In Meditation on Violence (1948) Deren's
camera is motivated by the movement of the performer, Chao Li Chi. This
film is marked by a lack of dynamism and mobility that we have come to
expect from Deren's camera. It also obscures the distinction between
violence and beauty. The shadows on the white wall behind Chi amplify
the movement of the Wu Tang ritual. In Meditation on Violence Deren
experiments with film time, reversing the film part way through
producing a loop. Exhibited forwards and then backwards, the difference
in the Wu Tang movements is almost imperceptible.