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logos for cs 1.6 downloadThe Marriage of Father and Mother Divine
In the spring of 1996, Dr. Leonard Primiano (my college Folklore professor) called me with an event he wanted to record on video; did I have any time? The event was the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Father and Mother Divine. Who? Over the next two years, I would learn a lot about Father and Mother Divine. Leonard and I gathered over 70 digital video hours of interviews, banquet services, tours, song and dance with Mother Divine and the remaining members of the Peace Mission Movement. Conceived as a feature-length documentary, we soon realized that to make a traditional and linear documentary we would have to concentrate on one main story and consequently diminish all the others. But there are too many potent strands in this little-known story of Father Divine and his followers - race, faith, gender, electronic media, religious freedom, the elderly, reincarnation, food, political activism, Americanism. To do justice to the subject, we would need to make a "database documentary" made up of short videos, photo galleries, audio recordings and text, all searchable and open to comments from anyone who came by for a visit. The Father Divine Project has found its ideal form - a vlog with an RSS Feed. This is an ongoing project with zero funding, so please be patient with how things look for now. If you are interested or just curious, please consider subscribing to the video feed. To view the videos, you will need the latest version of apple's free quicktime player. LINKS: The International Peace Mission Movement Wikipedia: Father Divine Lev Manovich on Database Narratives The Labyrinth Project on Interactive Narrative
December 14, 2005 11:49 PM
Comments
If my memory serves me correctly, I am a part of that video taken in 1996. I remember talking with someone about my sincere admiration of Father Divine and when I turned around without me knowing it, my conversation was being recorded. I think I was talking with someone from the world's famous Shakers relgious group who was attending the affair. We were at Woodmont, Mother Divine's home, at the time. I would love to see how that film turned out!
-Michael Adcock,
Detroit Michigan
Posted by: Michae Adcock at January 10, 2006 12:08 PM
You probably are. That was me with the camera. This project come ten years later, because I have found its perfect form. Thanks for coming by.
Will
Posted by: Will Luers at January 11, 2006 6:21 AM
