This, my latest film, is called Sapir-Whorf.
To play this short film please click here or on the image above
This film is based upon my time in Aberdeen this November. I was facilitating sessions on mental wellbeing for Aberdeen Council Workers: ‘Safe Spaces and Gentle Places’.At this conference, in the Council chamber, a debate took place where a mock motion was made to “ban the use of Jargon, Lingo and negative language”.
My experience is edited.
All my films have a back-drop.
It was in Aberdeen where Peter fell in love with Sian.
The voice you hear is that of the writer Robert Macfarlane where he talks about “deep maps”, language, perception, wilderness, light, silence, place and story.
There are short quotes by Janice Galloway (from ‘The Trick is to keep Breathing‘) and by Oscar Wilde (from ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray‘)
Gilbert Farie appears. He was the hunched pharmacist that so haunted Robert Louis Stevenson. For Peter, Gilbert Farie has come to represent over-medicalisation and corporate greed.
Scheff’s labelling theory also makes an appearance, but in reality it is all around us.
John Berger once said: “I risk to write nonsense”.
Music credits:
(1) Dark Skies – by Emma Pollock
(2) Bloodstream by Tokio Myers
This film also has footage from “Scotland with Love”
This film ends with debate about language and perception.