Midnight Masks
reflections on persona. ingmar bergman. 1966.
Ingmar Bergman's 1966 psychological thriller Persona explores the complex relationship
between isolation, indentity and individuality.
Stage actress Elisabet Vogler has abruptly fallen mute, seemingly by her own accord.
As she retires to the seaside, the line between herself and Alma,
the young nurse assigned to care for her, begins to blur.
At one point within the film, Elisabet breaks the fourth wall,
taking a photo of the camera itself.
Or is she taking a photo of the viewer?
Of you?
You may be watching her and documenting her actions but,
for a brief moment,
she is also watching and documenting you.
we all adapt ourselves under the gazes of others,
whether consciously or unconciously.
to be seen, you must also be changed,
to be known, you must also be altered.
the world around us pushes in,
always watching,
always documenting,
forcing us to react.
but in the dark of the night,
the masks we wear fade away.
the horror is laid bare, but so is the beauty.
"I understand you, Elisabet. I understand you're keeping silent, you're immobile. That you've turned apathy into a fantastic system. I understand and admire you."
- Persona. Ingamar Berman.
it’s strange, isn’t it?
this tangled web
of parasocial perception,
and interlinked attention.
thin lines
of binary code
replace those
red strings of fate.
we influence each other;
an eclipsing binary.
the two of us
adrift in orbits
but who is it you see?
not a person,
but a persona.
each refraction
but an iota
of a fuller galaxy.
is who i see there, you?
is who you see here, me?
Created by Aria Olson for the Second Edition of the High Fashion Twitter Met Gala.
"Faces in the Mirror: Fashion and the Horror of Identity."
May 3, 2021.