Week One Response

Sitney, “Meshes of the Afternoon”According to Sitney, what are some of the important differences between Meshes of the Afternoon and Un Chien Andalou?

-The main difference between the films is that Meshes of the Afternoon deliberately tries to create a dreamlike environment, while Un Chien Andalou only attempts to create absurdity which in turn simulates the dream. There are metaphors in the latter but no symbolism while symbolism is a huge part of Meshes.

Sitney, “Ritual and Nature”What are some characteristics of the American psychodrama in the 1940s?

-It deals with a visionary experience, the characters movements are very stylized, an isolated protagonist wanders through a potent environment toward a climax of self-realization. Progress is marked by what the protagonist sees along his journey, and landscapes are often chosen to marka specific line of symbolism.

What does Sitney mean by an “imagist” structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?

-Sitney interprets imagist structure as an isolated movement or gestrure constituting the entire filmic form in Coreography for the Camera as opposed to a theme or storyline.

According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?

-Sitney describes Ritual in Transfigured Time as a transition between the Trance(psychodrama) and the architectonic film. But he also describes it as a Dance film, almost expressionist, and mythopoeic.

Respond briefly to Sitney’s reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); Is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
-In my first veiwing of the film I did not see the Invoker and the Guide as he describes them but it makes alot of sense after the reading. I did notice the role of the widow and the change in rythm that came from the transition into dance. I feel like Sitney's interpretation is very similar to my experience of the film.

Sitney, “The Magus”Paraphrase the paragraph on p. 90 that begins “The filmic dream constituted…” in your own words.

-Anger interpreted the Dream on film in very similar terms as did the other American Avant-Gardists of the 1940's. The relation of the camera to its subjects relays the objects importance in the subject's perception. The film-maker is apparent on screen and behind the camera.Posted by bluesmobile440JKR at 8:13 AM 1 comments