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.