Dear Dennis [videorecording] / Susan Mogul. [1988]

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Dear Dennis [videorecording] / Susan Mogul.

Dear Dennis [videorecording] / Susan Mogul. [1988]

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/407847286

This video letter to Dennis Hopper was inspired by Mogul's discovery that they share the same dentist. With deadpan humor Mogul addresses Hopper in a series of episodic monologues that use dental work as a comedic foil. In the first segment, Mogul introduces herself while brushing her teeth to the tune of "C.C. Rider," a reference to Hopper's movie, Easy rider. She opens her mouth and leans toward the camera to show a cracked molar that requires a five-hundred dollar gold crown. In a later segment, Mogul describes seeing Hopper's recent film, Colors, in her east side Los Angeles neighborhood. Smiling cheerfully despite her bruised and swollen face, she explains that the ensuing riot saved her an expensive dental bill, as the problem tooth has been knocked from her head. Mogul holds a newspaper with a cover story about gang warfare in Los Angeles while a song from West side story plays in the background. By means of these journalistic and pop-cultural references to gangs, as well as her own over-the-top anecdote, Mogul subtly implies that Hopper's work neutralizes subcultural practices and facilitates their Hollywood commodification.

1 videocassette of 1 (Betacam SP) (4 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. original.

Getty Research Institute