here & now

If Tumblr was a city, Devonté Hynes and Neneh Cherry’s “He She Me” vid would be its promo clip. The camera swims through the darkness following a female? protagonist who is entranced by the weird yet never weirded out. The viewer is never quite anchored via master shot except at the video’s conclusion; at times the POV even reels against the letterboxing. However, the overall tone is not nausea. Rather, the sheer alienness of the youth generated internet aesthetics our Alice in Wonderland encounters is both boggling and wonderful. Scattered with vaporware sculpture, computerized-looking gateways, and colorful NPCS, the video hypothesizes a reality where the futuristics visualized by the internet have manifested into physical reality. Directors Kathryn Ferguson and Alex Turvey have created an intriguing work.