On Monday March 25,2013,I attended the documentary film Orgasm inc. (2009) by Liz Canner at the Gish Theater.Orgasm inc. is an educational and funny documentary on the drug companies race to find a cure for female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Throughout this documentary the serious and humor side of the issue surrounding FSD can be seen through the line motif and use of editing through out the whole documentary.
Before i explain how line motif and editing makes orgasm inc. a funny and serious film, i want to explain what the documentary is exactly about. Liz Canner , the director of Orgasm inc., started investigating the issue surrounding Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) when she was asked to edit videos for the drug company Vivus. Vivus is one of the leading producers of erection drugs for men but after Viagra came out Vivus’ sales deceased. As a result of business loss, Vivus started developing drugs to help cure FSD and needed explicit videos to help women’s sexual desire to increase during the testing of heir FSD drugs and ask Canner for help.
one of Blocks concept the can be seen in Orgasm Inc. is the the use of line motif. One example of how line motif is seen, is when Canner goes to Kim Air’s adult video store named Grand opening in order to find explicit footage that Vivus can use in their clinical trails. In this scene, the audience is shown the rows and rows of shelved DVDs and VHS available at the store. By showing the audience this Horizontal and vertical line motif in the film is shows the depth of the shot in making the screen more 3D. Also,by using this line motif of both horizontal and vertical lines it brings the shot to its most simple form of up and down lines which makes the viewer more engaged .
one cinematic element that is used in Orgasm inc. is editing . One example of how editing is used in Orgasm Inc. is during Canner’s interview with Dr.Carol Queen, founder and curator of Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum. For instance, during the interview Queen starts talking about the different parts of the female body in with women can get an orgasm from and during this conversation Canner uses voice over editing to show of a map of a women’s sexual organs; by doing this it shows what Queen is talking about. Also,later in the interview when Queen is talking about the history of the vibrator, Canner uses voice over editing to show actual picture of women who were treated with vibrators to cure their hysteria. This is a picture of Carol Queen with one of the vibrators that may have been used in treatments for “hysterical” woman.
Therefore, by using line Block’s basic concept of line motif and the cinematic element of editing Liz Canner successfully made a educational yet funny documentary on the drug companies race to make FDA approved drugs to cure Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD)