Film, DV, transferred to DVD. Duration: 30:30 min. 2004.
The film The Nuclear Football, an installation by Korpys/Löffler, covers
the state visit of the President of the United States George W. Bush to
Berlin in May 2002. Being accredited journalists, it was possible for
the two artists to document the event, from Bush’s arrival at Tegel Airport
to his visit to Schloss Bellevue. The main focus of the film, however,
is not the president himself, but “the Nuclear Football”, also
called “the President's Emergency Satchel and The Button”. It is a
black briefcase used by the President of the United States to authorize
the employment of nuclear weapons, and to make a nuclear attack
order while away from stationary command centres.
In the film The Nuclear Football, the artist duo analyses the border
zones of official versions of history, and draws attention to aspects
which traditionally go unnoticed – such as the furnishing surrounding
Bush’s state visit – and notices what is normally unattended by journalists:
the organization, the preparations, the logistic structure and
security matters.
These preparations are carried out in an almost theatrical way, and we
often have the sense of watching movie scenes closely related to
thrillers, or, perhaps, staged for the media.
If so, the officials turn into actors. Confronted with the knowledge of
the black briefcase The Nuclear Football, keeping it very realistic, we
get in a somewhat uncomfortable mood. |
