High Maintenance by Arsa Dhima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYhGO8WHqz0

            Dhima has created a film that speaks volumes about relationships and gender. In regards to relationships, the woman's quickness to terminate the marriage for a new "model" operates as a direct parallel to our cultures expendable view of relationships. As divorce rates in our society climb, marriages are entered hastily and treated loosely. Dhima seems to commenting on the fact that marriages are often viewed as consumer relationships. As the woman's desires and expectations change, so must her mate or model. The viewer can infer from her Internet shopping for the replacement husband that she was afforded the same freedom of choice of her first model/husband. As a result, the viewer knows that her first husband, at some point in time, represented the woman's desires for a mate.  The woman's callousness toward such a drastic life change, mechanically kissing the old husband being hauled away while transferring the wedding band to her new model, confirms Dhirma's commentary on our culture's lightheartedness toward something so intimate and emotionally impactful.

            I also thought Dhirma's attention to sound was a powerful component in her film. For example, the opening scene of the couple chewing in stereo, revealed the "robotic" nature of their intimacy. The truth Dhirma seemed to be aiming at is how rote relationships can become if spouses become too self-involved and disconnected. In this way, the fantasy of each spouse's robotic nature becomes not only great science fiction, but a warning to all those who've neglected their spouse's needs.

            Gender played a powerful role in the physical choices and actions of Dhima's characters, as well. For example, the last scene shows the new rugged, adventurous male, massaging his elated wife, while asking her to recount her day. It would appear that she's found the perfect model husband, a balance of masculine spontaneity and romantic sensitivity, but his ulterior motives are revealed when she herself is ironically powered down so that he can drink a beer, smoke, and watch TV in peace. Dhirma seems to not only be espousing some gender stereotypes, but she also seems to be saying that no matter how acutely a potential mate meets our checklist, they will still be flawed, because they will still be human.