Reading Response 9

Note: The Sadie Benning article is missing from the reserves. I will correct this as soon as possible.


First, respond to Tribulation 99 in relation to Zryd's description of student responses in his own classes.

I kind of liked Tribulation 99. I appreciate the crazy science fiction storyline mixing with conspiracy theory. The film doesn't take itself seriously, with the fast paced narration and its intonations, outlandish theories, use of stock footage, and use of iconic cultural footage all used to question american foreign policy in the 60s-80s. My reaction is in tandem with that of the author's students who found the pace to be too fast, however, that it can become overwhelming.

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?

Realist found footage is footage bearing a direct relationship with the voice over narration, possibly actual footage of what is being discussed. Figurative footage is footage that serves to illustrate central argument of what is being discussed but may not be actually footage of what is being discussed. Tribulation 99 utilizes mainly realist footage and uses it in an ironic and metaphorical manner to drive the argument of his film. His use of realist footage in part makes the film historically relevant; he discusses real events in history and presents actual footage and newspaper prints of the events but adds his conspiratorial twist to their presentation. This isnot to say that there is no figurative footage in the film, which i would take to be the b movie footage, etc.

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.

In terms of technology, the no wave filmmakers' super 8 cameras were the equivalent to the musician's slide guitar, which both made their respective arts easy to make. Also, there was no work associated with talent, only through social circles, so the element of community was very important to the no wavers. The filmmakers also chose very easy subjects and methods to shoot their films; much of their stories were rehashes of previous ones. This is very much like the musicians' improvised music, which really consisted of them exploring the sounds of their instruments, not achieving any formal structure to their music.

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

4. According to Wees, what are the 5 characteristics of the modernist paradigm dominating North American avant-garde filmmaking before the 1980s?

They were 1) the concept of the autonomy of art, 2) the drive to discover and explore the unique properties of each artistic medium, 3) the moral and aesthetic superiority of "high art" over pop culture, 4) the desire of the artist to express themselves uniquely, and 5) endowing their work with universal and timeless (apolitical and ahistorical) qualities.

5. Given the 5 characteristics above, how does Awhesh reject or question each of them (give examples from throughout the article).

Peggy Ahwesh recontextualizes genres, like melodrama, horror, porn, and video games to "dismantle the Institutional Canon of Masterworks of the Avant-Garde." She refuses to tell her audiences how to handle her films, and instead takes a more open ended approach.

6. Why does Wees argue that The Color of Love subverts conventional wisdom about mainstream pornography?

The Color of Love deconstructs the phallocentric male view of pornography by placing a dead man in a lesbian porn, which is usually intended for male audiences, and he is unresponsive to their cutting him and trying to mount him. Ahwesh also uses cool visual fx like step printing and film scratching to attain a distinct visual style.

7. In what ways does Awhesh transform images from Tomb Raider in She Puppet?

Ahwehs recontextualizes and refamiliarizes the audience with the source material by inserting voiceovers of existentialist texts performed by various female orators. Another difference between Tomb Raider and She Puppet is the lack of interactivity. The film adopts the fixed perspective of an artist.