how to say ‘i love you america’ with two fingers in your mouth (2018)

When I first learned how to brush my teeth, I was told to brush from the beginning to end of “America The Beautiful.” As I got older, I became increasingly disenchanted by the presence of nationalist imagery and symbology in everyday rituals. This short film is an attempt to make sense of — and launch a critique from within — my disenchantment. I reappropriate the ritual of brushing my teeth alongside nationalist and white supremacist imagery to bring into relief how private moments become intimately bound up with scenes of racial and hegemonic violence.