Critical Writing Index

Digitality and detournement: John Greyson's BDS videos and 14.3 seconds

by Scott MacKenzie

cineACTION, 2011, no. 86, pp. 50-51

Examines the activist politics of the BDS ('Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions') videos made by Canadian director John Greyson, often reworking pop videos and giving new lyrics to their songs. Focuses primarily on his found footage documentary 14.3 seconds, which deals with the 2003 bombing of the Iraqi film archive. The author draws on the Situationist concept and practice of detournement to explore the connections between Greyson's work and the theories outlined by Gil J. Wolman and Guy Debord in "A User's Guide to Detournement".

ITEM 2012.050 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

14.3John Greyson

Boycott, Divestment and SanctionsJohn Greyson