Supposed To
Aleesa Cohene
(CA 2006, 7:26)
Supposed To examines how work in a capitalist system divides us from ourselves. Work often succeeds at limiting our individual agency while promoting individual freedom. Lack of agency breeds apathy and despondency: we feel guilty for things we didn’t do and shirk responsibility for things we made happen. Reediting images and dialogue from science fiction films, thrillers and corporate training videos, Supposed To builds a hybrid narrative of characters exhausted by work, acting out, escaping conflict and misdirecting blame, and ultimately returning to an inevitable “deep wordless knowledge”.