16mm, color, silent, 3:00, 2003

The United States in a Chaotic World takes as its starting point the title of a 1950 history book and uses it to begin a series of stuttering black and white animated panels, accumulating meaning by association. The film presents images of oil derricks, territorial acquisitions in the US, restricted trees, oxygen tanks, and recently coined American terms, such as “freedom fries” in place of “French fries.” These images allude to aspects of the history and of the present mindset governing the United States today.