"Ritual and More"
-What are some characteristics of psychodrama in the 40s?
Statues, especially when they come to life, dream sequences, temporal and spacial unreality.
"The Magus"
-Paraphrase the paragraph on p. 90 that begins “The filmic dream constituted…” in your own words.
The use of a dream as a means of storytelling is the most common method of storytelling in avant garde films of the 40s. It allows spacial and temporal unreality and allows the subject to appear multiple times in one frame.
-According to Sitney, what is the ultimate result at the end of Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome?
The ultimate result is a triumph of the imaginations and the subsumption of characters into the Magus.
"Cinema 16"
-What were some general tendencies in the programming at Cinema 16, and how were films arranged within individual programs?
Goal: Pleasurable, exciting education, variety - mostly within documentaries and avant garde, but including all other forms of filmic media, to supple individual personal expression.
Arrangement: As Eisenstein's montages - colliding to create maximum thought.
-What kinds of venues rented Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks?
A very wide strange variety - a lot of individual people rented it for the usual universities and film societies, but it was also (strangely) rented by the US Naval Hospital, Colonial Williamsburg and the Dupont Institute.
-What were some of Cinema 16’s other activities (beyond exhibition and distribution)?
Aiding filmmakers in completing their projects, lecturing and showing films at schools and university and offering a competion/awards show.
-What impact did Cinema 16 have on New York City film culture?
It was a model for other film societies, it influenced the "movers and shakers" and young/aspiring filmmakers, it opened doors for european influence.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Week One.
(more to come later)
1. According to Sitney, what are some of the important differences between Meshes of the Afternoon and Un Chien Andalou?
The major differences are: Chien uses metaphors, Meshes doesn't; Meshes uses repetitive symbolism (key, knife, flower) while in Chien they simply repeat (clown clothes, box); in Chien all the space of the frame is used, in Meshes we only see bits with the character walking through; Chien presents a more unstable world, Meshes is merely a dreamworld.
2. What does Sitney mean by an "imagist" structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?
Imagist structure = a single gesture or movement telling the entire story. So instead of having a lot of action to create the story for Choreography, there is simply one dancer making one movement.
3. According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?
Ritual in Transfigured Time is a transition between psychodrama and the architectonic/mythopoeic film style.
4. Respond briefly to Sitney's reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
I found his interpretation fairly compatible with what I remember of the film. I kinda wish I could go back and watch this again while I'm still thinking about the things I should be looking for and see if I understand it better - the first time around I missed details such as the three women playing the part of the Greek Graces.
1. According to Sitney, what are some of the important differences between Meshes of the Afternoon and Un Chien Andalou?
The major differences are: Chien uses metaphors, Meshes doesn't; Meshes uses repetitive symbolism (key, knife, flower) while in Chien they simply repeat (clown clothes, box); in Chien all the space of the frame is used, in Meshes we only see bits with the character walking through; Chien presents a more unstable world, Meshes is merely a dreamworld.
2. What does Sitney mean by an "imagist" structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?
Imagist structure = a single gesture or movement telling the entire story. So instead of having a lot of action to create the story for Choreography, there is simply one dancer making one movement.
3. According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?
Ritual in Transfigured Time is a transition between psychodrama and the architectonic/mythopoeic film style.
4. Respond briefly to Sitney's reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
I found his interpretation fairly compatible with what I remember of the film. I kinda wish I could go back and watch this again while I'm still thinking about the things I should be looking for and see if I understand it better - the first time around I missed details such as the three women playing the part of the Greek Graces.
The Cage
To be perfectly honest, I don't think I really understood this film.
I found it interesting to watch, but as far as a meaning I was a bit overwhelmed.
The effects in it were pretty nifty - the rewind-action with only the actors moving forwards, the camera seeing the world as the eye. I'm not one to get motion sickness, but I did get pretty dizzy a few times as the camera bounced and swirled around as the eye tumbled loose through the city.
I thought the artist scraping "paint" off his board and eating it on the bread was kinda funny.
I'm sure there was lots of meaning in all three of these elements, but I'll confess I'm not entirely certain what it may be.
I found it interesting to watch, but as far as a meaning I was a bit overwhelmed.
The effects in it were pretty nifty - the rewind-action with only the actors moving forwards, the camera seeing the world as the eye. I'm not one to get motion sickness, but I did get pretty dizzy a few times as the camera bounced and swirled around as the eye tumbled loose through the city.
I thought the artist scraping "paint" off his board and eating it on the bread was kinda funny.
I'm sure there was lots of meaning in all three of these elements, but I'll confess I'm not entirely certain what it may be.
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