After reading Lia Purpura’s “Autopsy Report” alongside of Eula Biss’s “Dust Off,” the role of the visual in these two essays are both striking and haunting.

In “Dust Off” the relationship between words and images are examined in the details the stories of “3 boys from high school who died in the pursuit of pleasure.”(0:00-0:10).  Eula’s video first opens up to a haunting sound and white screen with image of a three empty small toddler swing-sets covered by snow, a parking lot in the middles of a snow blizzard, then to the cold snowy streets, a green-glowing huge empty tree, an empty purple hued skyline across an empty body of water, an airplane soaring across the dawn, a jellyfish moving in a dark abyss of water in slow motion, an empty whale-swinging chair covered by snow, and finally the same three empty small toddler swing-sets covered by snow.

 Throughout the images Eula’s tone is slow and calm, almost distant and sympathetic as she tells the tale of Theo; who dies after suffocating on inhaling propellants(SNOW), Kur; death by speeding/no headlights(Lights in Skyline/airplane souring), and Elijah; death by erotic asphyxia(Jellyfish). Each boy’s story is told by images of a snowstorm, lights across the sky, or jellyfish to tie in a metaphor for their deaths. Even though the images do not correspond directly to the words of the story they do symbolize the meaning of what is happening in each image. The most important one that gets repeated in the introduction and conclusion is the three empty swing sets. This image correlate with the overall theme that these 3 boys have died and lost their childhood. They were once young boys with a future, but now that ends and all we have is an old image of who they once used to be by listening to their actions.
In “Autopsy Report” visual language is being used right from the beginning lines: “I shall begin with the chests of drowned men, bound with ropes…I shall stand beside sharp pelvic bones…I shall touch while no one is looking the perfect cornrows…I shall note the blue earring, a swirled, lapis ball in the old yellowed man’s ear…” (1-2) Lia’s descriptions of these dead men are very strong. She notes the bodies and shows us visually the “sharp pelvic bones…the jacket’s wet collar. Soaked black with blood, his stiffening sleeve. And where bullets passed neatly through…the twenty-year alcoholic” (1-2). The way she shows us this body she puts us at the scene with her, observing her actions from above, naturally and clearly we begin to envision these men. The choice of using the words “I shall” was a smart decision. It not only gives a clear image of what the narrator was experiencing but it also allowed the reader to experience what Lia was as well; “I shall touch, while no one is looking, the perfect cornrows, the jacket’s wet collar. Soaked black with blood, his stiffening sleeve.” (1).

Lia’s writing is both intimate and chilling. She creates intimacy with her honesty as she notes that she once laughed when she first saw the corpses, which is the opposite of what normal people would initially react to a corpse. She also confesses that when no one is looking she “shall touch” the corpses. Through this confession  her narrative becomes more honest and real. She is blunt about her setting and experiences which makes what she has to say all the more powerful.

She uses strong descriptions and poetic sentences like “Did I expect, finally, the solemnity of procession? Death gowned and dancing, seythe raised and cape blowing, leading the others, at dusk, over a mountain. In silhouette. Fully cinematic”(4) to ask herself and her reader how they perceive a body before, during and after an autopsy. Lia’s strong use of poetry throughout her essay helps her cold and withdrawn tone make the story feel calm and intimate. The use of her poetic flow, changes the language of her essay from one examining death to now wondering the ways we perceive our bodies before death.

Lia uses visual language in her detail of all the disgusting and slimy body parts on page 4;”It was calm that came forth while the brain was removed, while the brain, heavy and grey and wet, was fileted with an enormous knife, one hand on top to keep it from jiggling.” This visual is raw and chilling. Lia chose these words carefully to create a image so grotesque, any reader can actually imagine it happening before them. I actually cringed through some of her lines and being able to evoke a physical reaction from a reader just makes her writing amazing.

After reading Freeman’s “On the Form of the Video Essay,”  The way the pieces Grandpa, Mangoes and That Kind of daughter reflect the goals or characteristics of the essay form are that they all happen to be informal, personal and reflective (associative).

In Steven Chen’s Grandpa, Chen uses features and strategies  like painting a person who symbolizes him in the visual in the color blue while the rest of his family is painted in red to visually frame the difference and distance he feels from his Chinese grandparents, since there is a language barrier. Chen’s use of a static-y and blurry image frames his past memories like a tape on VCR, old but still memorable. Looking back at Freeman’s discussion of what a video essay’s form should resemble I can see that Chen plays with associative thoughts, and is able to move the reader deeper into his own mental process of feeling distant from his family throughout his video.

Freeman discusses in “On The Form” that a video essay is a mixed blend of poetry, creative non fiction, documentary and art among many other factors. A video essay is “subjective, autobiographical” and is designed “to mess with the audience’s expectations of a nonfiction film”. A video essay should be self questioning and self conscious, which Chen pulls off as he speaks directly to his audience, briefing us about his family history, focusing on his dad’s Chinese parents, the differences between his mom and father’s side and the difficult language barriers he faces as a mixed child. Chen might not questions himself through his video, but he questions if other mixed children in his audience are like him or feel as he does about his culture. Chen is conscious about his heritage and we learn through his past experiences with his family that he wishes he had learned more. But Chen does not argue, or try to persuade and solve his problems. Instead he just states his own point of view of himself and his family. Chen’s video essay introduces us to believe he will discuss his grandfather, but instead uses his grandparents and parents to distinguish the distance he feels living in a mixed family unfamiliar about his own heritage and language.

I like that you chose to start your audio with just your voice instead of using music. It gives the listener a preview of what your are about to describe in your audio; your tone towards New Jersey, your setting and what might happen next. After the guitar/banjo starts playing it  sets up a  theme that there is going to be a southern(ness) background towards your essay. I am already imagining the country side you cannot wait to leave. You descriptions are very detailed 0:36-0:52, 3:20-3:40 I can see already picture the small quiet town, the older white possibly republican hunter families debating politics. I can see the eagerness you feel in getting out of your hometown, packing up for a road trip, exhausted by small minded and “patriotic” townspeople. The recordings you used in 2:00-3:00 and 5:14-5:24 goes in and out nicely but it is a bit too loud at some parts and makes it hard to understand what you said which takes away from your story.

I like the calm soft music you chose. It describes the tone this essay will take;a mundane and ordinary task like cooking a lasagna dish.  The grocery store sounds you  used easily set the setting  for listeners. My favorite part is 3:54-4:23 when you are revealing the finished dish. The music builds up into a grand entrance finally showcasing the main event; your lasagna. It reminds me of every movie’s dramatic entrance. Even though you use a slow calm tone, it is still funny because of the happy upbeat music in the background. And you still managed to keep me on my toes as you describe the melting cheese and burnt bits along the sides of the dish. Who would have thought a essay about making lasagna on a college budget would be so interesting to hear? Great work.