Fatherland

Fatherland is an umbilical tug-of-war, an untangling and re-tangling of fraught relationships with father and with nation, which not only parallel, but interweave, intertwine, and knot. Probing the dynamics of my U.S. military family, it is a glimpse behind the curtain of the mythologies and fantasies of the American Dream in order to understand how one comes to an understanding of themself as part of a nation, and the dynamics behind military enlistment. The series explores the blurring of fantasy and reality in the American Dream mythology that motivates U.S. nationalism and militarism, the parallels and overlaps of relationships with one’s father and the Fatherland, and how these myths and family relationships create the national subject. To create a believable narrative for the American public to buy into, the strings must be tucked away, the show must be believable, well-rehearsed– the state and status quo depend on it. But what happens when the Dream is denaturalized, when its performative nature is betrayed by the tag of a costume, the edge of a backdrop? At an absolutely critical political moment to investigate the roots of U.S. nationalism and militarism, it is vital to dwell in that space between attraction and repulsion, to hold in both hands the humor, allure, and nostalgia of nationhood, as well as its violences.