Winter In America

Overview

Winter in America is a stop-motion animation video that recreates the events leading up to the robbing and murder of Hank Willis Thomas’s cousin, Songha, in February 2000 outside a club in Philadelphia. Basing the narrative on eye-witness accounts, the artists use G.I. Joe action figures, similar to those they played with during childhood, to tell the story. The video examines a culture in which young boys are encouraged to act out such violent scenarios before they can even read. More generally, it is critical of America’s unquenchable thirst for material goods.

Directed by Kambui Olujimi, Hank Willis Thomas

Details