Summer is around the corner....sorry for the slacking

Well, as the days turn into summer, my mind becomes more and more absent. Personally, I cannot wait to get out of the Mitchell basement for a couple of weeks before I return for summer school! Anyway, my comments on Hamilton are as followed:
1) Why is that girl still with her baby's daddy? Was she adopted or something because it seemed as if they shared the same mama. Woody Allen syndrome I suppose. Anyway, I blame the city of Balitmore myself. Baltimore is not one of the safest cities in the US here, no matter how much they regentrify the ports. Porterfield happens to capture the decay in silence. Urban decay happens silently and drastically. Slowly the rich move out to the burbs and the ethnic minority/low income families move right on in. The family does not look the richest nor the most motivated. After all, we have a 17 year old pregnant child, a 15 year old who smokes, and some other girl with a child herself.
2) The movie's environment is something to comment on. Since everyone in the theater has been in a decaying neighborhood (Milwaukee is full of them because we are the most segregated city in the US), it was as if we could feel the humidity of the summer day, the cerulean of the pool, the sun beating down outside the church, and the sweat beading as the young lad mows the lawn. Maybe it is Dr. Barker's senses class rubbing off on me, but the whole atmosphere of walking in the woods, but the nostaglia and childhood feelings arouse sense memory. The creek and the woods, as an example, environment reminds the viewer of the childhood innnocence these children should have, even though one has a child and the other is smoking. Lots of contradictions on how these children should be children, but they are acting like adults.

Pomegrante Orgy

Did anyone else find the Pomegrante scene from Montgomery's Notes on the Death of the Kodachrome the most sexual scene out of all the films viewed Monday? The color was so red and the texture was so appealing sensual that one could not help but feel violated by the fruit! Since Montgomery shot the pom scenes close up, the viewer never really saw the entire picture. It leaves the audience to make up what the members of the orgy are doing and how they react to the juicy, high in anti-oxident fruit. It is all goes to haptics, and this scene was the only time I was invited to look at the image and ignore the audio voice-over. Whatever she was saying at that time did not matter, my senses were kicking in and I felt as if I was there. That is what haptic cinema does: never alienates, just invites. Then, she would intercut with the menstrual art, which at first did not tap into my feminist side, but overtime, it was became appealing in some sense. But as I watched her make art with her blood, I wanted to go back to eating the pomegrante, longing for the seedy fruit that is now out of season. She invited the viewer into the movie through those close shots as if to say, "Hey, come on in. The orgy's fine!" While the menstratual art was alienating to most of the male audience, the pomegrantes kept the viewer's interest. Jennifer must have done that on purpose; contrasting both images to be vulgar and beautiful, sensual and disgusting. What ever the case may be, her approaches in the prophecy delcares a death in texture as she transitions to the post-modern/feminist world.

thislife.org

The work I selected was entitled, "24 Hours at the Golden Apple." The center of the story is based on the two waiters who happen to work the graveyard shift. For the past two decades, the two ladies discuss their adventures, from couples arguing over a late night meal (I would not be surprised they were probably a little tipsy from drinking at the bars) to cops making frequent stops to eat the fine dining menu. Based off Nancy Updike's work, the semi-documentary piece offers a slice of life. The stories are mini narratives: people drag their drama into the restuarant in order to find resolutions or just ramble. In relation the narrative and experimental film, it shows that nothing is linear. Experimental film goes out of its way to make sure it does not follow any stereotypical guidlines, making things abstract and incoherent at times. In a way, it becomes empowering to not follow the rules. The thislife.org and NPR invite people to listen to stories that are everyday life: places people usually take for granted during their waking hours. And yet, does everything have a story? Is this a story right now as I type or when the viewer reads, engaging in the question? I personally find reading this blog not a story, but in the grand scheme of things, it becomes a part of the "story of your life" (made, edited, and updated by you). Sometimes people do not resolve their resoultions. For instance, these ladies working at the diner, do they have any resolutions to their lives or do they live vicariously through the patrons? Are their lives not compelling enough to write about? Their narratives, obviously different from the patrons, seem hum-drum, boring, and not exciting. Maybe that is why they are working the night shift for the past decades.....

The Camera Obscura

Ethan Jackson's camera obscura was an inviting exhibit. Since we saw the installation "in the works," it never-the-less was interactive and involving. The camera obscura, for a brief lesson in history, was constructed (in the Western world) during the Renaissance. I believe its most influential involvement was probably during the rise of the Dutch paintings of the 16th century, most notably Rembrandt and Vermeer. I am pretty sure everyone/Andrea is familiar with "Girl with the Pearl Earring." The author of the book (Tracy Chevalier), with the same name, addresses in great detail how the servant girl interacts with Vermeer in his art world, using the camera obscura to capture the image so he could get very detail painted onto the canvas.

It seems the most primitive camera has made a comeback. Mr Jackson invites people to see the exhibit, establishing the room (with retractable walls) as interior of the human eye. He had five lens situated along the wall, all parallel to each other. The images, from the outside, were inverted onto the wall inside. It reminded me of a quote by the painter Constantijn Huygens: It is impossible to express the beauty in words. The art of painting is dead, for this is life itself, or something higher, if we could find a word for it." This quote was dictated after he saw an image produced by a camera obscura. To him and the Renaissance, it represented life, a true reality away from the easel and pastels. Jackson seems to harken back to the Renaissance, adopting the principles of how the human eye sees and manifests images of the outside world into a dark room. Since we cannot look at our retinas, we can just walk on down to Kenneliworth and get a virtual reality of our world through our eye's point of view.

Projections, Projections, Projections

As the advent of spring break comes upon the weary, lack of sunlight film students, who spend more time in the basement of Mitchell, it is time to pause and reflect the mid-term thus far. The mid-term was not that bad, only I wish I studied the names of the artist a little closer, but hey, for the most part, I liked taking the test. Any test you can "rain man" through is a friend of mine.

Now, seeing that I should quit going on tangents and "follow orders," I found last Monday's screenings more tolerable and enjoyable. I actually found myself intrigued by the images flickering. Since the class focused on the projection machine as the artist, I felt its presence was telling me the story of the film through its loud "purring." Storm de Hirsch's THIRD EYE BUTTERFLY and LACES OF SUMMER were probably my favorite the entire day. LACES took an ordinary summer day, as she obsevred the changing tents and a red sail out her balcony. As you watch the images, you feel like Dorsky's philosophies of "heightening the act of seeing" are breathing down your neck. As the projection dictates the story, your eyes have no choice but to look at the images on the screen. It only takes the film expert to identify the sound of the projector, so they have no need to twist their neck to the back of the theatre to find the noisy equipment.

Now, THIRD EYE BUTTERFLY was interesing to watch just because of the angle I was seeing in. The double projectors were located just behind me, a couple of rows up. That day, I was sitting at an angle due to the recent injury I caused my ankle (no dumb jock references please. I have been twisting my ankle since 1996!!) Anyway, so I got the full experience of hearing the projector and taking in its presence through my left ear, while the sound of the speakers came into my right. It was a clash of sounds that de Hirsch probably strived for when making the film. The pyschedelic images captured the late 60s (along with the soundtrack), and since I am becoming a fan of installations more and more, I loved watching the different images that would pop onto the screen like a kaliedoscope. It was an enjoyment to have the projection tell me this story.

Finally, just another tagent. Between comtemplating about AVAILABLE LIGHTS projected box (it looked like the state of Wyoming at first, but then I concluded it was a movie about the changing seasons of Oregon, since the climate is completely different from West to East) and the camera obscura, I found NIGHT FALL only interesting for one purpose; my cell phone went off during the film. In the beginning of the film, the viewer is greeted with a loud bang as the image quickly flashes onto the screen (like a thunder and lightning storm). Anyway, as I was watching, my seat started to rumble. At first I thought, the sound is not that loud, but it is great if it can make my chair rumble. Little did I realize, it was my cell phone on vibrate going off. See, I got that invovled with the movie that I could not tell which way was up or down. Next time, the film should crank the volume, to make it feel as if the audience is in a thunder and lightning storm. How much fun would that be?!

For my comments on Marks, please refer to the Conceptual Studies Blog

csatuwm.blogspot.com

Granted, it is not about Monday's session, but it does cover, in detail, her lecture at the colloquia.

The Biggest Soviet Letdown

Its a controlled society where the government promises you things are going to get better. That the Soviet people are the best people. That they would be living in the sky, flying in sleek airplanes as the steel glistens from the sun rays. A place of milk and honey, where communism would unite the worker, turned out to be the biggest joke. Even in the eighties of Glasnot and Pereistoika, McDonald's could not save the degrading economy. In D'Est, a film made after fall of communism, is basically a film of waiting. Waiting for what though? Economic crisis plagued the former SovRus citizens, while former soviet nations slowly transitioned in democracy or erupted in civil war, things could only go up, right? You think, after being oppressed for years, that the people would be singing and doing cartwheels, that they would finally be technology advance with the Western world. Instead, they are left waiting. Akerman depicts a life that has not changed. People are still farming by hand, in carts that would be the biggest techonological advancement of the Medieval ages. Then again, serfdom in Russia was not banned until 1871! It seems that nothing improved since the fall. The best scenes, that provoked the most emotion for me, was the people just waiting. It seems that Stalin did not take any cues from Mussolini when it came to trains. People are standing outside, some in the cold, waiting for a train or mode of transportation that may never come. As they stare into the camera, it becomes symbolic. Where they better off in communistic times or will the better times be just around the bend? Despair plagues the people, and it still hold true today. The images are a testament, depicting on a how government can fail its people. Also, I must applaud Akerman for not showing the McDonaldization of the Russian city. People were still in cultural outfits and no one was found shouting something that would symbolically represent Western ideals. Russians were still living in tiny apartments, with little food and excess amounts of vodka. Akerman wanted to show depression, disillusionment, and time gone by, and she succeeded by illustrating to the viewer the real meaning of communism.

My favorite Russian Joke:
Old Man goes up to Stalin and says, "Comrade Stalin, I want to thank you for my childhood. They were the best years of my life."
Stalin looks at the man puzzled, responding, "Comrade, I was not General Secretary during your childhood."
The Old Man smiles and replies, "Yes. And that is why my childhood was the best time of life."
(after the joke, the old man mysteriously disappeared, never to be heard from again.)
If you do not get the joke, I highly suggest commenting me for further detail!

Day 5

In order to meet the quota, I am blogging twice in one day. Once again, no internet at home and I avoid this campus on the weekends. Anyway, I must say, I am quite excited for the upcoming film on Monday. If there is one thing I brag about is my in-depth knowledge of Soviet history. I am a scholar on the history and concepts of communism, and its fallout still effects Russian culture and the former Soviet countries. For example, many of the older generations want to return to the Stalinist 30s. Surprising they survived the purges, the eldery feel as if Putin and his government is more fearful. Also, the decay of socialist city landscaping is a must. Seriously, just take a look at Moscow and how the city did not succeed in establishing a socialist city from an already existing medieval concentric cirlce, but it did create the most ostentatious subway system ever! Just look up The Cathedral of Jesus Christ the Saviour and you will understand my point. Outside Russia, the fallout has taken its toll. The former Yugoslavia countries erupted in civil war and are the most economically low societies in Europe. Ukraine and Chernobyl. The Aral Sea. TurkSib. All failures!! I hope this movie captures the downfall very, very in depth and its effect on the citizens who suffered.

Day 4

So, the Oscars are next week, and here is my little rant on the upcoming ceremonies.
Best Supporting Actress: I am really hoping for an underdog to win this year. The hype on Jennifer Hudson makes me want to believe that someone from the Babel cast will take the wind out of her sails. In fact, she better hope she loses because, think about, she will win and thus her career will somewhat disappear. Clive Davis can only use her as arm candy for so long; case in point, Whitney Huston. OH HELL TO THE NO!
Best Supporting Actor: This is a catagory I could careless about. I bet Eddie Murphy will win despite that horrible movie he has in theaters right now. I wish Markie Mark would take it. I just loved his performance in THE DEPARTED. He is so underrated that Hollywood will not give him his dues since his rap career went downhill. The role for him was so close to home for him that it felt he was not acting. His acidic tongue and dialogue is enough for me to buy the movie.
Best Actor. No argument about Whitaker's performance in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. I have not even seen the movie, but the first time I watched the trailer, he sent chills down my spine. Within two seconds, I knew he was going to win the Oscar.
Best Actress: No contest again, it will probably go to Helen Mirren. The Queen is a great film, but Penelope Cruz usually does outstanding when she is teamed with Pedro. I say it will be between those two, but Mirren will probably win. After all, her career is based on playing the English monarchy.
Best Movie: Out of the three I have seen, I would say Babel. It is the most political, thought-provoking peace about geography. I enjoyed it, but my runner up would be Letters of Iwo Jima. I have not seen it, but the academy loves Clint, so you never know.
Best Director: It is Marty time to take home the trophy. Even though THE DEPARTED is not as great as the movies he was robbed from in seventies (TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL), the Irish MEAN STREETS is enough for him to walk away with it. He forte is gangster movies, which culivates a massive following (I myself am a disciple of Scorsese) I mean, at the rate he is going, his career will be like Altman or O'Toole, the artist getting the honorary Oscar, never winning the actual one. Also, his editor is fantastic and she will win again for sure!

Day 3

I really forgot the assignment over the lecture on Wednesday, but I will give it my best. It seems that the video diaries that were the most bizarre really stood out for the class. I guess it was hard for people to see through the optical surface on the surface. The piece of paper in my hand questions the use of certain techinques in order to grasp the film's essence. For example, the DATA DIARIES seemed to be difficult to watch; after all, it was just an illustration of what a computer does on a daily basis. I find it quite poetic to be honest. The sounds and scrambled colors are just a language, a binary code based on 1's and 0's for the basic computer function. It is something that people normally do not see. In a way, it is relateable to science. Human beings and other solid structure are really just a series of microscopic atoms that compose our solid matter. We tend to forget that the human body is a pixelation of science in regards to that aspect.

Another momemt to ponder is the aspect of dreams for most of the films viewed on Monday. It seems that the diaries are taken from dreams or actual accounts. What makes a diary to be perceived as a dream? If it is a diary, then it usually logs the daily occurrences of one's life. A dream is another state of mind, full of wishes and fantasies, or in my case, glimpses into the future. GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM somehow broadcasts itself to the viewer as a dream, but I find it a diary for Su and how she personally deals with being a gay person in America. She lets the viewer see her vulnerability by using shaky words or re-printed film, images that are not stable most kinetic like the tide. Su is testing our cultural perception, saying that nothing is uniform like a classic hollywood fairy tale. All experimental film seem to denounce the stereotypical cinematic structure, using the avant-garde media as a way to communicate a dream-like statement.

Now for something completely different.....
I am starting two unions. First one is film students against smoking. Look, I know this is probably the most stressful degree paths, but you are never going to make it big if you slowly kill yourself with cigarettes! Run off the stress and eat some food. Stay healthy, do not have a premature death!
Second, I want to put an into this whole "Mc" (insert sexist feature) phrase from the English lexicon. The mind-numbing Grey's Anatomy has put this stupid word into our world and thus it has been overused and is really the most idiotic naming system ever. It is driving me nuts and has to end!

Day 2

Why hasn't experimental film/artist dabbled in musical? You know how entertaining that would be!! It would be like a hippie on an acid trip during the summer of love! Cecilia Condit should really take all her songs and just make one, messed up and fantastic musical. In fact, why isn't life a musical? Right now, as I type this, I would sing the lyrics, maybe do a soft shoe number with my computer...meanwhile, the person reading this would sit and ponder as they hear my voice in a VO.

Oh, I believe that US government should really read the last fifteen pages of Anna Karenina. It is the biggest foreshadow of the downfall of the Russian Aristocracy! See, in the late 19th century, Russia "volunteered" to help out the Serbs against the Ottoman Emipre. That starts the downfall, then they lose in the Crimean War, and then the most humiliating Russo-Japanese war of 1905. That starts the revolution of 1905, followed by starvation, another revolution in 1914, a World War before they dug themselves out of the trenches and eventually overthrew the Tsar in 1917 (then came civil war for another two years before Lenin finally established his government). America, look into this. Do not make the same mistakes like the whole "little" misunderstanding over in Iraq.

Day 1

This assignment is pretty difficult for a girl who has no internet connection, and likes to spend her free time AWAY from campus. What to talk about, I do not know. I just have to find something to entertain Andrea that is film related I suppose, since she is the only one who probably reads this.

Hum....the last film viewed in class, the one about donald duck was the seizure-inducing film of the day. In fact, the majority of the films were, but only one experimental film gets the honor of the week. There was so much rapid cutting on his eye that I seriously thought the words "destroy" and "destruction" were subliminal spoken to me. If things could not get any worse, I thought I saw the Warner Brothers insignia. Hello, Donald is Disney. I need to start eating a little more before I go to these viewings sometimes because half of the time I am about to throw up with all the fast cutting.

In other news, I am officially started marathon training. Hopefully I will run 7:30 or 8 miles per hour. Right now, without the training, I am at six, which is not bad to begin with. If you have any suggestions (even though, once again, Andrea is the only one that reads this, so why do I bother?) were my first marathon should be, please respond, but do not suggest any marathons in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Dakota, and Iowa. Oh, I cannot do the Boston Marathon because I would need a qualifying time.

Mekas is my Hero!

Now, I have held many jobs involving computers, and I am not just talking about the generic word or spreadsheets. I am talking about cartography people!! I can make one hell of a map, and thus I love technology, but I am not getting into a war here over the better software (mac). The work by Jonas Mekas, I find, is inspriational. He is breaking ground, showing us that cinema can break out of the cellouid past and hurdle into the future. IT IS FANTASTIC!! Mekas is able to record his life and then upload it two seconds. SInce it is a slice of life we are viewing, he brings some cinematic truth to his work. He is declaring, through his images, that THIS IS LIFE!! AIN'T IT A BEAUTY?! I loved nothing more than spending an afternoon with a Hasidic Jew. I get learn more about my own faith through the eyes of someone else. Acconci's article work well with Mekas' art because it creates that intimate, in your face moment. Then again, his 365 days might be his world, but can it become the viewer's world as well. It is seen subjectively, as if the viewer is taping the occurences of the day.

I hate to say it, but film is dead. VIVA LA COMPUTER AND INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY!!

Mr. Acconci Sings A Love Ballard.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am on a mission. My task is complete Anna Karenina by May 2007 because I started back in May 2006. It is a mother of a book, and I am finally on the last 50 pages!! I consider it the training wheels to WAR AND PEACE. So, what does this have to do with Acconci? Well, as I had my nose completely buried in my book walking into class Monday, I look up for a brief moment to see this face staring out into the audience, singing and discussing something about love. I thought he was trying be the next Bob Dylan. Anyway, as I sat down, continuing to read....wait, that is not right. As much as I tried to read a sentence, Acconci's melodious tune kept drawing me back to the screen (or the video monitor...or both simeltaneously). His work THEME SONG violated my reading time, and I was hypnotized; I could not stop staring at the man. It made me ponder: was he singing to me? Acconci's work and his articles imply that video is a separate medium. It is more intimate, face-to-face as he said. He tries to get the viewer not to take their eyes off him, and it worked! I just could not help stare at this man, looking sightly up as if I was standing before him. The aura of intimacy and having people literally stop and watch was achieved. Video seems to be the medium that can create a more warm, comforting experience OR a violating environment as seen in Mrianda July's THE AMATEURIST. It evokes emotion in the viewer, to make us believe that we are connected to the piece we view. Thanks to Mr. Acconci, I had to put my book down for that brief moment (losing my place as well) in time and stare into his puppy dog, hopelessly devouted eyes.

P.S. I will keep you updated on my progression on Anna Karenina.

So What is Experiment Film?

If you had to ask me off the record, I believe that the UWM film department is trying to brainwash us with nonsense, subliminal propaganda. As I am subjected to view films that range from the "Oh, I get it," to "What the (insert your favorite profanity here)?," it seems that I am hypnotized by the images flickering in front my eyes. All the films classified as "experimental" are unconventional, pointing its big index finger to standard, conventional movies, screaming "Screw your stupid rules, Hollywood!"

The real question is though, can these avant garde radicals make a narrative out of the obscure, no plot (sometimes) images? The answer is yes and no. First of all, experimental is just another word for different, something that will eventually become conventional because Hollywood tends to exploit every creative film technique and overplay it (like it does when they remake every good horror film). Second, there is really no right and wrong to the matter. They just make their own films that communicate a message, the basis of every narrative film, but experimental film tends to have the viewers watch it repeatedly in order to understand the message.

So, while the rest of the world watches mind numbing movies, I personally will be watching the films that challenge me. Experimental films seem to be that gateway; it makes one contemplate the art form, leaving me wonder, "How did they do that in such an artistic matter?" The more and more I become brainwashed, the more I respect the films and the vision of the auteur. Experimental films explicitly draw attention to the art of cinema, making one question what they see. After all, God did give me a brain.....

Wot the Ancient Sod-My Head Hurts and I Cannot See!

I found this experimental film to live up to its title. It was a seizure-inducing view at nature with rapid, quick cutting reserved for horror films. What Alfred Hitchook did for the shower scene in Psycho, Diane Kitchen did for decaying, decomposing leaves. At least Hitchook got to the point.