Candice Breitz' "Mothers and Fathers"

The piece "Mothers and Fathers," included in the Hirshhorn Museum show, The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image, confronts the pervasive stereotypes that help shape the American "family portrait" you can purchase at Sears for $29.95. What is the identity of "Mother" in modern day culture anyway? Isn't it just a compilation of stimuli you've been choking down since the day you were born and received your first baby doll? The "Mothers" room resonated with me far more than the "Fathers", but perhaps this is because "mother" is a role society eventually expects me to fulfill. The "mothers" of the piece seemed desperate and lonely, whereas the "fathers" seemed insecure and selfish. One "father" repeatedly shouts "what about me?" while another longs for the affirmation that he is indeed a good father to his children. Both rooms buckle at the seems with absurdity, hilarity and frightening discourse. 

The effect if achieved via de-contextualizing the dialogue of well known American films such as "Postcards from the Edge," "Mommy Dearest," and "Father of the Bride." Most of the films borrowed from I have seen several times or even own. Breitz extracts various segments, gestures, and exacerbations from the films and removes any background from the scenes to further distance the dialogue from its original context.  The actors seem to engage in a disconnected conversation with each other. Some of the most heartfelt and emotional scenes are transformed into a circus of ticks, huffs, and crying spells. What remains are not genuine people we can empathize with, but hollow wooden puppets dangling on a string. Who however, holds the metaphorical string? Who is the grand puppeteer? Is it the artist or the media? Who illuminates whom? The piece obviously exaggerates the stereotypes the media enforces on the public by compiling them all together in an all over assault. However, the artist could be construed as another pawn on the game board, simply re-enforcing what the media has already achieved, albeit much more insidiously. 

It is clear that the piece "Mothers and Fathers" renders the actor's emotions and words disingenuous, thus removing any validity to the stereotypes. I walked away from the piece feeling quite negatively about both motherhood and fatherhood. Then again, I feel the same after I watch yet another mind numbing commercial featuring a stressed out parent and their need for stronger paper towels in an increasingly chaotic life (because children are obviously the root of insanity).  I suppose my question is, is this piece just as, if not more absurd than the stereotypes perpetuated by the media that we, the American public, encounter on a regular basis? Is it at all enlightening in regard to the role of the media? Or is it simply about deconstructing the modern day myth of "Mother" and "Father?"