Empire by Matthew Mead

“Empire” is a piece that uses a combination of video, stop motion animation, and mainstream media film. The video begins with drips of oil onto a white page, symbolic for the catalyst and sustaining element of our society. Transitioning into a George W. Bush film, the soundtrack audibly states, “there is no such thing as real monsters.” Immediately following this is a montage of horrifying media clips portraying prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Prison, an unconstitutional US Military base in Cuba. Recent press reports, as a result of a document leak to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, have highlighted the inhumane detainment of prisoners without due process of law. George Bush, responsible for bringing Guantanamo Bay to precedence following the events of September 11th, 2001, incarcerated hundreds of people from around the world. When Barack Obama ran for president, he vowed to close Guantanamo Bay. However, this has yet to happen. This false promise highlights the lack of change promised from administration to administration. Ultimately, The President must maintain the American empire, and to do so, America must have its stake in oil. As a country founded on the idea of Suburbia, America will go to great lengths to protect it’s interests, even if it means unconstitutionally incarcerating Middle-Eastern prisoners who are viewed as subversive to the American agenda.