A R C H I V E1 9 8 7  
6th
  Shelly Silver
Meet the People
  USA 1986
Videotape, 16:32, colour
In 'Meet the People', fourteen different people talk - and sing - about their own lives on the basis of subjects like work, success, wealth, marriage and their dreams for the future. Even though the characters are fictitious, some of them come across as very real, while others are obvious stereotypes. Each character's account is fragmented and interwoven with fragments of other people's. Talking about one's own life - about its structure and its pleasures - is the central theme. How much does the content of what characters say contribute to determining who they are? How much information is needed to make a character believable? These questions form the philosophical basis for 'Meet the People'. What Shelly Silver at the same time makes clear is the extent to which characters are formed by the media - by television and advertising. That is why Silver has opted for a style reminiscent of television with the production being introduced by a real 'trailer', and the actors looking directly into the camera in order to create the illusion of intimacy. 'Meet the People' comes very close to the television documentary, but surpasses it in that Silver has been able to stick to essentials and eliminate all the frills.

Marie-Adèle Rajandream

Scenario, editing: Shelly Silver, Camera, light: John Kraus, Costumes: Laurie Aiello, Production: James Ovitt, With: Kurt Erickson, Brenda Bynum, Rita Perrault , Maureen Curtin, Lisa Wo and others