Silent Passability (Ride to the Countryside)
August 1, 1997
4m
Overview
Deemed "too ambient for broadcast" by MTV's AMP, Thaemlitz' first video "Silent Passability (Ride to the Countryside)" contrasts cinematic footage from drag performances in upstate New York with highly processed digital audio from his CD "Couture Cosmetique" (US: Caipirinha/Japan: Daisyworld, 1997). Thaemlitz is known for her fusion of computer synthesis techniques with non-essentialist transgenderism as two methodoligies which appropriate and critically recontextualize cultural signifiers, whether they be audio sources or gender constructs. The audio for "Silent Passability" deals with fears of violence while travelling in 'passable' drag between safe zones, and Thaemlitz' unsettling compulsion to remain silent in such circumstances so as to avoid confrontation. Antithetically beatific images from the transgendered stage question posturing as a means for alieviating and/or concealing such oppressive circumstances.
Directed by
Where to watch
In United States
Not available to stream, rent, or buy in United States right now.
More like this
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
1988
Anima
2019
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III
1998
O Lucky Man!
1973
Ghosts
1997
Heavy Metal
1981
I Am Easy to Find
2019
The Lonely Island Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience
2019
HIStory on Film, Volume II
1997
10,000 Saints
2015
The Work of Director Michel Gondry
2003
Rock 'n' Roll High School
1979
Yellow Submarine
1968
Back to the Beach
1987
Smithereens
1982
Lemonade
2016
Help!
1965
The Tales of Hoffmann
1951
A Mighty Wind
2003
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)
2026