Dogville thoughts

I want to talk about Lars Van Triers film Dogville, not about the narrative of the film, although its well worth talking about; but the construction of the film set of the film. Dogville is a town in which the main character Grace finds herself. It is set up as if on a stage or within a black box, lighting is minimal and props almost non existant with most of the actors miming their interactions with implements and objects and the sounds of imaginary doors dubbed over against the mimed action.

We are like god looking down into this setting from above. There are no walls, no houses, no rooms, no gardens, no plants. All these boundaries are laid out in paint or chalk as if looking at an achitects plan for a construction of a town or a monopoly board game. Life goes on behind invisible walls made visible.

I have been thinking about this set up and the possibility of taking constructed environments and placing them in another setting. Imagine if I cooked in my bedroom, slept in my kitchen, entertained in my bathroom, and invited people into my house through a door placed in a room upstairs.