This film tells the story of The Desert Magazine, a mid-century periodical celebrating the American Southwest. Published in 1936 by editor Randall Henderson, the magazine aimed to break with the era’s stigma and introduce the beauty of arid lands to its readers. Something Henderson referred to as the “real desert”. But what is “real” in a landscape of false perspective?

Through interviews, voice-overs, archival footage and the visual graphic world of the Desert Magazine, the film traces the cultural influence of the magazine and deconstructs Randall’s romanticized version of the desert. A version that offered its readers a place to dream of. The story intertwines interviews with anthropologist Julia Sizek and the late human geographer Dr. Yi-Fu Tuan – reflecting on how we perceive the environment that surrounds us.
Together, these perspectives take the viewer on a playful journey exploring the steering force of human perception and the love between people and place.