My first outside screening of experimental film this semester was incredibly rewarding. I had still not been to the remodeled Whitney Museum, so I was excited to see Laura Poitras’ Astro Noise there.

I saw Poitras’ documentary, Citizenfour when it was first released, and was enthralled in the story of Edward Snowden. Astro Noise tells the same basic story as the documentary, but interacts with the viewer and imposes on them a visceral experience of America’s war on terror.

From the first instillation, (a drop down screen with close up shots of 911 spectators projected on one side, and US interrogation footage of men who are currently being held at Guantanamo Bay on the other) I felt as though I was being kept in the dark while simultaneously being fed information that I wasn’t supposed to see. Both the interrogation video and the video from 911 were presented without any contextualization, yet both videos are incredibly intimate. The interrogation of the two prisoners as a result of the 911 attacks, and more broadly the impulse of the Bush administration to launch into a poorly defined ‘War on Terror’ is felt deeply here.

The next instillation consisted of a raised platform in the middle of the exhibition space, where spectators could lay down and watch videos (projected on the ceiling) of drone airspace in Syria and Iraq. This was perhaps my favorite part of the exhibition. I got to relax, put down my heavy backpack, and look at serene images of the sky, although the knowledge that these areas were under military surveillance was at the front of my mind. The relaxation and vulnerability here is perhaps the intended effect, since the exhibit culminates in an exploitation of this space.

Continuing through the exhibit, many of the documents leaked by Snowden are on display, deep in small rectangular holes in the gallery walls, so that you need to put your eyes flush against the wall in order to see them. Also inside these rectangles are different videos filmed by Poitras. These items are presented without context, and require the audience to do some ‘digging’ to see what secrets are behind the walls. I was particularly moved by a video of a small village celebrating the arrival of a dignitary of some kind (no other details are given), then an inter title saying “the next day”, and images of the same village completely destroyed, with villagers trying to make sense of the wreckage. Here is another example of how the lack of context leads to a deeper, more visceral understanding of the ways in which the War on Terror functions.

The end of the exhibit culminates in a handheld video shot by Poitras of a US invasion of a small Iraqi town. Only in this instance does the artist provide a context and fully explained details. Poitras tells via voiceover the circumstances of the US occupation and explains the consequences she faced after the filming – namely being flagged by the NSA. In addition to Poitras personal account, there is a mounted television broadcasting an infrared live stream of museum goers as they lie down to watch the Syrian/Iraqi sky. I think this was the perfect way to end the exhibition. The audience is filmed and broadcast without their knowledge or consent. The viewer is personally betrayed by Poitras, just as the NSA betrayed the trust of the American people.