The Film World Today

I apologize in advance if this description of film making today is longer than one sentence.

Today's film world seems to idolize films of the past. We always see the remakes of old films that our parents saw when they were teenagers. There is nothing wrong with that, but there just don't seem to be any original ideas these days. We do have film makers like M. Night Shyamalan with his out there films that require the audience to think and actively participate with the film. As soon as films like these catch on, more and more original ideas will start to spill out into the world.

Senses of Cinema: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950 by Richard Armstrong

The British documentary era thrived between the 1930's-50's, and so there is a DVD box set dedicated to the thriving British documentary movement. We have to remember that as time passes, we tend to skip over movies, some of which could have a deep political or cultural meaning. Many of the British documentaries touched base with subjects like living conditions, social status of children, future predictions, just to name a few. Each film has its own unique purpose; to explain some societal fact to the viewers. The article goes into some detail on a select few of the documentaries.

Housing Problems by Arthur Elton and Edgar Anstey, made in 1935, raises the issue of poor living conditions for Britain's industrial workers. The voices of the people are monotone and sad, also around to comment are the landowners; who are actually middle class up standing citizens. As one watches this, it really starts to get you thinking about what could be done to help these people; and also why has no one else done anything to improve their situation. It really hits hard and brings out deep emotions of sadness and caring. I know that as I was reading the description of the film, I couldn't really believe what I was reading. I had never heard, seen, or read anything on poor living conditions in Britain during the 30's. The film has done its job extremely well; bringing to light the poor conditions that these people live in. I am sure by now something has been done to fix this problem.

Children at School by Basil Wright shows the world the educational environment that children from Nazi Germany were growing up in and compares it to the children who were growing up in a "traditional" educational system. Although the author only gives a brief description of the film, we can all be sure that the two educational systems were very different and the film does a great job bring that to light. I can only assume that a "traditional" education was one where the students had more freedoms and were punished as severely for mishaps. I don't have any personal experience with the Nazi Germany educational system, but I am sure it was far more strict than a "traditional" education. Once again I have not actually read, seen, or heard anything regarding the education of children during the 30's. So this film will be an interesting watch for me.

Future predictions, or future goals, come about in the film Five and Under by Donald Alexander, and made in 1941. A Britain without war, chaos, and petty slums is ideal for the future. This film showcases a perfect society, but then does a complete 180 and shows homeless kids playing in an alley breaking toys and creating all kinds of chaos. The author describes the film as showing a social democracy thriving in an ever increasing totalitarian world. The two contradicting scenes of the homeless children and the perfect society help support this claim. From the authors description I can easily make out the small piece of freedom within the perfect world that is without any wrong. I have often wondered how Britain managed to stay free from the grasp of Nazi Germany; how an overpowered country stayed strong during a time of great peril. I guess, as long as someone puts fourth the effort there will always be results; even if only minute ones.

Although I have not seen any of these films the description that the author gives, has allowed me to make a mental picture of what the film could look like. History has always been a topic that has interested me, so this article and these films enticed something inside me to do further research. Each film brings to life a small piece of history and gives the viewer a glimpse into the past. Its always a treat see how people used to live and to see what the world was like long before my time. I would reccomend this article to anyone interested in the history of Britain and also British films in general during the 30's and 50's.

Senses of Cinema: The Saragossa Manuscript by John Fidler and Turkey Shoot by Geoff Mayer

The Saragossa Manuscript(1965), directed by Wojciech J. Has’ and written by Tadeusz Kwiatkowski, is based off the book, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, by Jan Potocki. Wojciech J. Has’ is one of the most highly regarded Polish filmmakers and was the Chancellor of the Leon Schiller National Film, Television and Theatre School. The book and the film are about a captive soldier's grandfather, Alfonso Van Worden, and his two sidekicks heading by ship to Madrid, Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. As explained by John Fidler in his article, the film exudes qualities that seem to mimic the artwork of M.C. Esher. The viewer, quote on quote, "begins to question what is in front of them. From research that Fidler has done, the original version of the film had apparently never been seen in the United States. Martin Scorcese and Francis Ford Coppola worked on a project to bring about its restoration. Fidler was intrigued by the pieces wide variety of sound, ranging from periods of percussion to classical orchestral pieces. I've always felt that sound plays a large part in the making of a film, it sets the mood for the scene. This article has compelled me to see this film, it sounds interesting and a very intriguing visual experience.

Turkey Shoot(1982), directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, is an overly graphic movie that takes place in a society that appears to be a mix of many different types of governments, “Soviet totalitarianism with a capitalist veneer” according to Brian Trenchard-Smith. At first it seems that Mayer was skeptical about the film but as he sat through it for awhile he started getting into the spirit of the film. This is true for almost every film, people have to give a film a chance and they might end up liking it. According to Mayer, the film's plot is pretty predictable and nothing spectacular, so what keeps the audiences attention is the extreme violence. Mayer says the film's violence, language, and nudity are extreme and seem to put a few other "R" rated films to shame. From what I have read, this film is one of those films that I would like to see. I have always been into overly violent and outrageous films.

The film world has changed quite a bit over the years, not just technology, but the tastes of the public. At the moment people seem to be into dark and violent films such as the Saw series. The film industry is ever changing from technology and public reactions. I wonder what the industry will be like years from now.

Milwaukee Art Museum: Act/React show

The Milwaukee Art Museum has been showcasing the Act/React show for the past month or so. The show's pieces are interactive, in that the viewer completes the piece. Some of the pieces require more than one person, but most only need the presence of one. As I was walking into the show, I was getting really giddy; as long as I can remember I've always been interested in interactive art. I love to move around mess with stuff, so I had an enjoyable time at the show.

Healing #1, by Brian Knep, was probably the most interesting to me; and it seemed to be a hit with the kids. The floor was covered with a large mat; an organic pattern was projected onto the floor. As visitors walked over the piece, the pattern would break apart and then regrow leaving scars. The piece is just an organic pattern if no one walks on it, so this piece requires interaction. As people walk over the piece they leave their mark, just as society leaves it's mark on the earth. The piece can never be fully destroyed, there will always be life within it. This piece requires interaction, the amount of people does not matter; as long as there are people, this piece will live. Untitled 5, by Camille Utterback, is another interesting piece that requires the interaction of visitors. If one looks at the piece, they would most likely believe that its just a still painting on the wall. But when one looks to the floor below the piece, you can find a glowing square. As one walks over the square the piece is smeared and destroyed. After a short while the piece begins to regrow in the wake of the visitor, just like Healing #1. The visitors leave their mark upon the piece, completing it. Both of these pieces, as well as the others, require the visitors interaction to be complete.

As I was leaving the Art Museum, I still had the thoughts and the emotion from interacting with the pieces in my head. Each and every one of the pieces is unforgetable and so much fun, but only if you are willing to interact with them.

Field Report One: "The Golden Age of Fish" by Kevin J. Everson

For field report one I chose to go to the Union Theater and view "The Golden Age of Fish", by Kevin J. Everson. After the film, Everson, had a Q&A session which I thought was rather enjoyable. If I remember correctly the film was named so because Cleveland was a hotspot for fish in prehistoric times(I can't remember the name he used for this specific period in time). He also mentioned that the names in the film were made up but the events actually happened. The film was about this young women, who worked as a geologist. Many of the scenes were of the women walking through parking lots and other areas while the camera followed, eventually the women would notice the camera following and would say something like "oh I didn't know you were there, you scared me.". Several times throughout the film what sounded to me like a news reporter would describe the death of young women and a man, a murder-suicide. Because of this we have to assume that the women that was followed was the women killed and the camerman was the killer. The sound that was used in the film was jagged and edgy, wasn't a very comfortable sound. It reminded somewhat of "The Bear Garden", by Andrea Leuteneker. Both films had sounds that got the hair on the back of your neck to stand up. The camera movements from both films are very similar aswell, it feels as if the audience is looking through the eyes of one of the characters, the killer and the bear. Something that has always interested me was camera movements, the movement and the placement of the camera in scenes is very important. Sound has interested my quite a bit aswell, what the audience hears sets the mood for the scene and also how the audience feels. Both the camera and the sound interested me, both are important in the film process. Overall I really liked the film, "The Golden Age of Fish" by Kevin J. Everson. Its a film that I am not normally used to seeing and I enjoyed it.

Journal Selection

I plan on follow the Senses of Cinema journal this semester. Here is the link, http://www.sensesofcinema.com/