Film-Philosophy
Journal | Salon | Portal (ISSN 1466-4615)
Vol. 5 No. 15, May 2001
Kirill Galetski
Making Avant-Garde Film Accessible
Scott MacDonald _Avant-Garde Film_ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1993 ISBN 0-521-38821-X 199 pp. The term 'avant-garde' has the
connotation of being something surreal, which is not always
the case. The French for vanguard, which traditionally means
'the foremost position in an army or a fleet advancing into
battle', its secondary definition is 'the foremost or
leading position in a trend or movement, or those occupying
a foremost position'. Both definitions bear weight when
applied to filmmaking of a progressive nature. Scott MacDonald's book _Avant-Garde
Film_ asserts that progressive filmmakers are at the
forefront in leading the battle against staid filmmaking
conventions, changing the way films are made, and even
perceived. 'The mainstream cinema (and its sibling
television) is so fundamental a part of our public and
private experiences, that even when filmmakers produce and
exhibit alternative cinematic forms, the dominant cinema is
implied by the alternatives' (1), writes MacDonald in his
Introduction. 'No one -- almost certainly no one --
sees avant-garde films without first having seen mass-market
commercial films. In fact, by the time most people see their
first avant-garde film, they have already seen hundreds of
films in commercial theaters and on television, and their
sense of what a movie IS has been almost indelibly imprinted
in their conscious and unconscious minds by their training
as children (we learn to appreciate the various forms of
popular cinema from our parents, older siblings and friends)
and by the continual reconfirmation of this training during
adolescence and adulthood.' (1) _Avant-Garde Film_ is divided into
three thematic sections, titled 'From Stem to Stern',
'Psychic Excursions', and 'Premonitions of a Global Cinema'.
The first section bears the most veiled title. What it seems
to mean for its presented films is that they are
through-and-through assaults on conventional filmmaking
standards, using the medium in ways which are perhaps
formalist and technical, but explore areas of human
experience which the medium definitely has not touched upon
previously in any way. 'Psychic Excursions' are in the vein
of 'classic' avant-garde filmmaking, as an exploration of
the inner workings of somebody's mind, more often than not
the filmmaker's. By 'Global Cinema', MacDonald means the
kind of films that are truly international -- in their
cultural scope as well as their production
values. MacDonald covers a different filmmaker
and his or her film(s) in each chapter. The book elucidates
the richness and diversity found in a world of cinema far
removed from run-of-the-mill narrative and confining
conventions. MacDonald's choice of films for review is
multi-cultural and far from obvious, and avoids subjects
which have already been amply described in other books. The
filmmakers whose work is covered include James Benning,
Hollis Frampton, Yoko Ono, Yvonne Rainer, Godfrey Reggio,
Michael Snow, and Trinh T. Minh-ha. He does not overly
critique the films but does juxtapose intent and his
assessment of the result, leading the reader to gain an
awareness of the sometimes complex issues involved in the
concepts presented. This allows the viewer to gauge his or
her own level of interest before seeing the films, and to
draw their own conclusions about them afterward. He also
describes his experiences in viewing the films, an important
factor in the latter considerations. He states: 'My goal is
to provide a way of seeing each film that not only makes
what some have considered difficult work reasonably
accessible, but offers a way of using the films that can
energize viewers' experiences with cinema of all kinds.'
(12) A consistent theme that runs
throughout the book is an association of the intentions of
avant-garde filmmakers to the original aims of early
filmmakers. Such cinema pioneers as the Lumiere brothers,
with their film of an arriving train, or Eadwaerd Muybridge,
with his motion studies, used film in a more concrete (and
in some cases more rigorous) way than the theatrical
tradition filmmakers that were to follow and eventually
dominate the scene. The book is painstakingly researched
and brings up interesting details, such as the processes
used in arriving at aesthetic choices used in making the
films. Particularly intriguing to read are the chapters
devoted to perhaps the most widely known personalities in
the book, Yoko Ono and Godfrey Reggio. Ono, who is saddled
with the fame (or notoriety, depending on one's opinion) of
being John Lennon's widow, has produced artwork of often
questionable talent. However, MacDonald describes her films
as something of a revelation, especially _No. 4 (Bottoms)_,
an 80-minute series of shots of human buttocks made while
subjects were walking, with commentary: '_No. 4 (Bottoms)_
is a comic film,' notes MacDonald, 'that allows us to laugh
at the Big Deal made of human nudity and of the reproduction
of the naked body in conventional film.' (26) MacDonald's
commentary on the film reveals important details worth
paying attention to when watching the film: 'The consistency of the overall
organization of _No. 4 (Bottoms)_ can cause viewers to
become complacent and assume there's nothing to see other
than one bottom after another. But while the visuals
continue in the same graphic and temporal arrangement
throughout the film, midway through the film's eighty
minutes Ono begins to toy with the viewer's memory, by
repeating some bottoms seen earlier, and passages of
commentary heard earlier. Whereas the repeated sound bits
are pretty obvious, the repeated bottoms are not . . . Once
the film develops this mystery . . . the viewer's
relationship with the bottoms becomes more personal: we look
not to see a new bottom, but to see if we 'know' a
particular bottom already' (25-26). Godfrey Reggio is most well known for
his 'qatsi' films, which take their titles from Hopi Indian
words meaning different kinds of life. The completed films
are _Koyaanisqatsi_, meaning 'crazy life' or 'life which
calls for a new way of living', and _Powwaqatsi_, which
means 'life in transformation', and which is a film about
life in the 'Third World'. Without overt commentary,
_Powwaqatsi_ shows a variety of people of different
nationalities in various, real-life, occasionally
strife-torn situations. It is probably one of the first
instances in cinema history where the plights of people
living in third world countries are brought to the forefront
with sensitive attention. Reggio comments in this
regard: 'This sounds very simplistic, but one
of the obvious things I noticed was that in most films the
foreground was were the plot and characterization take
place, where the screenplay came in, and how you directed
the photography. Everything was foreground; background
(music included) basically supported characterization and
plot. So what I did was try to eradicate all of the
foreground of traditional film, and take the background, or
what's called 'second unit,' and make *that* the foreground,
give *that* principal focus.' (139-140) This quote is certainly in keeping
with MacDonald's explanation of the third section's theme
since he talks of the films therein breaking a tradition of
'imperialist' filmmaking, in which exotic peoples and
locales serve as a mere backdrop for a narrative that
explores concerns of the 'heroes' from developed
countries. Reggio has planned a trilogy, with
'Naqoyqatsi' ('war life'), which is now in production,
completing the series. MacDonald describes Reggio as 'one of
the few American filmmakers I am aware of who has managed to
use methods from this area of film experience for a cultural
and cinematic critique that has attracted a feature film
audience of considerable size' (137-138). MacDonald's choice
of Reggio for the book is stimulating, since probably a lot
of viewers and I, for one, are not accustomed to thinking
about Reggio as an avant-garde filmmaker. Reggio, in turn, had kind words to say
about MacDonald's professionalism (MacDonald has written
about Reggio in two of his books, the other being _A
Critical Cinema 2_, the second in a series of interviews
with independent filmmakers): 'MacDonald spent a lot of time
with me', declared Reggio in a recent interview for _The St
Petersburg Times_, 'he's someone who really does his
homework.' [1] MacDonald interprets the films as
being highly conceptual, and explains the technical nuances
where the film's concepts delve deep into filmmaking
technology, such as in J. J. Murphy's _Print Generation_ and
Morgan Fisher's _Standard Gauge_. The book is adequately illustrated
with black and white stills and frames, which are sometimes
crucial to the understanding of the more visually and
aurally complex films in the selection. James Benning's film
_American Dreams_ is a primary example, where the visual
elements in the film are a chronological 'slide show' of
memorabilia associated with baseball star Hank Aaron, and a
rolling text which is a running monologue, a diary of a
macho baseball fan from Milwaukee with whom many viewers can
easily identify until he starts to show homicidal
tendencies. The soundtrack is a mixture of oldies and radio
commentary on historical events. MacDonald's writing style is readable
throughout, and is intelligent without being overly
academic. The book has a very non-standard selection of
films, even on avant-garde terms. It eschews an exploration
of such well-known avant-garde film luminaries as Stan
Brakhage, Maya Deren and Kenneth Anger. It mentions them
only in passing, in the first chapter. I think that a book
with such a general, all-encompassing title as 'Avant-Garde
Film' should have gone more in-depth about these filmmakers,
perhaps offering individual chapters on their work as well.
MacDonald probably reasoned that there had been much written
about Deren, Anger and others of their caliber, and decided
he had different fish to fry. While being thorough in terms of its
production research, the book lacks enough biographical
detail on a lot of the filmmakers, which could have probably
provided additional insight into their respective
visions. The book would probably be best
appreciated when the films it mentions are available for
viewing. A filmography in the back of the book dutifully
provides sources for all of the films mentioned in the book,
not just the ones discussed in great detail. Since MacDonald
is a film history teacher, he knows how to write a good
'textbook', and _Avant-Garde Film_ could also serve as great
material for a film appreciation course of the same
name. St Petersburg, Russia Footnote 1. From an unpublished conversation.
For the published interview see: Kirill Galetski, Interview
with Godfrey Reggio, _The St Petersburg Times_, no. 585, 14
July 2000 <http://www.sptimes.ru/secur/585/features/art_filmmaker.htm>;
accessed 7 May 2001. Filmography (by book
section) From Stem to Stern _No. 4 (Bottoms)_: Yoko Ono (UK
1966). _Wavelength_: Michael Snow (US
1967). _Serene Velocity_: Ernie Gehr (US
1970). _Print Generation_: J. J. Murphy (US
1974). _Standard Gauge_: Morgan Fisher (US
1984). Psychic Excursions _Zorns Lemma_: Hollis Frampton (US
1970). _Riddles of the Sphinx_: Laura Mulvey,
Peter Wollen (UK 1977). _American Dreams_: James Benning (US
1984). _The Ties That Bind_: Sue Friedrich
(US 1984). _From the Pole to the Equator_:
Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi (Italy
1987). Premointions of a Global
Cinema _The Carriage Trade_: Warren Sonbert
(US 1973). _Powwaqatsi_: Godfrey Reggio (US
1988). _Naked Spaces -- Living is Round_:
Trinh T. Minh-ha (US 1985). _Journeys From Berlin / 1971_: Yvonne
Rainer (US. 1979). _The Journey_: Peter Watkins (Canada,
1987). Copyright © _Film-Philosophy_
2001 Kirill Galetski, 'Making Avant-Garde
Film Accessible', _Film-Philosophy_, vol. 5 no. 15, May 2001
<http://www.film-philosophy.com/vol5-2001/n15galetski>.
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