Lynn Hershman's "First Person Plural"

While we only watched about half of the film First Person Plural (1996) by Hershman, I was able to understand (mostly) what she was trying to communicate. Reading the David E. James article "Lynn Hershman: The Subject of Autobiography" also aided in my understanding of Hershman's work. Hershman used a confessional style of autobiography to deal with her weight gain and her issues of abuse and violence. Unlike many of the other autobiographical films and videos we have viewed thus far in the semester, Hershman was unafraid to confront the camera lens. She said that no one was taping her, and that alone she felt she could talk about herself in a way that she would not be able to if someone else were present. We as viewers cannot help but make eye contact with Hershman's image in the film. We cannot escape her. We must listen to her story. James mentions the idea of the "talking cure" (127) that Hershman talking through her issues of weight and abuse is the only way to heal herself, and then ultimately to find herself. What is it about the medium that allows Hershman to feel comfortable about revealing her autobiographical story? She uses manipulations of her own image and she uses other images (Dracula, Hitler, old photographs of herself) to enhance her story, or perhaps to communicate to the viewer what she thinks about herself - or is she doing this to evoke certain feelings or understandings in us in relation to her? I would be interested in finding out how the film ends. How is Hershman cured? What does she find out about herself?