Language in “Tongues Untied”

A film response to Marlon Riggs' Tongues Untied (1989). For Fall 2019.

For Nonfiction Video 1 - FA ‘19

“What makes Riggs special is his ability to create language, not only through “snap!thology” but in the way he creates meaning through words. He uses the popular montage effect like it’s “creator” Sergei Eisenstein to evoke thought and meaning through images. But unlike Eisenstein, Riggs’ emphasis is audio and voice over. Both sound and image are able to speak for themselves, but paired together it creates a spatial depth and the feeling of linear time in regard to flashbacks.”