Do you know what I mean?

Originated by Roland Barthes'  phrase "The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author.", the piece traces the enigma that's awakened by the difference between what's said and what's meant.

                                                    -This is a video sample-

"We know that to give writing its future, it is necessary to overthrow the myth: The birth of the  reader must be at the cost of the death of the author…"

                                                Barthes, Roland. The death of the author. from Image, Music, Text, 1977                     

Whether you write or not, I’m sure that you have experienced the struggle of expressing yourself, written or not. Probably, you have said “Do you know what I mean?” and have made someone say the same; have doubted that what you meant is what you said. You might have avoided saying for the reason that you are not willing to say or you fall short. What you meant might have been distorted, a piece of what said might have been extracted. You might have been misunderstood or have not been understood, you might have misled the meaning. You might have contemplated on what you said or not have thought of it at all.

If you are simultaneously thinking of what you mean while you say “This is not what I mean?”, though if you’re saying it, but if you’re thinking that what’s understood is still not what you actually meant and if you repeatedly say “This is not what I mean”, if herewith you cause dreadful silent moments in which nobody can speak; you may try to stop looking after what you say and try to pay attention to “Tissue of quotations drawn from innumerable centers of culture” (Barthes, 1977) as soon as you open your mouth and you may try to keep record of those who speak through your mouth and those that is said.Do you know what I mean?

Director: Yasin Dogan
Text and performance: Cemil Can Yusufoglu
Duration:15'
Coproduction: Jardin d’Europe network with the support of the Culture Program of the European Commission
2013