Thursday May 3, 2007 (3)

I was not in class this week, as I had severe alarm clock malfunctions. However, I will reflect on what I intend to do for my essay rather than the material from class.

Experimental media is...
the use of any medium to reach an audience in a way that would not be possible using a conventional method of filmmaking.

I thought of this for my thesis, and it seems a bit weak. I want feedback on it, and I believe it really could be a good essay if my thesis gets stronger and more precise. I need to be able to prove my idea, to really convince someone who might not be sure that I am telling the truth. I believe my statement is true, but that hardly matters. What I need to be sure of, is that at the end of the essay, you believe it's true as well.

Thursday May 3, 2007 (2)

When viewing Sharon Lockhart's "Goshogoaka," I always felt like I was waiting for something, something to happen. I was not enthralled with the material of her choice, but I can see why one would be.
I find it interesting how this is supposed to be staged like a performance. It is very much a performance in choreography and practice, but I noticed that the girls were doing normal basketball drills. It was strange to think of this normal thing to be choreographed, having done the exact same practice drills when I would play basketball. It seemed very natural, even though the "stage" was set with a fixed camera, and a very literal stage set right behind the girls as a backdrop. I find it hard to analyze this piece, because like much experimental film, it really was what it was. I don't find myself looking beyond for some deeper meaning, even though there may have been one. I rather find myself reflecting on the beauty of pattern, of uninhibited performance, the repitition of sound. The repitition of both sounds and movements brought me to expect the next, and I was able to find comfort in that. It was like a chant in another language that I did not know, but I understood. It was almost a universal language, and I was able to hear it just as well as those girls could perform it.

Thursday May 3, 2007

I have yet to write about "Hamilton" in my blog. I am very behind.

I want to explore the reasons for the differing styles between "Hamilton" and "Love with a Little 'L'." The differences in styles are easily identifiable. "Hamilton" is subtle, slow, easy to follow, and overall very pleasing to the eye and mind. "Love" on the other hand is in-your-face, personal, vulgar, and intrusive as well as uses symbolism. However, why such great divide between the two styles? The crudity and upfront attitude of "Love" makes it controversial. This makes perfect sense since the topic is one of womens' empowerment and adolescent attraction, things which are controversial and complicated. It is confrontational for a reason, to grab attentino and make one think about what is being said. Also, this symbolism used is able to make the vinettes about more than what is portrayed by simple yet strange acts.
The subtlety of "Hamilton" greatly contrasts the intrusiveness of "Love." The vinettes in "Hamilton" are simple, showing little conflict, little confrontation, and little action. This quite obviously achieves an aura of simplicity and mundaneness that is commonly reached in normal everyday life. I believe that this film was made as an experimental film, like most experimental films, to challenge the idea of conventional film. It is difficult to illustrate the complexity of adolescence, and almost harder to convey the prosaic mood of day-to-day life. And I believe these films took on their differences in style in an attempt to bring the complexity and the simplicity of life as close as possible to the audience.