Pre-Occupied by Heid E. Erdrich

A masterpiece of collage/remix videopoetry co-directed by the author of the text, poet Heid E. Erdrich, with R. Vincent Moniz, Jr. Art direction, animation and effects are by Jonathan Thunder. The excellent audio track is the work of Gabriel Siert, and additional visual art is credited to Carolyn Lee Anderson, Andrea Carlson, and Angie Erdrich. The synopsis on Erdrich’s website reads:

“Pre-Occupied” is a new and experimental form, the poem-film. Originally written for the website 99 Poems for the 99%, poet Heid E. Erdrich created a visual landscape of associations and references that match the tremendous irony of how the word “occupy” can be meant. The film version of this poem is a collaborative collage that means to reveal the distracted human mind at a particular point in history. Released in early 2013, the film inadvertently anticipated the Idle No More Movement. [link added]

Erdrich has made several other poetry films as well, including a new one that should be released shortly, according to Saara Myrene Raappana of Motionpoems, who kindly emailed me after attending an AWP panel at which Erdrich shared her films.

7 Comments

  1. Reply
    John 4 May, 2015

    So great!

  2. Reply

    […] by Jonathan Thunder. Though it may seem tailor-made for the film, like Heid Erdrich’s “Pre-Occupied” the poem originally appeared in text form at 99 Poems for the 99%, where the author included […]

  3. Reply
    Bobbie Patton 23 September, 2021

    This is very well made. I loved seeing the connection to Superman, both through metaphors and examples.

  4. Reply
    Melina Urias 24 September, 2021

    The format of the video really enhances the poetry itself. The video added elements to the poetry that would be missed if only seeing it in written form.The graphics behind the repeated words of river, flow, and occupy brought the poem to life. I was able to see the effects of the 99% and its occupation on the formerly 100%, now being the 1%. After watching this video, the word pre-occupied gained a whole new meaning.

    • Reply
      Karina Corbera 26 September, 2021

      I found the word play on “Pre-Occupied” to be quite clever in that it’s meaning encompasses both the state of Indigenous peoples before colonial occupation, and the issues that constantly worry and threaten the livelihood of Indigenous peoples. Also, I was surprised by the imagery accompanying the line “I…never pitched a tent on cement or near your banks”. As with the title, this line also has a double-meaning as it continues the river imagery constant in the poem while describing the living situation of Indigenous people before colonization (near the river and the rest of the natural world ) and after (a forced relocation and submission to the colonial state, which I interpret as being represented by the bank).

  5. Reply
    Aren Kasparian 26 September, 2021

    In addition to the images provided in the video, the poem provides imagery through its diction. The repetition of the word occupy and re-occupy signify the countless times that indigenous people have had to relocate as their lands were forcefully taken away.

  6. Reply
    Cindy Sandoval 27 September, 2021

    Indigenous history has been largely stained by dislocation. This poem did a great job at portraying this aspect of their legacy. The word “occupy” and “re-occupy” is symbolic of their continuous relocation. The appearance of Superman is also prominent. Superman is an American superhero that supports American values and expansion. The audio also created a feelings of confusion. This is symbolic to ingenious history because of the confusion created when listening to the poem must have been how Indians felt when listening to white people.

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