By: Esmeralda Hernandez De La Torre
Material Bodies is a short film directed by Dorothy Allen-Pickard that focuses on the perspectives of disabled people who have prosthetic legs. The participants in the film share their experiences and feelings towards society’s view of them and use certain words that really help the audience fully understand their point of view.
Allen-Pickard also does an amazing job in using different forms of symbolism within the storytelling. In one scene, a dancer with a prosthetic leg expresses her feelings using her body. Other scenes show people touching and playing with different types of material. I especially liked how the director used this technique to illustrate how these materials can be used. In the case of people with prosthetic legs, they are not just an accessory. One of the cast mentioned something that resonated with me, which is that prosthetic legs are more than just some type of material. The legs have become a part of who they are and what they represent.
The combination of powerful symbolism and dialog portrays the difficulties many people with prosthetic legs face in society today.
I would give this film 5/5 stars.
Esmeralda Hernandez De La Torre is a junior undergraduate student at the University of California, Merced. She is majoring in Management and Business Economics with a minor in Psychology and is pursuing a career in digital marketing. She is a Communications Intern at CMRubinWorld working with its website and social media accounts.
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