-Written by Michelle Vorob.
2024 CAMDEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Heritable is a short, creative documentary film by Writer-Director Eli Kao, exploring the “whitewashing” of American history. Separated into three segments, Heritable shows us a 1950’s soda fountain, in which a “Soda Jerk” (David Jacobson) serves every customer the same thing, an old lighthouse visited by tourists, and groups of friends spending an afternoon in the woods.
I can't say I loved Heritable. I liked the premise, but something about the overall execution disappointed me. I really liked the first segment, “Soda Fountain,” both in tone and subtext. Filmed in black and white, it exemplified the idea that many people tend to think of the 1950’s as an idyllic time when everything was simpler and better than it is now, when the truth is that we often romanticize the past and paint over the ugliness. During this segment, we are also informed through an on-screen message that in the past, a eugenicist was involved in shaping Maine's public policy laws.
The second segment, “Coastal Karaoke,” showed footage of tourists visiting a historic lighthouse and featured sweethearts Adam (Adam Banks) and Josie (Josie Colt) having an idyllic afternoon at the aforementioned lighthouse, complete with song and dance. During this segment, we are informed through an on-screen message that ancient petroglyphs are nearby. Part of what bothered me about this segment is my interpretation of how this information was flashed on screen, along with the tourist footage, implied that [white] tourists purposely avoided the petroglyphs to visit the lighthouse. There is no data given to back that implication and no indication the tourists we see didn't also visit the petroglyphs.
This brings us to the third segment, “Inland,” in which two different groups of people, who appear varied in ethnicity, spend time in the woods. At first, I thought we'd get to see the ancient petroglyphs that were previously mentioned. I soon realized it was simply footage of these people walking and sitting in the woods. I was again, not pleased with the implication that the only people spending time in the woods appeared to be of ethnicities other than white. More than anything, I was disappointed there was no footage of the ancient petroglyphs.
While the subject of “whitewashing” history and the historical involvement of eugenics is of the utmost importance to address, I don't feel that Heritable conveys that message without putting a negative connotation on the tourists, rather than any Institutional racism that is part of the tourism industry and somehow only touches on Institutional racism, without properly exploring it.
I think the premise would have been better served had the petroglyphs and other Native sites been shown alongside or instead of the lighthouse. If other Native sites have been destroyed or tampered by “Colonial expansion,” that would have been the perfect information to include in Heritable.
Written & Directed by Eli Kao.
Starring David Jacobson, Ouda Baxter, Meara Cafferata, 8 Gregorio, Adam Banks, Josie Colt, Robin Kao, Lexi Nelligan, Deb Paredes, Rae / Sage, Adrian, Winston Antoine, Veeva Banga, Ashley Page, Veronica Pounds, etc.
7.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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