Carmencita (1894)

Thursday

Feb112010

William K.L. Dickson | United States of America | 1894

Carmencita, the Spanish Gypsy dancer nicknamed the "Pearl of Seville", was the first woman to appear on celluloid in the United States. Watching her dance is still a pleasant experience more than 100 years since the film was shot. Even in silence, we could sense the rhythm of the music, allowing the sound to liberate itself through her movements. It is a dance both harmonious and sensual, luring its audience into a passionate atmosphere steaming with heat.

It is precisely this sexual element imprinted in 1894 for future generations, which has made Carmencita the first film that raised calls for censorship. The question of what an audience should watch, particularly in the Victorian environment of New England, sparked at the very dawn of the industry. Censorship, in its essence, is nothing but an imposition of morals by the state, often supported by a public insecure in its own convictions, an imposition which has little faith in the consumer’s rationality, but also in the power of art to transcend ethics in order to bring out deeper truths about ourselves. The sheer acceptance over time of what a society considers a moral norm has proven the utter hypocrisy of censorship, as through calls to ban films such as Carmencita one is banning beauty, grace, innocence, and the virility that haunts the human body.

Above all, Carmencita’s dance is a proof of human vitality and joy, a celebration of the relationship desire has with our body. Dickson’s bare stage more than emphasises this element, as the performer does not require a prop to make the act of living a worthwhile experience. In hindsight, history has proven that the real survives against all odds. Carmencita may now be viewed as a simple cinematic curiosity, yet the dancer immortalised by Sargent and Chase can still charm us with her passionate movements.