Synopsis
Fragments of Barbara McCullough is a postscript to the study of various forms of rituals, which were performed by the creator in her feature-length documentary: Shopping Bag Spirits and Freeway Fetishes: Reflections on Ritual Space (1981). Specifically, the film is a juxtaposition of scenes from the 1981 film and never-before-used shots and deleted scenes. Here, Black American artists from the LA area relate verbally and performatively to a process of improvisation and a repeated symbolic act that unleashes the hidden forces of creativity and untaps the subconscious. All in all, it’s a psychedelic, surreal experience embodying the spirit of ritual into the very medium of film through film montage, graphic elements, and applied music. „I like my films to reflect the diversity of my background as a Black person as well as the different influences that affect me. When I do something, I am trying to show the universality of the Black experience.“ B. McCullough