History of the World According to a Lesbian
- Director: Barbara Hammer
CGiii Comment
How would the history of the world be told if narrated by lesbians? Contrary to the traditional tale, which organizes the past through a chronology of progress, Barbara Hammer proposes a winding, nonlinear account. If heteronormativity can be interpreted via Plato’s cave allegory, how might it be subverted from a lesbian viewpoint?
Letters and intimate diaries – kept secret and whispered – preserve lesbian memory and sensuality. How was eroticism structured in the colonial era? What passions lay hidden during the Renaissance? In the twentieth century, a bridge can be traced from the flappers to lesbians, both seen as women of desire. Hammer employs analog video effects and transitions to create a multi-layered piece, embedding texts and overlay images. As the words of Adrienne Rich and Gertrude Stein are evoked, a quartet performs love songs with a sapphic twist. A manifesto that celebrates lesbian existence in all its forms.
There was a trailer...but, it has since disappeared.







































