Sadie Benning’s “Me and Rubyfruit” examined the complicated tone of sexuality and how it affects teenagers. Created in 1989, the video is haunted by a dark tone, emphasized with the black and white film. Benning (in her teens at the time) narrates the work, describing her inner-conflict of love for another girl. Juxtaposed against Benning’s narration, upbeat music plays. Benning uses the pixilation in the film to her advantage, making the video and concept of love abstract. Another important technique employed by Benning is her use of text. It is especially effective when she states “girls can’t get married” and then uses the camera to focus on her eye.
Though created in 1989, Benning’s work is still relevant today. Sexuality and its connotation is successfully given an conceptual tone by Benning in order to detail her personal struggles. The work was successful in engaging the viewer because it feels like Benning is speaking directly to the viewer. As a viewer, I almost felt as I was imposing on a film diary that I should not be watching, due to how personal the subject matter was. The length of the film (12 minutes) allows the work to have a story arch, which is important in engaging the audience.
Overall, the piece was very different from other films I have seen, and I appreciated how personal it was.
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