Mame Faye did not exist. At least that's what the history books would have you believe. Prostitutes and madams, no matter how well-known or successful, are not part of legitimate history. But the oldtimers of Troy, New York insist that Mame Faye did exist. It would seem everyone past the age of retirement in Troy has a story – funny, sordid, unbelievable, apocryphal – about Mame. Together, these previously unrecorded oral histories tell a rich tale of a booming industrial city's complex relationship to its own seedy side at the end of the Victorian era that was Troy's heyday.
Sitting on a Million is an experimental documentary (digital video; estimated length 30:00) centered around this colorful lady from Troy's past. With nods to unlikely influences such as Howard Zinn, Xaviera Hollander (the "Happy Hooker") and Miranda July, Sitting on a Million is a blend of oral history, wild speculation, unreliable narrators and reenactments bringing to life the spirit of this forgotten woman. In the realm of Mame's story, tall tales, rumors and urban myths vie with newspaper records for legitimacy. Accounts contradict one another. Two pictures identified as Mame Faye do not appear to be of the same person. People shed tears at the memory of events that likely never occurred. In this way the video actively deconstructs the received wisdom of history textbooks and asks the viewer to consider the role of memory and imagination in creating history.
This work is a collaboration between myself (Annmarie Lanesey) and Penny Lane (both CV's attached). Thus far we have collected videotaped personal remembrances of Mame from over 30 of Troy's elder citizens. We have commissioned the Uncle Sam Chorus, a local barbershop quartet to record songs in Mame's honor, mostly Irish love songs and funeral dirges (our lady was a devout Irish Catholic). Bits of Mame's estate have turned up around town: an outrageously huge ruby ring, an armoire, her hand-carved oak bed. We are working with her sole remaining relatives, who were not aware of their family connection until we contacted them, to photograph clothes, paintings and other relics long lost in the attic. Most recently, her gravestone, unmarked for 63 years (since her death) was finally engraved with the name of the legendary woman who lies beneath it.
Sitting on a Million asks the viewer to think beyond pre-conceived notions about what a 'documentary' about prostitution would be like. We are neither dwelling on the salacious details of who did what to whom behind which doors nor are we attempting a simplified-sex-positive-revisionist-history that paints prostitution as an empowering act (though Mame was by all accounts a strong woman in a time when the words 'strong' and 'woman' didn't go hand in hand). Because of these characteristics, we see a very broad audience for this piece made up of folks in both local and international contexts, comprised of folks with feminist leanings, history buffs, postmodern theorists, and senior citizens who will be pleased to see some respectful representation of their generation.