolly that examines the racial, psychological, and image-based power structures behind contemporary American politics. Dissecting the idolization of Donald Trump through the tools of film theory, aesthetics, media archaeology, and appropriation, our current political reality is analyzed and critiqued through an amalgamation of video formats and structuralist-informed, heavily composed editing techniques.

Aesthetic Catharsis in the Era of American Fascists premiered April 10, 2018 at the Athens International Film and Video Festival.

Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2 | Excerpt 3

For best video and audio quality, watch clips full screen at 1080p with headphones or speakers capable of emiting low frequencies.

Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2 | Excerpt 3

For best video and audio quality, watch clips full screen at 1080p with headphones or speakers capable of emiting low frequencies.

Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2 | Excerpt 3

For best video and audio quality, watch clips full screen at 1080p with headphones or speakers capable of emiting low frequencies.

James Connolly is a video, sound and new media artist, instrument builder, curator and educator. His videos and real-time performances undermine the interfaces and break through the algorithms of digital and analog systems, examining hidden power structures and liberating latent aesthetic materialities.

jameshconnolly.com | james.connoll[at]gmail[dot]com