In Exchange For Money

The Deconstruction of American Cinema is a series of videos where I take a small portion of two different films and remove the focus of the story arc in order to create a new context for the characters. This makes the viewer create a new story in their mind, possibly mixing with any personal history they may have with the character.

In Exchange For Money contains a scene from American Psycho juxtaposed with a scene from Pretty Woman. Both films feature relationships with prostitutes. In the romantic comedy Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts plays the hooker with the heart of gold where as in the psychological thriller American Psycho the prostitutes become victims of a male predator.  By overlapping the two clips viewers are forced to create a new context that involves all of the characters. This juxtaposition forces the viewer into a confusing state and prompts them to sort it out in their own minds. [November 2008]