The Mom Tapes

Segalove takes her mom as subject in these short pieces, recording her stories, her advice, and her daily routine. What results is a portrait of a contemporary mother-daughter relationship, touchingly devoid of drama and full of whimsical humor. For example, in one piece, Ilene’s mother laments over a pair of shoes her daughter has chosen to hang on the wall instead of wearing, saying,”With you, everything is art.” In another segment the camera focuses on a pair of unoccupied, overstuffed chairs. The voice of a teenage girl whines, “Mom, I’m bored—” then proceeds to reject each of her mother’s suggestions by throwing objects across the room: books, food, sports equipment, the telephone, and so forth.

An excerpt of this title (3:39) is also available on Surveying the First Decade: Volume 1.