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Water: Wilbert L. Cooper

by Wilbert L. Cooper on 22 July 2022

Writer Wilbert L. Cooper uses the medium of film to poetically navigate the dualities of water; essential for human survival but with diminishing access for black people; extreme weather events and the control people attempt to have over water.

Writer Wilbert L. Cooper uses the medium of film to poetically navigate the dualities of water; essential for human survival but with diminishing access for black people; extreme weather events and the control people attempt to have over water.

  • How would you describe what you do?

Wilbert L. Cooper: As a journalist, I’ve produced and hosted a lot of premium documentaries for outlets like HBO and Vice TV with support from expert editors and DPs. So there is something kind of mysterious and fun to me about actually editing and shooting video by myself, because I haven't mastered the technical side of it. When I am making a video like the one I shared with SHOWstudio, I know what story I want to tell. But as far as the execution, I just go off intuition and try to lean into my limitations and turn those into strengths. I hope that helps me come up with something that is unique.

  • What's your background?

WLC: I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio, which is where some of this footage was shot. It’s a city that really epitomises the duality of water that I was hoping to explore in this video. For example, I grew up near Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes that account for a fifth of the world's fresh water. And yet, black children in my hometown are exposed to astronomically high levels of lead in the water they drink thanks to neglect and disinvestment.

  • What inspires you?

CP: For this video, I was really inspired by the moments that are actually featured in the video. Most of the clips captured were the result of me just turning my camera on and exploring personal or intimate spaces. I think when I am shooting video, it allows me to be more present and notice things I might otherwise ignore. The feeling of seeing my own environment and life through a more focused and heightened perspective is really rewarding and sort of fuels me to keep shooting.

  • What is the ambition behind your practice?

CP: Through video work like this one, I hope I can connect with people. Because I’m controlling every aspect of these works—from the photography to the editing to the music—they are super personal. But I hope that intimacy builds a bridge between me and other people, because I think the act of creating it and sharing it is ultimately about feeling less alone.

What did you hope to convey with your Bodies Of Knowledge film?

CP: The prompt for this video was about water. So as I went into it, I was thinking about water’s foundational quality to our biology and the diminishing access black people have to it. I was also thinking about its natural power, made only more obvious through the extreme weather events of climate change and its symbolism in the culture and traditions of black people. There’s a duality to water. In some ways, we can control it with our faucets and our pools. And other times, we have to submit to its storms and rising tides. When I actually started making this video, I didn’t expect to tackle these things head on, because this isn’t a documentary. I wanted it to be more poetic. But I do hope it creates a space that inspires people to seek their own answers around some of these broader issues and questions.

Film Concept and Direction:

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