ekleipsis

Where to Watch

Criterion Channel

Overview

"I came across a New York Times article about a group of hysterically blind Cambodian women in Long Beach, California, the largest group of such people known in the world. Hysterical blindness is sight loss brought about by traumatic stress with little or no physical cause." This tape delves into two histories: the history of hysteria and of the Cambodian civil war. It examines the ascendant quality of personalities that survive great trauma and loss and looks at how individuals normalize experiences and histories of "unassimilatable" pain.