Ok, this is supposed to be a review of This Is Displacement: Native Film Artists Consider Their Relationship Between Land and Identity, the series of short films that has been curated by Carolyn Lee Anderson & Emily Johnson. However, I find it hard to critically look at this work as a piece of film, when it is so much more worthwhile to look at it as an addition to a whole canon of work that Emily Johnson is presenting. Not only is it something that would add to your understanding of Johnson's The Thank-You Bar, but it would also give you insight into, what I think to be, the vital aspirations and implications of the overall work that Johnson is in the process of creating. Which is work that I hope you go see and support. I am sorry about the pandering to Ms. Johnson, but these films literally shook me and in my opinion I think this country needs more artists like her.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, a bit about This Is Displacement. The hour long program is a collection of shorts that are made by Native American artists that explore the plights, the postmodern insights, and the relationship that native adults and youth have with the idea of home. Emily Johnson was on hand at the screening to explain that showing this series was in lieu of an art installation that is normally setup in conjunction with The Thank-You Bar, but one that wasn't able to be part of TBA:10.
The films vary from fictional narratives that tell the stories of native individuals living in modern society, to documentary styled accounts of Native American youth and elders working together to preserve traditions of their tribes/cultures. Some films are very low-budget. Some look as though they could be submitted to Sundance. All of them speak to one another and postulate the theme of displacement and the struggle to not let go of the concept of culture while integration is a reality that is becoming evermore prevalent.

Anyway, to say more at this juncture would most likely be a disservice to both Anderson and Johnson's vision. Not to mention, writing about it more would most likely plunge me even more into an Emily Johnson praise fest. Suffice to say, go see these films and go see The Thank-you Bar. You will be glad that you did.