Mass for the Dakota Sioux

Duration: 24

Creator: American Federation of Arts

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: The title's dedication is to the religious people who were destroyed by the civilization that evolved the Mass. Mirroring the structure of a traditional Mass, the film is replete with ironic images and sounds mapping the destruction of the individual in society. Synopsis: The film begins with a short introduction-No chance to live, Mother, you might as well mourn. Sitting Bull. Applause for a lone figure dying on the street. Introit: A long, lightly-exposed section composed in the camera. Kyrie: A motorcyclist crossing the San Francisco Bridge accompanied by a Gregorian chant. The Epistle: In several sections. The material taken from television or the movies, photographed directly from the screen. Sounds of the Mass rise and fall. Gloria: the sound of a siren and a Cadillac disappearing in a tunnel. The final section of the Communion begins with the Offertory in a procession of lights and figures to the second chant. The anonymous figure from the introduction is discovered dead on the pavement. The body is consecrated and taken away past an indifferent people.