Born Equal II
still from film, 4’14”
link to film on VIMEO
Films in Born Equal series stem from the phrase ‘All men are created equal’, first used by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and in many other contexts including Martin Luther King and in the novel Animal Farm. Following the global financial crisis and with increasing corporate power, there is growing inequality both within the UK and between peoples in different parts of the world. Born Equal II expresses the way that people are cowed or disregarded by commercial interests, the political process and public policy due to accidents of birth, location, health or opportunity. Through the act and recording of futile struggle against constraint the film acts as a metaphor for the impotence of those adversely affected and trapped by circumstances largely beyond their control.
Born Equal II records actions defined by constraint. This metaphor of anger and futile struggle prompts a visceral response in the viewer, which combines compelling empathy with a resistance to becoming drawn in or implicated.