Possibly in Michigan

Possibly in Michigan is a 1983 American musical horror short film written and directed by Cecelia Condit. The music for the short film was created by Karen Skladany. The film is about two women being stalked by a man named Arthur.

Possibly in Michigan
Directed byCecelia Condit
Written byCecelia Condit
StarringBill Blume
Jill Sands
Karen Skladany
Edited byDavid Narosny
Music byKaren Skladany
Running time
12 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Two women, Sharon and Janice, are shopping at a department store for perfume, followed by man in a black suit and tie, whose face is obscured by a mask. There is no one else in the department store.

Both women are said to have a knack for attracting violent men and making the violence seem to be the man's idea. Arthur, the man following them, is introduced as sharing the same inclinations as Sharon and Janice. While shopping, Janice remarks that a perfume smells like her mother's "crazy" sister Kate, who once put her pet poodle in a microwave to dry it, killing both herself and the dog in a fiery explosion.

Janice notices Arthur, and both women flee the department store. The women question why men become so strange, and whether it is Sharon's job to kill them. Sharon and Janice part ways after driving home, but Arthur follows them and stands outside Sharon's house, waiting for Janice to leave. While this is happening, a voiceover explains that Arthur has worn so many masks he has forgotten who he is. He approaches the front door and removes his mask, appearing strikingly handsome under it, and rings the doorbell.

Sharon, asleep, wakes up and goes to answer the door. When she sees who it is, she drops to the ground and calls Janice. Janice arrives and aims a pistol at Arthur, shooting him several times only for him to evade her and continue inching closer. Sharon calls Janice and says there's a man at her door, whom she refers to as an animal. Arthur picks up a stone from Sharon's yard, revealing a rotting face beneath it, which he uses to shatter the bedroom window and sneak in. Janice escapes, shooting at various masked figures. Arthur comes up behind Sharon and says "the better to eat you with, my dear," in a distorted voice. Sharon turns around, and she and Arthur kiss.

Arthur hits her and tells her she has two options: he can eat her, or he can remove her limbs and eat them. When Sharon asks why, Arthur responds that it’s for love. Janice shoots another masked figure and arrives at Sharon's front door. Arthur, holding a knife, begins choking Sharon, telling her she smells good. Sharon asks if there have been others, and Arthur answers that there have been six. As Sharon agrees to be the seventh, Janice aims her pistol at Arthur and fatally shoots him. Sharon is disgusted with herself.

The women lay Arthur's body out atop spread newspapers and begin to dismember him, making soup from his remains. While consuming the rest of his meat, Janice notices a masked man standing outside the window, who hides before Sharon can see him. The two women wrap Arthur’s bones in newspapers and throw them into a trash bag which they put out on the curb. A garbage truck comes and collects the trash, hiding all the evidence.

Cast

  • Bill Blume as Arthur
  • Jill Sands as Sharon
  • Karen Skladany as Janice

History

The film received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council.[1][2] The year the film was released its final scene was shown on CBN and The 700 Club, where it was described as gay, anti-family, and anti-men.[3] A year later the short film was read as lesbianism by the National Endowment for the Arts[4] and was shown at the Museum of Modern Art.[5][6]

The shopping mall and department store segments were shot at Beachwood Place in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. [7]

The short film first gained notoriety on social media in 2015, and has gained popularity among teens in generation Z.[2][8]

Critical analysis

Patricia Mellencamp[9] and Herman Rapaport have written about the short film.[10]

Joanne Morreale called the film an example of a revenge fantasy for feminists.[11]

Chris Straayer said the film was about male violence against women.[4]

References

  1. Peirse, Alison (2020-09-17). Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-1-9788-0513-2.
  2. Chiaverina, John (6 November 2019). "How This 71-Year-Old Video Art Pioneer Became a TikTok Star". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  3. "The art of being a provocateur". Isthmus. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. Straayer, Chris (1996). Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies: Sexual Re-orientations in Film and Video. Columbia University Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-231-07979-2.
  5. "Video: Recent Acquisitions". MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  6. "MoMA TO INAUGURATE NEW VIDEO GALLERY WITH EXHIBITION OF RECENT ACQUISITIONS" (PDF) (Press release). New York: The Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film. April 1984. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  7. "Where is Cecelia Condit's Possibly in Michigan filmed?". Reddit.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  8. Gat, Orit (26 July 2019). "How Cecelia Condit's Video Art Became a Viral Curse for Teens on TikTok". Frieze. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  9. Mellencamp, Patricia (1990-09-22). Indiscretions: Avant-Garde Film, Video, and Feminism. Indiana University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-253-11599-7.
  10. Rapaport, Herman (2018-07-05). Between the Sign and the Gaze. Cornell University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-5017-2959-1.
  11. Morreale, Joanne (2002-12-01). Critiquing the Sitcom: A Reader. Syracuse University Press. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-8156-2983-2.
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