Reading Questions #8

First, respond to Tribulation 99 in relation to Zryd's description of student responses in his own classes.
- According to Michael Zryd's classroom observations, "students reported feeling lost, overwhelmed, and confused" when responding to the screening of Tribulation 99. When viewing the film as a whole product in it's entirety, I would totally agree. However, the humor infused throughout this surreal found footage film made for a completely enjoyable experience. I admit that it is a lot of information to take in. Luckily this was my second viewing of Tribulation 99 and I must say that repeated viewings are a necessity in order to fully enjoy this film. Since it all flies by so quickly, I was able to notice subtle humor and nuances that I did not notice the first time. I derived the most enjoyment from the over-the-top humor, such as when the narrorator reveals that the United States government realize about Fidel Castro, "that you can't kill something that isn't alive". On the other hand, with the film being so long, there was a lot of humor that moved so quickly and/or was so complicated that it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. With the exception of the length and sometimes puzzling humor, I was able to thoroughly enjoy Tribulation 99 the second time around.

Michael Zryd, “Found Footage Film as Discursive Metahistory: Craig Baldwin’s Tribulation 99”

1. Explain Paul Arthur's distinction between the "realist" use of found footage and the "figurative" use of found footage. Which becomes important in Tribulation 99 and why?
- Arthur distinguishes between two types of films using found footage. The "realist' ideology uses the found footage to illustrate a point, such as information about history. These are more likely to be realistic in narrative and subjective matter. The "figurative" ideology seeks to present things metaphorically or through symbolic representation. This will use narration, not to reveal facts, but to steer the audience in the direction of the filmmaker.

Marc Masters, “The Offenders: No Wave Cinema”

2. Name at least three similarities between the punk music scene and the punk/no-wave filmmaking scene, in terms of technology, style, and community.
- There are many similarities between the punk music scene and the punk/no-wave filmmaking. Both scenes are made up of people who want to be outside of mainstream society. Another one of these similarities would be the desire to simply create art. To make as much/many music/films as possible no matter the quality. Also, the low, gritty quality to the sound or picture is reminiscent of the punk movement on both ends.

William Wees, “Peggy’s Playhouse: Contesting the Modernist Paradigm”

3. According to Wees, what are the 5 characteristics of the modernist paradigm dominating North American avant-garde filmmaking before the 1980s?
- The characteristics that describe the modernest paradigm of North American filmmaking before the 1980's are: 1) the concept of the autonomy of art 2) the urge to discover and exploit as many properties of art as possible 3) the moral and aesthetic superiority of "high" art over pop culture 4) the imperative to create innovative works that express the maker's unique sensibility, but also have universal significance.

4. Given the 5 characteristics above, how does Awhesh reject or question each of them (give examples from throughout the article).
- She often doesn't like to plan her films fully before she shoots them. She doesn't want to discover any properties, she simply wants to run the camera and see what happens. She doesn't accept the superiority of "high" art, seeing as how her films don't have any significance towards herself or anyone else.

5. What does Ahwesh mean by rejecting the “aesthetics of mastery” and how is this related to punk filmmaking?
- First of all, she used very low quality film equipment (super 8) and rejected most other professional filmmaking practices, such as using experienced actors and crew. She says that she enjoy not knowing what she is going to do when she makes her films, rejecting the notion of pre-visualization. The spontaneity of her films took on the qualities of home movies.

6. Why does Wees argue that The Color of Love subverts conventional wisdom about mainstream pornography?
- Apparently, in mainstream pornography, the males erection is the center of attention, Seeing how it is mostly viewed by men, the porn film centers around the males dominance and achievement of his sexual desires. In The Color of Love the man is instead lifeless and flaccid. Even the aggressive sexual attempts of two women do nothing to arouse him. In this film there is no dominant male, therefore it breaks the convention of mainstream porn.

7. In what ways does Awhesh transform images from Tomb Raider in She Puppet?
- By manipulating the material she had at hand, Awhesh was able to make a very intriguing film with footage from the videogame Tomb Raider. She didn't use any footage of Lara Croft doing what she is know for, shooting bad guys or confronting imminent doom. She deconstructs and defamiliarizes the icon of Tomb Raider and creates a "revisionist, postmodernist, and, arguably, postfeminist" film that questions the influence of popular culture on feminism and other issues at hand.

Discussion Questions #5

1. What were some of the venues associated with the early underground film movement in New York City? What were some of the unique characteristics of the Charles Theater and its programming?
- Some of the venues were Cinema 16, the Charles Theater, and the Fashion Industries Auditorium. The Charles Theater didn't just show films, but would often exhibit certain artists as well as music such as jazz.

2. Which filmmakers did Jonas Mekas associate with the “Baudelairean Cinema”? Why did Mekas use that term, and what were the distinguishing characteristics of the films?
-The filmmakers Mekas mainly associated "Baudelairean Cinema" with are Jack Smith, Ron Rice and Ken Jacobs. The term is derived from the name of a famous French poet, who strived to break the normal process of filmmaking and think outside the box.

3. Why did underground films run into legal trouble in New York City in 1964? What film encountered legal problems in Los Angeles almost on the same day as Mekas’s second arrest in New York City?
- Jack Smtih's film "Flaming Creatures" was seen as very indecent during the time of it's release in NYC. The completely liberal filmmaking was not only happening in NYC, but also in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, however, it was Anger's "Scorpio Rising" which fueled the protesting and legal problems.

4. What were some of the defining characteristics of Andy Warhol’s collaboration with Ronald Tavel? What were some of the unique characteristics of Vinyl? How does Edie Sedgewick end up "stealing" the scene in Vinyl?
-When Andy Warhol worked with Ronald Tavel, their films become purposely shoddy. In "Vinyl", a film based on "A Clockwork Orange", they left out most of the substance of the story, leaving the film with a skeletal plot. This was an increasingly minimalist style. Edie had a very powerful "stage presence" that often lead to her being the center of attention for the audience.

5. In what ways did the underground film begin to "crossover" into the mainstream in 1965-1966? What films and venues were associated with the crossover? How were the films received by the mainstream New York press?
- Underground films began to spur articles in major magazines across the nation; from "Saturday Evening Post" to "Playboy". "Scorpio Rising" got the chance to play for a month at the Bleecker Street Cinema, and "Inauguration" had plenty of screen time as well. The more mainstream the films became, the less the critics would accept them. As long as they stayed in small venues, they were received well.

6. Why was Mike Getz an important figure in the crossover of the underground?
- He managed a 500-seat cinema where he would screen the underground movies in Hollywood. He was found guilty of exhibiting an obscene film when he showed "Scorpio Rising"

7. How do Hoberman and Rosenbaum characterize Warhol’s post-1967 films?
- Warhol's post-1967 films began to take on characteristics of his earlier minimalist films. However the subject matter and film images began to focus on more "taboo" subjects such as sex, drugs and other explicit material.

Discussion Questions #4

1. Briefly respond to one of the following Fluxfilms, which are on-line here:
http://www.ubu.com/film/fluxfilm.html
- I think I viewed Yoko Ono's "One", I'm not sure because it seems like some of the films were under the wrong heading. Anyways, the film I viewed was the one showing the match being lit in super slow motion. It was a lot like the fluxfilm that showed her smiling then not smiling in super slow motion. This one was much better because you could actually see the changes taking place in the flame of the match since it moves at such a lightning speed in reality.

2. Look up “Fluxus” and any of the Fluxus artists in the index of Visionary Film. Why are they not there? Are the Fluxfilms compatible with Sitney’s central argument about the American avant-garde?
- You would think that the Fluxians would be regarded as a very important part of avant-garde film, however it seems that Sitney has left them out. Maybe it was an entirely different view of the art form than what Sitney believes, so he decided to just leave them out all together.


Mary Jordan, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

3. Chapter 4. What are some of the reasons suggested for Smith’s obsession with Maria Montez? What are some of your responses to the clips from the Montez films (especially Cobra Woman)?
- They say that Smith's obsession with Maria Montez was very obsessive. He saw her as an untainted romantic idea that he could believe in. Smith was really into her not-so-great acting and saw her performances as a lost art. In my opinion, the Maria Montez films looked incredibly shallow. From the scenes they showed Maria Montez was the only person focused on in the film, done up lavishly in jewelry and extravagant dresses.

4. Chapter 5. What were some attributes of the New York art community in the 1960s, and what was the relationship between the economics of the time and the materials that Smith incorporated in to his work and films? [How could Smith survive and make art if he was so poor in the city so big they named it twice?]
- There was an overwhelming pressure to conform, it was highly frowned upon to break free of the norms and explore new territory. They had to take what little money they had to try and produce quality films, so they always had to be pinching their pennies.

5. Chapter 6. What problems emerged after the obscenity charges against Flaming Creatures in the relationship between Jack Smith and Jonas Mekas? What metaphor emerged from the conflict between Smith and Mekas?
- The film "Flaming Creatures" was banned for its obscenity in 22 states. It was then that Jonas Mekas began to travel across the nation showing the film and speaking about it afterwards. He took the film and made it his in an attempt to make money, with a disregard for the makers of the film. This gave him the nickname "Uncle Fish-hook"

6. Chapter 7. What is John Zorn’s argument about Normal Love? How does his argument relate to some of the changes in the New York art world in the 1960s that we discussed in class? What are some arguments made about the influence of Jack Smith on other filmmakers (including Warhol)?
- The show itself wasn't the finished product of the film, but the actually filming process of the film. Zorn says that the audience should have been there when they were making the film instead of when they were exhibiting the film. In NY in the 1960's people were starting to do things in different ways, just for the sake of trying. This lead to the experience of making "Normal Love", a film which took about a year to complete. In 1967, Andy Warhol actually filmed Smith directing "Normal Love" for a film of his own.

7. Chapter 9 and 10: In what ways did Jack Smith become “uncommercial film personified”? What is meant by the slogan, “no more masterpieces” and how did Smith resist commodification (or the production of art products)?
- After Jack Smith's inauspicious start as a filmmaker, his films started to take on a different attribute. He became the definition of "uncommercial" film.

Callie Angell, “Andy Warhol, Filmmaker”

[I have emailed part one of this article to the class, it is not on reserve.]

8. How does Angell characterize the first major period of Warhol’s filmmaking career? What are some of the films from this period, and what formal qualities did they share? What are some significant differences between Sleep and Empire?
-The first major period of Andy Warhol's filmmaking career would have to be labeled as minimalist. Meaning that the films would use the least amount of filmmaking material in an attempt to capture the "ordinary" and make it into art. These films had a somewhat "primitive" approach. Additionally, they were usually consisted of one static and unedited shot.

9. What role did the Screen Tests play in the routines at the Factory and in Warhol’s filmmaking?
- Many film scholars see the "Screen Tests" as a learning process for Warhol. Angell says that these "Screen Tests" helped Warhol gain experience in "the posing, framing, and lighting of his subjects". These "Screen Tests" also helped him build up a group of actors that he used for them that would appear in some of his later works. They were also extremely important in the development of Warhol's brand of cinema.

10. How does Angell characterize the first period of sound films in Warhol’s filmmaking career? Who was Warhol’s key collaborator for the early sound films? What are some of the films from this period and what formal properties did they share?
- Warhol's first sound films had characteristics that remind me of his minimalist films. He fought to make the onscreen area in his films as uncomfortable for the actors as possible by having complete control over the actors and their performances. His partner during these times was a man named Ronald Tavel. Some of the films from this period include "Vinyl"and "Poor Little Rich Girl".

Discussion Questions #2

Sitney, “The Lyrical Film”

1. While Brakhage’s Reflections on Black is a trance film, why does Sitney argue that it anticipates the lyrical film?
-By the time Brakhage had made this film, he had already begun to cross over in lyrical filmmaking. He had moved beyond making films about fantasy and reality and had begun making films about the imagination.

2. What are the key characteristics of the lyrical film (the first example of which was Anticipation of the Night).
-The lyrical film takes the filmmaker and makes him the protagonist. We see the film in first-person through the eyes of the filmmaker. Also, the viewers experience the intense movement of the filmmakers vision. Lastly, Sitney says, the filmmaker plays to the flatness and whiteness of the projector screen, rejecting that the screen is a window into illusion. In other words, the audience is looking at the screen, not into the screen.

3. Which filmmaker was highly influential on Brakhage’s move to lyrical film in terms of film style, and why?
- Marie Menken had a major influence on Brakhage and his work. Her often swirling and swinging camera provided a pre-text for Brakhage to improve upon and explore for the invention of new film forms.

4. What does Sitney mean by "hard" and "soft" montage? What examples of each does he give from Anticipation of the Night? {Tricky question; read the entire passage very carefully.]
-

5. What are the characteristics of vision according to Brakhage’s revival of the Romantic dialectics of sight and imagination? [I’m not asking here about film style, I’m asking about Brakhage’s views about vision.]
-Vision is not just what we see with our eyes, because there are things that we view that we don't even notice. Vision also has to do with how our eyes work and their movement which determines how we see things. But much of our vision comes from our mind, where we comprehend and make our own images.


Sitney, “Major Mythopoeia”

6. Why does Sitney argue, “It was Brakhage, of all the major American avant-garde filmmakers, who first embraced the formal directives and verbal aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism.”
-Brakhage was a film visionary, as can be seen with his inventive filmmaking. He was known for his extreme moving camera and fast cutting. He was also known to use the film itself to enrich his art by scratching or painting on the celluloid.

7. What archetypes are significant motifs in Dog Star Man, and which writers in what movement are associated with these four states of existence?
-The four archetypes are Beulah, or Innocence; Generation, or Experience; Ulro, or the hell of rationalism, self absorption, and the domination of nature; Eden, the redeemed unity realm of imagination. William Blake is the writer associated with this movement.


Sitney, "The Potted Psalm"

8. According to Sitney, what stylistic techniques are used to mark perspective and subjectivity in The Cage, and why is this an important development in the American avant-garde film?
-The Cage uses slow, fast, normal, and reverse camera times to give the viewers a subjective feeling. Also the use of stop-motion disappearances and reappearances are used throughout. They also used forward and backward motion which has since been utilized in many films.

9. For Sitney, what are the key similarities and differences between Entr'acte and The Cage?
- Both of the films have an elongated chase scene, a roundabout plot that seems to finish where it began, and they both employ camera tricks that add symbolism to the film. However, "Entr'acte" is much more comical than "The Cage", as it is more of a satire.

10. How does Peterson synthesize the seemingly incongruent suggestions of his Workshop 20 students into The Lead Shoes?
-Peterson relied heavily on editing to synthesize the seemingly random ideas of his Workshop 20 students. He used the passage of time (ellipsis) to associate the very ambiguous ideas that his students presented; such as traditional ballad, the use of a deep sea diving suit, and the inclusion of hamsters(which i assume changed to rats).

11. Compare your response to The Lead Shoes with the descriptions by Sitney and Parker Tyler.
-My reaction didn't cover the actual happenings in "The Lead Shoes" as much as Sitney and Tyler's description. They were able to outline the plot much more efficiently than I, because they have viewed the film repeatedly and fully grasp the filmmakers language. Some things that they described about the plot, I didn't even see happen.

The Lead Shoes Response

The Lead Shoes started out having two simultaneous lines of action. One, a girl playing hopscotch, tossing a stone and hopping down the sidewalk, only to turn around toss the stone again and hop back down the sidewalk the other way. This repeated and cut into the other line of action. The second line of action involves a woman and a man dressed in an old deep-sea diving suit. They dance around on the beach as the waves wash up around their feet. As the film goes on, the man in the diving suit becomes unresponsive and the woman resorts to pulling him back to her home. When I was watching this film, I could literally feel the back-breaking struggle of the woman as she seemingly would never reach her destination with this huge burden. The film had me thinking that this woman was trying to reconcile a lost love, but the man was resisting. The shot where she opens the head of the diving suit only to find that it is filled with rats was the shot that remained in my mind long after viewing. It got me wondering if we really know the people that we spend so much time caring for.

Discussion Questions #1

Sitney, “Ritual and Nature”

1. What are some characteristics of the American psychodrama in the 1940s?
-Some characteristics of American psychodrama’s of the 1940’s are dreams, rituals, dance, and sexual metaphors.

2. What does Sitney mean by an “imagist” structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?
- Before this film, abstract narrative forms and thematic compositions were the closest to the “imagist” structure shown in Choreography for the Camera. This film however is does not have any kind of plausible narrative form whatsoever, it is simply showing the motions of dance and focusing only on the image.

3. According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?
-Ritual in Transfigured Time takes the “trance” film in a whole new complex direction. This form leads to the architectonic films of the early 1960’s.

4. Respond briefly to Sitney’s reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); Is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
- After reading Sitney’s interpretation of Ritual in Transfigured Time the film makes sense to me in ways it didn’t before. While it still doesn’t make complete sense, when I read the words that are associated with the images I saw in Maya Deren’s film, I began to see links between them, even though they are not connected in a way that we are used to in a narrative sense.

Sitney, “The Magus”

5. Paraphrase the paragraph on p. 90 that begins “The filmic dream constituted…” in your own words.
- Most Avant-garde films of the 1940’s shared the same view that the camera is a kind of working mind, and the objects it films are things that the mind is viewing. The idea is that it is almost like seeing a dream from a different set of eyes (the camera).

6. According to Sitney, what is the ultimate result at the end of Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome?
- The ultimate result of Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, according to Sitney, is that all of the gods are absorbed into the magus.


Scott MacDonald, “Cinema 16: Introduction”

7. What were some general tendencies in the programming at Cinema 16, and how were films arranged within individual programs?
- The way cinema 16 was set-up closely mirrored the construction of the films it showed. They would often try to set-up films to clash with one another to give the audience an experience similar to the experience the films give themselves.

8. What kinds of venues rented Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks?
-This film would definitely not be seen in conventional movie houses because of the themes. It was however shown at Cinema 16 in 1952 and 1953. Pretty much any movie house that wasn’t mainstream and didn’t have to censor their films.

9. What impact did Cinema 16 have on New York City film culture?
- Cinema 16 definitely broadened the film scene for film lovers and filmmakers in New York City. Cinema 16 brought in the films from across seas and the films that you couldn’t see anywhere else. It allowed film to be displayed and received as an art form, not merely a form of entertainment.

Hans Richter, “A History of the Avantgarde”

10. What conditions in Europe made the avant-garde film movement possible after World War I?
- After the war, Europe was “taut with economic, social, political and cultural unrest. Revolutions all over the Continent had loosened traditions and opened the mind for new things.” Avant-garde filmmaking was one of these new things. After the war there was a feeling of starting over and new beginnings. This left most people open to new things and wanting to discover new things.

11. If the goal of Impressionist art is “Nature Interpreted by Temperament,” what are the goals of abstract art?
- The goals of abstract art are almost the opposite of normal art (that which has a tangible goal for the artist.) Abstract are often doesn’t have the same meaning for different persons. Because it is not easily interpreted as one person’s work of art, it is more of a vision of what he wants the viewers to be able to interpret themselves. They try to find a universal way to create their art. With that being said, “the general tendency for abstract art was to overcome pure individualistic emotional expression and to find instead the way for the expression of universal feeling.”

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome is an extremely distorted representation of a satanic/egyptian ritual. The film is roller-coaster like in the sense that it starts slowly and builds and builds until the viewer is engulfed in pure chaotic imagery. While it is completely out of my realm of knowledge to know what the characters represent, the film is packed with demonic sexually driven individuals whom consume jewelry and take part in the ritualistic activities. This film had a tendency to be extremely ambiguous, but I'm sure I would be able to make a little more of it with multiple viewings. In conclusion, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome was outside of my ability to comprehend the first time i viewed it, but I was still absorbed by the anarchic imagery and the overall macabre tone and therefore was able to enjoy this unique film.