tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72772544787127199102024-02-07T00:19:48.452-08:00Cinema without OrgansMatthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-13507551125596392912016-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:002016-09-28T10:29:07.874-07:00Time is what we see in the crystalGilles Deleuze in <i>Cinema 2</i>:<br />
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What we see in the crystal is no longer the empirical progression of time as succession of presents, nor is it indirect representation as interval or whole; it is its direct presentation, its constitutive dividing in two into a present which is passing and a past which is preserved, the strict contemporaneity of the present with the past that will be, of the past with the present that has been.</blockquote>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-39834232259666304872015-03-05T10:13:00.001-08:002015-03-05T10:13:36.523-08:00These were the conventions... before the War.From <i>Panorama of American Film Noir</i>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The moviegoer is accustomed to certain
conventions: a logical development of the action, a clear distinction between
good and evil, well-defined characters, sharp motives, scenes more showy then
authentically violent, a beautiful heroine and an honest hero. At least, these
were the conventions of American adventure films before the War.</span></blockquote>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-76129922831010302272015-01-29T12:57:00.003-08:002015-01-29T12:57:23.881-08:00Lillian Gish and her Halo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-85080492069119853032015-01-22T13:06:00.002-08:002015-01-22T13:06:41.716-08:00The Insides of a Kinetoscope<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SRIjUYh3MEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-54310813538695727402014-12-24T14:33:00.003-08:002014-12-24T14:35:39.527-08:00Ithaca International Film Festival Jury Duty<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I recently had the opportunity of being a jury member for
the Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival (IIFFF), which screens fantasy
and horror films from around the world. The festival is put on by Hugues
Barbier, who organizes the festival in Strasbourg, France and Ithaca, New York.
More information on the NY edition can be found here: </span><a href="http://ithacafilmfestival.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">http://ithacafilmfestival.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As one of the four jury members, I attended screenings for
the nine films in competition and a few extras I thought I wouldn’t be able to
see otherwise, such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haxan: Witchcraft through
the Ages </i>(1922), which was introduced by Dr. Andrew Utterson with live
accompaniment by the band <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transit</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Competition categories included: Best Film, Best Director,
Best Screenplay, and a Jury Special Mention. The official awards can be found
at the IIFFF website, but I thought it was worth saying a few words about some
of my personal picks here. Like other competitions I’ve judged, the official
awards were a process of negotiation between the four jury members. Everyone
had their favorites, and there was little unanimity, indicating the richness of
the films at the festival. The films mentioned below aren’t discussed in any
particular order, but official winners can be found at </span><a href="http://ithacafilmfestival.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">http://ithacafilmfestival.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Five</i> (Yeon-sik Jun):<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Five</i> is a
South Korean revenge film starring the popular actress Kim Sun-a as a woman who
loses her family to a serial killer. While this premise deviates little from
the genre, the killer cripples Sun-a in the beginning of the film and she must
take her revenge wheelchair-bound. To do so, she sets up a ‘chain-reaction’
using a set of individuals as her proxies, prefigured in the beginning of the
film when she carefully constructs an elaborate pattern of falling dominoes for
a film set. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While the revenge film often focuses on the interiority of
its suffering protagonist, after her transformation Sun-a gives a stony
performance that expresses her solipsistic vengeance in a manner leaving the
viewer looking elsewhere for an emotional connection. It is through the
individuals she surrounds herself with that we see transformation in character
motives and narrative progression. The finale of the film seems like a small
point in comparison to the dynamic relationship gradually built between ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Five</i>.’ Fans of the genre are sure to
enjoy the film, but the interaction between the different personalities of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Five </i>warranted a ‘Best Film’
argument from me and will broaden the appeal beyond the revenge film genre for
most viewers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Der Samourai </i>(Till Kleinert):<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Der Samourai </i>was
by far the strangest film in competition, and as a lover of strange films it
certainly struck a chord with me. It was also the most divisive in the jury
deliberations. The film is set in a small, German town surrounded by forests.
While appeasing a prowling wolf that has taken up residence in the nearby
forest, a local deputy somehow summons a nightdress-wearing, katana-wielding,
German samurai that proceeds to wreak havoc in the town. The film follows these
exploits while suggesting some sort of metaphysical connection between deputy
and samurai. Without giving too much away, this relationship does not fall into
any typical pitfalls regarding pseudo-Freudian connections to some subconscious
impulse. What results is excess: a Freudian reading would be too contained, too
manageable, whereas <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Der Samourai </i>relishes
in pure desire (whatever that means).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I argued Best Director for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Der Samourai</i> due to the film’s experimental nature and what felt
like more of a director’s ‘unique vision’ than a tightly crafted narrative.
This is a film that will likely leave many viewers thinking, “What just
happened?” If you don’t mind a more affective and aesthetic experience as
opposed to a narrative experience, however, you will likely find something
enticing about this film. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spring </i>(Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead):<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spring </i>follows a
young man’s trip to a village in Italy after the death of his parents. On a
trip to ‘find himself,’ which starts off feeling like a gap-year travel film
with beautiful digital cinematography of idyllic foreign locations, he
encounters a local woman and a loose relationship ensues. The woman turns out
not to be who she appears in line with the ‘fantastic’ part of the film
festival. I voted Best Screenplay for this film, and this was a complicated
vote for this film, because the screenplay runs in two directions, one less
impressive than the other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The overall narrative arc of this film ends up being fairly
conservative with a predictable ending. What I liked about the screenplay is
that the story of the young woman is compelling and fresh in its pseudo-scientific
register, and that is situated well within the bounds of the ‘travel film,’
including its beautiful digital cinematography. Even as I saw the film descend
towards the predictable ending, the dialogue and details of the woman’s story
were enough to keep me interested until the end. While the jury members all
agreed that this was a script that needed to be tightened in certain respects
(and this could be done through another round of editing), the story synergizes
with the cinematic experience well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Midnight Swim </i>(Sarah A. Smith):<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Midnight Swim </i>was
not my pick for Best Film, but I am thrilled that it ended up taking the award
through jury deliberations. I doubt the director would be happy with this
assessment, since no director seems to like this label, but the film feels like
Mumblecore in the way it dwells upon relationships through dialogue and the
close, sometimes awkward, study of communication. I mean this designation in the
best possible way though, because the film distills these elements of the style
and shifts them to the relationship between a set of sisters after their mother
passes away (rather than the white, heterosexual couplings of 20-somethings). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a ‘fantastic’ side to this narrative as well, but
like most of the films I enjoyed at the IIFFF, the fantastic wasn’t the main
focus of the film. When this side of the narrative finally is revealed, it
feels like less of an ‘aha’ and more of a capstone to the relationship between
the sisters. The dialogue and minute expressions detailed carefully by the
cinematography develop each sister fully so that the larger relationship
between them is complex and compelling. As a lover of horror and science
fiction, the fantastic is icing on the cake of what are already excellent
films.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-48046597148910094852014-12-02T07:01:00.001-08:002014-12-02T07:02:52.941-08:00Even the appropriation of models which appear to be only technical, industrial, scientific, etc., leads to a conceptual dependencyFernando Solanas and Octavio Getino, "Towards a Third Cinema"<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The placing of the cinema within US models, even in the formal aspect, in language, leads to the adoption of the ideological forms that gave rise to precisely that language and no other. Even the appropriation of models which appear to be only technical, industrial, scientific, etc., leads to a conceptual dependency, due to the fact that the cinema is an industry, but differs from other industries in that it has been created and organised in order to generate certain ideologies. The 35mm camera, 24 frames per second, arc lights, and a commercial place of exhibition for audiences were conceived not to gratuitously transmit any ideology, but to satisfy, in the first place, the cultural and surplus value needs of a specific ideology, of a specific world-view: that of US finance capital.</blockquote>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-59321684230458934442014-09-24T08:45:00.000-07:002014-09-24T08:45:05.260-07:00To endow with a poetic value that which does not yet possess it, to willfully restrict the field of vision so as to intensify expressionLouis Aragon, "On Decor."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Poets without being artists, children sometimes fix their attention on an object to the point where their concentration makes it grow larger, grow so much it completely occupies their visual field, assumes a mysterious aspect and loses all relation to its purpose. Or they repeat a word endlessly, so often it divests itself of meaning and becomes a poignant and pointless sound that makes them cry. Likewise on the screen objects that were a few moments ago sticks of furniture or books of cloakroom tickets and transformed to the point where they take on menacing or enigmatic meanings. The theater is powerless where such emotive concentration is concerned. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To endow with a poetic value that which does not yet possess it, to willfully restrict the field of vision so as to intensify expression: these are two properties that help make cinematic decor the adequate setting of modern beauty.</blockquote>
From <i>French Film Theory and Criticism: 1907-1929 </i>(Princeton UP, 1988: 166).Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-37996317333259148882014-08-28T12:13:00.002-07:002014-08-28T12:27:04.193-07:00Anti-Paranoia in the Pacific Northwest: Reichardt’s Night Moves (2013)<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>*minor spoilers ahead*<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Kelly Reichardt’s latest film, <i>Night Moves </i>(2013), continues the director’s trend of setting films
in the Pacific Northwest. Reichardt collaborated once again with Oregonian Jon Raymond
on the screenplay for the film, lending the film an aura of authenticity as it
relates to the Pacific Northwest – although Reichardt probably knows the area
well enough by now! Like most of Reichardt’s films, <i>Night Moves </i>centers on the loss of something fundamental to the subjectivity
of the protagonist: an old friendship in <i>Old
Joy </i>(2006); a life companion in <i>Wendy
and Lucy</i> (2008); masculinity and (literally) the way forward in <i>Meek’s Cutoff </i>(2010). In <i>Night Moves </i>this loss is less corporeal
than in these other films. While each character weathers the effects to
different degrees, the protagonists in this film struggle with the loss of
their own rationale or surety for the destruction of a local dam as an act of
environmental activism. <o:p></o:p><br />
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As half the film follows the planning of the bombing of the
dam, and the other half the fallout from this act, an air of paranoia pervades
the film. The characters must buy truckloads of fertilizer to build their
dam-destroying bomb, and post-bombing the group fears they might be ‘found out’
by whatever government agency is tracking them. Jesse Eisenberg’s nervous gestus,
in the Brechtian sense, fits this film well, as he comes across simultaneously
as paranoid and irrevocably resigned to his choices, even while vocally
challenged by other mentor-type characters in the film. What I find most
fascinating about this film is the way that this paranoia becomes what Thomas
Pynchon and Friedrich Kittler referred to as ‘anti-paranoia’ through the film’s
subdued cinematography, acting, and editing. Pynchon writes, “there is… also anti-paranoia, where nothing is connected
to anything, a condition not many of us can bear for long” (434). With
paranoia, one assumes they will find the ‘Truth’ that has been obfuscated –
Mulder says, “I want to believe,” and we as viewers always hang out the
possibility that the global conspiracy/collaboration with aliens will be
revealed to us, but in Pynchon’s <i>Gravity’s
Rainbow</i>, narrative directions proliferate to the point where there can be
no single Truth in the end. <i>Night Moves </i>resists
revealing anything beyond the immediate perception of its characters to the
point where we, as viewers, take on their unrequited paranoia, but the film ultimately
never delivers the conspiracy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcpgHWhk5swPp3q4NDIn0jI2Cd94qFTnR1Fbkm0JwLjmpjhvXIuKMyZZZE5HkNVYfVzFWxaLkRammrDi-9RNFrTiz9laxiBca2AFdniGCxrT_KA1E7_tYabTj2uiRIQhJPEF33R_oV0w5/s1600/blog2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcpgHWhk5swPp3q4NDIn0jI2Cd94qFTnR1Fbkm0JwLjmpjhvXIuKMyZZZE5HkNVYfVzFWxaLkRammrDi-9RNFrTiz9laxiBca2AFdniGCxrT_KA1E7_tYabTj2uiRIQhJPEF33R_oV0w5/s1600/blog2.JPG" height="220" width="400" /></a>As I mentioned previously, this anti-paranoia comes through
the formal construction of the film, and it shifts attention from the narrative
to both the physical and mental environments these characters live in. Fans of
Reichardt will recognize her subdued style immediately, with her long takes,
focus on labor, and emphasis on environment/bodily gest over action. Eisenberg’s
character works and lives on a farming co-op, and the film doesn’t shy away
from his day-to-day labors. At one point, the three environmentalists interact
with an exuberant camper, but barely even respond to his friendly gestures.
After the bombing, there are long shots of Eisenberg staring offscreen intently
at the sound of a car – the FBI pulling up to the farm? – but such shots eventually
dissipate without confirming any paranoid expectations we might have. Tomas
Hachard at NPR called this an “ultimately unsatisfying new film” and I’m not
too surprised by this assessment, but I also think this is precisely the point.
Whatever paranoid delusions of eco-terrorists or the thriller genre the film
might fulfill are replaced with issues far too complicated for narrative
summation.</div>
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I was fascinated by cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt’s ability
to capture these physical/psychological environments in beautiful detail. I posted
a few images that illustrate the attention to the environment of the Pacific
Northwest, but you really have to see the film to understand the way this is
done with the mental landscapes. Dakota Fanning’s character develops pretty
obvious rashes as a result of the stress of her anti-paranoia, but I preferred
Eisenberg’s watchful gaze as he tries to connect imaginary dots. I also
appreciated the honest look at the farming coop culture in the Pacific
Northwest, with the film intimating the farm’s location not too far away from
Portland. Cascadians might also be interested in the politics of the farming
coop and its relation to the federal government. If you’re a fan of Reichardt,
you know what you’re getting when you see this film, but I love the style she’s
developed that is area-specific without resorting to flashing establishing
shots of recognizable monuments.</div>
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<br />
<div style="background-color: black; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://www.teachingmedia.org/cinema-journal-teaching-dossier/"><em>Cinema Journal </em>Teaching Dossier at TeachingMedia.org:</a></span><em></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><em>Cinema Journal</em> and TeachingMedia.org have formed a partnership to develop a quarterly feature called the <em>Cinema Journal </em><em>Teaching Dossier</em>. The goals of this partnership are to foster critical reflection on media studies teaching and pedagogy and to engender serious discussion of pedagogical issues via an active online platform. The current dossier is titled New Approaches to Teaching World Cinema.</span></div>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-24373801903348030422013-09-01T15:55:00.001-07:002013-09-01T15:55:03.084-07:00Long Time No Blog, Pacific Northwest Edition<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It
has been a long time since I've blogged due to writing other things
like journal articles (a bit on short film, SF film, global film, see
<a href="http://www.matthewholtmeier.com/cv">here</a> for titles), some SF starts, random internet threads about theory,
and a dissertation. Those dissertation things sure take a while.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I've
also transitioned back to the Pacific Northwest and I am teaching at
Western Washington University this year as a Visiting Assistant
Professor of Film Studies. This is an exciting opportunity, because I
will be able to teach classes based on some of my writing/research
interests. This fall, for example, I am teaching a class on 'Film and
Television in the Pacific Northwest.' Teaching in the Pacific
Northwest, and especially at Western, offers so many opportunities
for a class like this. Early on in the course I will be taking the
students to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies on Western's
campus and the Whatcom Museum to look at archival materials. They'll
be looking at these materials alongside <i>The
General </i>(1927),
which should give us a rich sense of the 'Pacific Northwest in the
Past.' I am also currently organizing a multi-projector screening of
Harry Smith's experimental <i>Heaven
and Earth Magic </i>(1957-1962)
<i>– </i>particularly
exciting, because Smith was from Bellingham, but I'll have to
dedicate another post to this further down the road. I'm also having
local filmmakers from Hand Crank Films<i>
</i>(<a href="http://www.handcrankfilms.com/">www.handcrankfilms.com</a>)
come in and talk to the class about local film and video work, which
will be exciting because a few students that are signed up for the
class have been talking to me about their post-college career goals.
Hand Crank's<i>
</i>success
illustrates the need for more graduates with a background in film.
I'm also setting up an option to create a film for students
interested in production – excited about the possibilities for
video essays and documentary in particular! Part of my goal with this
class has been to utilize the resources and community of Bellingham
since we are, in a way, studying Bellingham! I hope that the
student's work will contribute to local resources and future classes
on the subject.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I
recently got back from a working retreat set up by the Teaching
Learning Academy and library at Western. The theme was 'Backwards by
Design' and we looked at ways of approaching curriculum design from
what we want students to learn in the end, rather than moving forward
starting with content and assignments. It seems simple, but when you
commit to approaching design this way I find that it results in
subtle yet fundamental changes and innovative assignments. I think it
is easy to get into a rut in assigning 'typical' assignments, but
approaching these same assignments with a desired learning
objective/threshold concept in the foreground reveals, at least to
me, the ways in which such assignments aren't always sufficient if
we're building real critical skills into our courses. The concept I'm
working on in my Pacific Northwest class is the way that approaching
an object of research from a particular method/discourse/theory
presupposes a certain type of knowledge – borrowing from
Feyerabend's <i>Against Method</i>,
but we could also look to discourse theory in the vein of Foucault
and Gee. This seems important to me for this class, because we will
look at diverse types of film and television, each which provides a
certain insight about the Pacific Northwest based on its formal and
thematic modes.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm
really happy that Western has these sorts of professional development
opportunities, because it means that there is always a community for
thinking through my work. The retreat was also an excellent
opportunity to meet other faculty at Western! Glad to make some
friends there and network with other Western folks interested in
film. While I am teaching in the English department, I've made
contact with faculty in Art History, Fairhaven College, the library,
and Modern Languages who all research or teach film. There is some
real interdisciplinary potential at Western for film students!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well,
I can't promise I'll start blogging more, but I'd like to repurpose
this blog a bit and shift towards my teaching. I'll still probably
post about films I've seen recently every once in a while, but
writing about 'teaching film' seems like a useful exercise.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-50954151349461281582012-02-04T05:02:00.000-08:002012-02-04T05:12:40.337-08:00DeleuzeCinema.com<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I've been busy with a number of articles, presentations, and projects, so I haven't had time to update the blog in a long time, but I thought I'd break the silence for a project I'm launching today with a team from St Andrews.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="http://deleuzecinema.com/">DeleuzeCinema.com</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Deleuze Cinema (dot com) is a collaborative resource for scholarly and creative works dealing with Gilles Deleuze and film/media. We've spent a chunk of our time adding to the resource, but we'd like to invite others to contribute as well! If you're interested, use the contact form on the website.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxQ3BtR9WsmO3euV_kFBwf7to4WQI2V2qnoGTBdUmX1tk_c5hlYAUwsd4X0X9tryu8vpnwRZvHnbF9pvyypYqcVcvymOgg6LTYKbJm1L4gBmLrhuSO71sibEyuoHwpbWIxZEA08Q-oBjD/s320/deleuzesitepic.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705267461849030770" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 126px; " /></div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-40349151349574652862011-06-22T07:19:00.000-07:002011-06-22T07:20:07.913-07:00Mumblecore, the Gif<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v517/Mholtmeier/?action=view&current=noncomittal.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/Mholtmeier/noncomittal.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-25306546528630954932011-05-27T07:59:00.000-07:002011-05-27T08:48:40.437-07:00Win Win (2011) *spoilers*<div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRoF-DS-spCu8ehfEGhGOqeokfPxkhHMKICaTX4Qyzf4X61TWpBvJvQmSlRKj32M9CD0R9irxPEtwlf108h1EpoDT6_Fd_otFrzHhjFtWZbHkBcdzJfvOxa4vvjnLGgWvRdXPrutt9ZjS/s1600/winwin.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRoF-DS-spCu8ehfEGhGOqeokfPxkhHMKICaTX4Qyzf4X61TWpBvJvQmSlRKj32M9CD0R9irxPEtwlf108h1EpoDT6_Fd_otFrzHhjFtWZbHkBcdzJfvOxa4vvjnLGgWvRdXPrutt9ZjS/s320/winwin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611422292648651506" /></a><br />I just got back from <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606392/">Win Win</a></i> at the <a href="http://www.dca.org.uk/">DCA</a>, and I have to say it wasn't the film I expected. I was expecting a quirky dysfunctional-family comedy cashing in on the trend of these movies - it was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Searchlight_Pictures">fox searchlight</a> production after all - but the film was far more subtle than others that adhere to the quirky-family genre conventions. Sure, it had some of that too, but not enough for me to throw it in the same boat as <i>Little Miss Sunshine</i> (2006) or <i>Juno </i>(2007). <i>Win Win</i> is certainly a comedy, but a comedy haunted by a somber mood as it addresses the financial crisis in the US. I particularly liked this film for the nuanced way it addresses the financial crisis in neither an uplifting or fatalistic manner. Well, I also liked that it had Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Tambor. Also, Alex Shaffer who appears to be new to acting played his role <i>perfectly</i>.<div><br /></div><div>In the film, Giamatti plays a small time lawyer who represents, it seems, mainly elderly clients. He isn't getting much work, which stresses him out a great deal. We see him having a panic attack that his doctor attributes to 'stress'. Giamatti explains his financial situation to a close friend, but at the same time hides it from his wife and family. It seems that Giamatti is determined to maintain his families quality of life (which appears to be fairly modest). He is constantly cutting corners: refusing to replace the boiler at his office, putting off hiring someone to cut down the rotting tree in his front yard, etc. Finally, he finds a way to make some extra cash by becoming the 'legal guardian' of one of his elderly patients that will otherwise go into state care. Of course, by becoming his legal guardian he is entitled to $1500 a month from his client's estate.</div><div><br /></div><div>The issue at stake is that his client wants to live at home, but cannot due to the onset of dementia. If the state takes custody of the individual, he will be placed in a facility that cares for the elderly with dementia. Giamatti takes legal guardianship by arguing that he will allow his client to live at home, but immediately puts him in another facility (paid by the client's estate), because he doesn't have the time to take care of him and collects a $1500 check each month. Taking advantage of the elderly financially is a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/business/24golden.html?pagewanted=print">serious issue</a> in cases where the elderly individuals no longer have the mental capacities to make the right decisions for themselves, as is the case in <i>Win Win</i>. Now Giamatti's character is in no way a 'bad guy', he is actually shown to be quite honorable in the beginning of the film in taking the cases of elderly clients. But the financial crisis pushes him to take this step. As he says at one point of the film: what am I supposed to do, become a bartender?</div><div><br /></div><div>What I really liked about<i> Win Win</i> was the ending tone of the film. As the drama unfolds, his trick with his client's state is revealed (but I won't go into the details here... it is the real plot of the film which I haven't really talked about). Rather than cut and run, however, Giamatti admits his foul play to the interested parties and forks over his $1500 a month to his client's drug-addled daughter and decides to take care of him regardless. Without the extra income, the film ends on a sequence where he rushes home after work and puts on party attire. We then see his good friend show up at a bar, but as the camera revolves around his friend, Giamatti is revealed as the bartender. In the end, rather than exploiting his clients, Giamatti takes another job to maintain his quality of living. In this, he neither triumphs over the difficulties he endures throughout the film, but neither is the film a tragedy. Instead, the film finishes on a subtle note with Giamatti acknowledging his problems and actively working at a solution. I really enjoyed this realistic conclusion with a very down to earth example of a Deleuzian ethics: the way out not in some idealized solution, but by working through daily reality at a better future.</div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-69306962721546021982011-05-04T11:59:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:30:16.820-07:00Inception's Ethics<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF63FN8XHMlannYpXeXm3kI3B595DOXIMYMDKoDa63cYhqrXhIxlk-SNElU_FaoT2PRWYlyyqn4Va-vwelY9ky2gj_S6rG1Rw-6Wcvc_0F776Gx8X3f3CwHB7SiVChl3LlaM6bg9Qsk_H/s1600/Inception.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF63FN8XHMlannYpXeXm3kI3B595DOXIMYMDKoDa63cYhqrXhIxlk-SNElU_FaoT2PRWYlyyqn4Va-vwelY9ky2gj_S6rG1Rw-6Wcvc_0F776Gx8X3f3CwHB7SiVChl3LlaM6bg9Qsk_H/s320/Inception.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602941763487962866" /></a>There is a scene in <i>Inception</i> (2010) where Ariadne builds an infinite mirror, alluding to the thematic of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possible_world">possible worlds</a> in the film. This scene visually mimics the moment in <i>Citizen Kane</i> (1941), where Kane sees himself reflected infinitely:<div><br /><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbdngD5-BeNyufiePSUyEHKn8Z00lyj9kapx6MD9yIeAZ3kF_HfR3vKdQU9vPFIPQRhATMojpUfl_BJO_Xj6-HJRqv38Aguw7uvt7yE6TUCgUfz_rlLJka1tvEb1-ew_2aVgsG73cVAa8/s320/Citizenkane.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602945312339923234" /></div><div>And here's a photo of Gilles Deleuze projecting himself infinitely for good measure.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpLXONvuc0hqemovGK4ZoQjlP-M_7osTHZEWqzpj_8-5184LWq_IA5fzabdH7kgTs620XDtDl6fC-dlt5fWZuwjjXBNlzgrpkosx2WkqtuN74Zc0MDu4ekyIEcxUU7TW0aHv_iB9xRV32/s320/deleuzemirror.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 221px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602949226786835906" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Whereas in <i>Citizen Kane</i>, the reflection of images might allude to the many 'Kanes' created in the public eye, <i>Inception</i>'s 'dreams worlds' are more visceral in that the characters actually inhabit them, even if only temporarily. This scene in <i>Inception</i> is different from other uses of this visual trope, however, as Ariadne presses against the infinite mirror, which breaks it to reveal a single, long road. While allowing the possibility of <i>many worlds</i>, Ariadne affirms just <i>one </i>of the many.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Throughout the film, her character serves a probing function. She discovers the secrets of Cobb's dream world, and explains <i>Inception</i>'s dream-physics to the audience. Her declarative statement in breaking the glass and revealing a singular possibility is significant in terms of the end of the film, where Cobb's top comes spinning to a halt (or does it?). In spinning to a halt, the top affirms that Cobb's present experience is reality and not a dream.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Deleuze's pose between the mirrors illustrates his interest in the time/crystal-image, but ultimately his cinematic ethics was based on the affirmation of a singular existence -- or a 'belief in the world'. Here, 'the world' is something akin to what Deleuze described as <i>life</i> -- not fantasy, not an ideologically-inflected existence, but pure lived experience. As David Rodowick and Ronald Bogue point out, this ethics is based not only on film's ability to inspire a 'belief in the world' but also 'one's ability to change the world'. Because <i>Inception</i> is all about the layering and getting lost in dreams, <i>the world</i> becomes a questionable state. Cobb finally changes his world by taking action to become reunited with his kids in reality. In the very end, however, the film asks: is this reality, or is Cobb just playing in a fantasy world?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, I think the film is ambiguous about this point -- it is questionable as to whether the top stops spinning or not -- I also tend to think the way it wavers at the end suggests that Cobb is in fact back in 'the world'. Does this mean <i>Inception</i> poses an ethical statement by illustrating how Cobb has indeed returned to 'the world' in his desire to change his reality, rather than hiding in the dream world he has created for himself? Although it would be difficult to say it inspires an ethics to the filmgoer the way a truly ethical film would, this sort of ethical question does seem to be at the heart of Cobb's predicament throughout the film.</div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-39877030196378148692010-10-31T02:56:00.000-07:002010-10-31T03:28:59.770-07:00Kickstarter: best innovation for independent filmmakers since the digital camera?We all know that digital cameras revolutionized the art of filmmaking, paving the way for extremely low budget productions and removing certain economic barriers for filmmakers/filmmaking. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_Empire_(film)">Mainstream directors even took up digital filmmaking</a> for the advantages in mobility and cost. But what sort of innovation will come next that will further democratize the art of filmmaking? I don't mean to sound teleological here and make the argument that <i>everyone</i> will someday be a filmmaker (But is this not true? With cameras on cell phones, etc.?), but it does seem to be a direction the art is currently taking. I've <a href="http://cinemawithoutorgans.blogspot.com/2009/11/collaborative-distribution-music.html">blogged about alternative methods of distribution</a> previously, and now the same (or similar members) of the group I was referring to before have started a Kickstarter project.<div><br /></div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="410px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/966473789/keep-it-cinematic/widget/video.html" width="480px"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Kickstarter allows anyone to fund a project by contributing any amount of money, from a dollar to a hundred dollars. Often, this comes with some sort of material 'thank you' for the contributor (a t-shirt, for example). It also comes with the idea that one is taking part in the project by virtue of funding it, which is, I think, part of the website's rhetoric. Though, you could treat the site as an online store and 'browse' for purchases (if the projects succeed). Anyway, the point is that it allows funding to come from a multitude of small investors, simultaneously creating an audience and a backer for a project. </div><div><br /></div><div>The project I've posted here is not breaking ground by using this site for filmmaking. In fact, 'film' is listed as one of the categories of projects you can fund on the homepage of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.kickstarter.com">www.kickstarter.com</a>. I've searched 'film' on Kickstarter.com just now, and the search result came up with 866 projects. The project budgets range from $1,000 to $10,000, but I assume they could go higher. Here's the <i>kicker</i> though: these $10,000 projects are being funded! In the world of filmmaking, $10,000 is an insanely small budget of course, but for independents who start with nothing but (perhaps) a digital camera and a story, $10,000 makes a huge difference.</div><div><br /></div><div>For many of the film projects, donating a certain amount gets you a DVD. So, the website essentially allows one to sell their film before it has been made, but without the need for a producer or distributer. I'd like to hear more about this experience from filmmakers who have tried using Kickstarter.com before. If you have, please comment and let me know how your experience with the website/funding went.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, take a look at <i>Keep it Cinematic</i>, a project that blurs the line between narrative filmmaking and music videos (an interesting project, because music in film usually operates to <a href="http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/H/herzog_dreams.html">destabilize the narrative</a>). Looks like an exciting project! Also, The Keaton Collective is an excellent band, so if you want to get started with Kickstarter.com, you can't go wrong with a $10 pledge to get their CD.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="380px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/966473789/keep-it-cinematic/widget/card.html" width="220px"></iframe></div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-29534623505022286292010-09-20T03:29:00.000-07:002010-09-20T03:32:53.963-07:00An Artist on Ideas I LikeDeleuze and Guattari are fairly well known for being liked by artists as well as academics. So, to help show that academia is not an isolated sphere, here is an excellent piece of writing by filmmaker Donal Foreman on many of the ideas I find most valuable from Deleuze and Guattari: <a href="http://donalforeman.com/writing/artandpolitics.html">http://donalforeman.com/writing/artandpolitics.html</a>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-33972588355106173042010-08-09T17:50:00.000-07:002010-08-09T17:57:26.827-07:00US Premiere of En attendant Godard<div>US Premiere of <i>En attendant Godard</i> is coming up. August 12 at the Northwest Film Forum. <a href="http://www.nwfilmforum.org/live/page/calendar/1374">Click here for more info on the screening</a>. I'll be there, possibly with a few words.<div><br /></div><div>And a sexy picture of director William Brown at work to spice things up!</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHW2HbNZiSuueuVHtL50WE3SE88wttozavZoQLxnf6tO_37P8pHJaVL_vNXsdD8_MkYqIeBADBUmHQbwra8GRM7mdvWEOxAogHolNjYyBk6yuwsbYHWumTNeg3eP_90nbqxLoNI8l55Oky/s1600/willatwork.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHW2HbNZiSuueuVHtL50WE3SE88wttozavZoQLxnf6tO_37P8pHJaVL_vNXsdD8_MkYqIeBADBUmHQbwra8GRM7mdvWEOxAogHolNjYyBk6yuwsbYHWumTNeg3eP_90nbqxLoNI8l55Oky/s320/willatwork.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503578754969277090" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-9688985547222136572010-07-09T01:16:00.000-07:002010-07-09T01:21:54.432-07:00Mohsen Makhmalbaf at St Andrews for Screening of Salaam CinemaMohsen Makhmalbaf recently visited St Andrews (with Marzieh Meshkini - so it was a double director billing) for a screening and discussion of his film <i>Salaam Cinema</i>. I wrote up an event report for the journal <i>Wide Screen. </i>Instead of reposting anything, I'll just leave a link: <a href="http://blogs.widescreenjournal.org/?p=1892">you can read about Makhmalbaf at St Andrews here</a>.Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-57586464163707486452010-04-29T12:38:00.000-07:002010-04-29T13:12:46.659-07:00En attendant Godard: Interview and TrailerI previously posted a <a href="http://cinemawithoutorgans.blogspot.com/2009/10/en-attendant-godard-review.html">review of William Brown's new film <span style="font-style: italic;">En attendant Godard</span></a> after seeing it at a screening in St. Andrews. Recently, <a href="http://cphpix.dk/n/a2.lasso?tt=f&s=2010029&ser=1097&e=1&-session=N:42F942040a5461973CqHW2B4A2FA">Brown's film has screened at the CPH PIX film festival in Copenhagen</a>. Festival organizers caught up with the director and some of his cast and crew for a short interview, in which Brown talks about his brush with Godard. For those of you who haven't seen the film, this is an exciting but ephemeral moment where it seems as if Godard will finally be revealed on film after thoroughly reveling in his textual manifestations. The interview reveals what I hoped to be true: Godard actually was present during the filming of this scene - but is Brown's refusal to film Godard up close a result of his humility, or a subtle flourish to the end of his film?<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vC7PDf9AioQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vC7PDf9AioQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="280"></embed></object><br /><br />If you haven't seen <span style="font-style: italic;">En attendant Godard</span>, here is the trailer:<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uMpvE74Xo2Y&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uMpvE74Xo2Y&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="280"></embed></object>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-48497238856469160122010-04-07T04:04:00.000-07:002010-04-07T07:34:10.882-07:00Intercessors and Bahman Ghobadi's 'No One Knows About Persian Cats'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bax_TkYleWEeJFGn4Bep8UIPr3ftyQcowSFN7KntGMozPCeEpWlynKHc6hyyXgR4ISVLbLHfJFbO1LTEQ0rI9C3bU_kNas7gQLzy3eUlAVLgS_FsRcUUmFWC0RgaWq8QNZq-HK3Rlamo/s1600/no_one_knows_about_persian_cats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bax_TkYleWEeJFGn4Bep8UIPr3ftyQcowSFN7KntGMozPCeEpWlynKHc6hyyXgR4ISVLbLHfJFbO1LTEQ0rI9C3bU_kNas7gQLzy3eUlAVLgS_FsRcUUmFWC0RgaWq8QNZq-HK3Rlamo/s320/no_one_knows_about_persian_cats.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457403776932172354" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Bahman Ghobadi has been referred to by some as a 'rural filmmaker' because of films such as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">A Time for Drunken Horses</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Marooned in Iraq</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Turtles Can Fly</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Half-Moon</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, which take place along the Iran-Iraq border. These films are indeed quite rural, but what these people seem to miss is that he is a Kurd and he is making films about Kurdish peoples. Despite the fact that Kurds make up 12-15 percent of the population of Iran, many of the Kurds who inhabit northwestern Iran live in rural and even nomadic conditions because little money is spent on infrastructure (roads, electricity) for this region. Throughout history, the Kurds have been used as pawns in various struggles by neighboring countries in order to destabilize regions and gain political advantage. As a result, Iran carefully restricts displays of Kurdish nationalism and culture, fearing that these will result in a secessionist movement. Ghobadi is not a 'rural filmmaker,' but a filmmaker attempting to revitalize the Kurdish community and culture, as he does with the underground music scene in his latest film.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">In his latest film, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">No One Knows About Persian Cats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, Ghobadi moves out of Kurdistan to make a completely urban film about musicians in Iran – and it may signal the end of his so called 'rural films' with its controversial content (not to mention lack of a production/screening permit), which will likely bar him from returning to Iranian-Kurdistan. While Ghobadi himself claims that he is not a political filmmaker, but a cultural filmmaker, in Iran culture and politics are inseparable. Much like two of his previous films, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Marooned in Iraq</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Half-Moon</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, music draws the characters of these films into political situations.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">No One Knows About Persian Cats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> focuses on a number of different political issues in Iran today, including the ban on Western musical genres, the difficulty of obtaining a permit to produce music or hold a concert, and the difficulty of obtaining visas and passports for travel. Perhaps unlike his previous films, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">No One Knows About</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Persian Cats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> is surprisingly upbeat for a film about censorship. While looking at some of the darker sides of censorship – Negar's lyrics stemming from the time she spent in prison, Hichkas's rap addressing poverty and prostitution – the film engages the great vitality of the underground music scene. In both its conclusion and its overall tone, however, it seems Ghobadi is not optimistic about the current situation. Even so, it is worth noting that most of the characters in Ghobadi's film (who are real Iranian musicians) do not want to leave Iran – they would rather stay in Iran and play their music for friends and family, only their inability to do so drives them abroad. Perhaps what makes Ghobadi's film so enjoyable, even if heart-wrenching, is that the lack of optimism is tempered by the musicians' continued dedication to their art.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It is not really news that there is a thriving underground music scene in Iran – see this </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p005xzj9"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">BBC broadcast from 2005</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> – and this isn't the fantastic part about Ghobadi's film. The fantastic part about this film is that Ghobadi found these musicians while creating an underground recording of his own and allowed them to tell their own story. The plot may be fictitious, but the characters in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">No One Knows About Persian Cats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> are 'intercessors,' stepping between reality and fiction as they are allowed to relay their own lived experience. At times, Ghobadi's film feels a bit 'underground,' partly because of his use of non-professional actors (which he does in many of his films), and partly because the film takes on a documentary-like feel. Rather than being a documentary about the underground music scene, however, the story of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">No One Knows About Persian Cats</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> emerges out of the real life struggles of these people. In the end, the film makes you realize that this isn't a story that could have happened, it is a story that has happened a thousand times.</span></div></span></div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-59181439357028204052010-03-20T10:05:00.000-07:002010-03-20T11:05:52.495-07:00Failed Psychotherapy in Shutter Island<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincbM3THHmhDZhFtZTrBuSxcmzAY8nHu07C9n9_LHeuIGx_rcJeaL9UmNX7IaPak42F6dQL0T06Ob3eWq9EOy4uZIZ7zPPsSNUQbx0-ynA6r-FY8qkIFpFRbXQN8jRCLhXLOgdNzqjdtlh/s1600-h/shutter-island-poster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincbM3THHmhDZhFtZTrBuSxcmzAY8nHu07C9n9_LHeuIGx_rcJeaL9UmNX7IaPak42F6dQL0T06Ob3eWq9EOy4uZIZ7zPPsSNUQbx0-ynA6r-FY8qkIFpFRbXQN8jRCLhXLOgdNzqjdtlh/s320/shutter-island-poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450778775994449474" /></a><div>Warning: contains spoilers!</div><div><br /></div>Although <i>Shutter Island</i> (2010) was perhaps no more than your average Hollywood thriller, I thought it had some enjoyable, artistically playful moments that contributed to the overall dramatic intention of the film in an interesting way. These moments underlie the ending of the film, which is one I think Felix Guattari would have liked. The scenes I am interested in mainly exist in the form of inexplicable dream sequences, which crop up throughout the film - <a href="http://www.totalfilm.com/features/on-set-shutter-island">several images from these sequences can be found here</a>, apologies for not finding my own images as the film isn't out yet! Often, they are indistinguishable from the diagetic reality - an extreme example occurs when 'The Marshall' meets the woman he was supposed to be hunting down, who claims she was a doctor on the island. It is likely that this scene never 'really' happened. And more often these dreams provide an example of what Daniel Frampton might call 'film-thinking' through fantastic scenes/images that do not immediately fit with the linear narrative of the film, but instead start to think their own relations to various elements of the film.<div><br /></div><div>The Marshall's dreams increasingly permeate the film, leading the spectator to conclude his insanity in the crash between delusions and reality. Ultimately, this is also a question posed to The Marshall as well: Are you insane, or not? His caretakers admit that they've been letting, even facilitating, these delusions in an attempt to redirect his violent tendencies. In inhabiting his mind throughout the film, the spectator experiences what The Marshall experiences - in other words, we know exactly the effects of this perpetuation. We are able to experience <i>his</i> experience so exactly, because a single narrative has been imposed upon him through the use of drugs and role play - his 'world' has been chosen for him, and although he may be predisposed to inhabit this mode of Being, his therapists have given him no alternatives. Ultimately, when given an ultimatum, either choose death or return to reality, he chooses to die - stating something along the lines of, "better to die a hero than be insane."</div><div><br /></div><div>He sees his only options as choosing between death and insanity, and why should he not? He has been kept in a constant state of paranoia throughout the film, where the only fluctuation of his identity has been between two poles: US Marshall and inhabitant of the asylum. For Guattari, this would have been a travesty. At <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Borde">La Borde</a>, Guattari devised a system where patients would take part in the running of the clinic itself. Thus, they would be given different 'roles' to inhabit for a set period of time: for this month, patient A will be our cook, patient B will be our gardener, etc. The goal here was to involve the patients in different discourses/worlds where they might make diverse and positive connections, allowing them to see different ways of Being rather than labeling them 'insane' a priori. Had The Marshall been given the choice, who would he have become? Had his therapists prompted other becomings, other ways of existing, might he have given up on his delusions entirely? We can't say, because the therapists forced his delusions upon him for the sake of pacification. Guattari would have liked the film not for its ending, but for the fact that it reveals the problems with forceful psychotherapy where the patient only exists to be 'cured' - or, perhaps more appropriately: disciplined. </div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-11658268189903208732010-02-22T02:08:00.000-08:002010-08-10T20:31:27.932-07:00EcosophySince my last couple of posts were about ecosophical issues, and this is something that informs a lot of my thinking, I thought it would be wise to alert folks to <a href="http://www.ecosophical.com">www.ecosophical.com</a>.<div><br /></div><div>I set up a profile for myself at <a href="http://www.matthewholtmeier.com/">www.matthewholtmeier.com</a>, but really I just wanted somewhere to host a Drupal site. Unfortunately, unless I want to pay more, I have to live with it being a prefix to profile..!</div><div><br /></div><div>Edit: The new site is www.ecosophical.com. Concept is the same.</div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-69120993463682995992010-02-12T05:46:00.000-08:002010-02-12T06:19:24.004-08:00Avatar Ethics and Belief in THIS World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYD3r8syJvJvo8EjUrGBrhtEMMw_wssjEjDEqALDxlzjuFXXf3pSgKUFnSO9QDSLmVCAEiiIZ569KIfr1t6orqcBwOkKxR_JuDwbzRA8wELYimwHqvlKk7IiljBjrJB6p9E84-ZgUpSRm/s1600-h/Avatar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYD3r8syJvJvo8EjUrGBrhtEMMw_wssjEjDEqALDxlzjuFXXf3pSgKUFnSO9QDSLmVCAEiiIZ569KIfr1t6orqcBwOkKxR_JuDwbzRA8wELYimwHqvlKk7IiljBjrJB6p9E84-ZgUpSRm/s320/Avatar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437356508264157746" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">I am generally not a fan of big budget <st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> films, but since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> was hyped as the most expensive film made to date, a box office record breaker, and reported to make excellent use of new 3D technologies, I figured it would be one to see in the theater. I was actually pleasantly surprised by my initial response. The science fiction – I am the <a href="http://www.sfra.org/">SFRA</a> web director after all – and fight to save nature did appeal me, so I suppose it isn’t that big of a surprise that I enjoyed the viewing experience on a basic level. I must also say that I was impressed by the new 3D technology, which was used in a somewhat more natural fashion than films such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Coraline</i>. Gut reactions aside, however, I find responses to the film perhaps most interesting of all.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">From an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosophy">ecosophical</a> perspective, we could say that a film is ‘good’ or ‘ethical’ if it inspires positive ecological change – change to the environmental, social, or mental ecologies. Films are well suited to this task, because they reach large audiences – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">especially</i> films like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i>. Out of all the most wide-reaching films, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> is perhaps a bit unique, because despite all of its problems (<a href="http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-avatar">When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like Avatar</a>) it has inspired positive change to mental ecologies. These newly reorganized subjectivities – or, if not really reorganized, at least invigorated – have in turn spawned more messages regarding positive ecological change. For example, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kurDEUtHW2I">Adam Hintz’s video</a>, which proclaims: “[<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i>] is more than just another <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Matrix</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Star Wars</i>. It’s a movie with a message.” Hintz speaks here mostly of ‘destroying indigenous peoples and species’, but the message is environmental or easily relatable to the environment. Perhaps even more pertinent is <a href="http://dgeneratefilms.com/critical-essays/avatar-breaks-chinese-box-office-records-and-inspires-activists/">this blog post from dGenerate Films</a> that shows how evictees of urban development in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> have likened themselves to the N’avi in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i>. These articles, perhaps more the latter, show close correlation with real world events, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> translates into a message of resistance. Of course, we already knew bad things like this were happening, but why is it that this <st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> blockbuster facilitates the entry of these issues into the media/web 2.0?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Could it be that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> inspires a ‘belief in this world’ as Deleuze might say? I recently attended a talk given by David (DN) Rodowick, where his project was to show that the ultimate ethical act of Deleuze’s work in his books on cinema was to show how certain films inspire a belief in the world and our powers to positively change it. I believe this is true and a particular faculty of minor cinemas, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> is certainly not a minor cinema. I don’t mean to say that so called ‘major cinemas’ cannot do this as well, but we do run into a problem here: the ability of many major cinemas to enchant and make us forget about ‘our’ world. In fact, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> has created something like a belief in another world for many, as <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html">the phenomenon the ‘Avatar blues’</a> shows. One victim of the ‘Avatar blues’ recounts: “I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don’t have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed.” Contrary to what you might think with a topic (belief in this world) attributed to the time-image (and its sensory-motor break), belief actually inspires action, whereas this ‘longing for another world’ creates depression and inertia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It becomes difficult to understand <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Avatar</i> ecosophically with these two perspectives in mind – that of those who have turned to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i> to make connections with this world, and that of those who now long for something imaginary. What exactly inspires the filmgoer to move in either direction?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It seems interesting that the former responses refer to the overall fabula, while the latter seem to respond to the technology involved in creating Pandora. They see Pandora as a beautiful, colorful world through their 3D glasses, and the enhanced images completely outstrip reality for them. This certainly is the ‘major’ method of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:city>. Therefore, while some find redeeming qualities in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Avatar</i>, most are captivated by the filmmaking – the major mode of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:city> – that creates spectacle.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the end, it seems to me to be the ‘formal features’ of the film that are detrimental to the filmgoer’s ethical experience of <i>Avatar</i>. Filmgoers are all different, of course, and some will be receptive to its redemptive elements. But cinema technology is a tool of mass communication, so it seems important to look at the large scale effects rather than to focus on exceptions (at least, in this case). Often, formal features are seen as sites of innovation in cinema, and I may previously have thought of them as sites for ethical encounters with cinema. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Avatar</i>, however, makes the point that it is just as important to look at the detrimental effects of formal features in emerging cinemas as current ideological underpinnings such as continuity editing are taken to a whole new level.</p>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-84093060989084318162010-01-04T17:31:00.000-08:002010-01-04T18:54:36.546-08:00Gomorrah and the Environment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bfFrv_eTepPrG0z8awz7CeRkwiDGF2PjNeHHAoZ-9QwbQJ2t4VJzX_3j9c7_h-Kdd69yP_1hzmID_svLYchK0tImM-9tWGnhQuOtCvU9BYsL-wb9wxrCa8xB9ILD1_NlCHepvLFedODA/s1600-h/Gomorrah.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bfFrv_eTepPrG0z8awz7CeRkwiDGF2PjNeHHAoZ-9QwbQJ2t4VJzX_3j9c7_h-Kdd69yP_1hzmID_svLYchK0tImM-9tWGnhQuOtCvU9BYsL-wb9wxrCa8xB9ILD1_NlCHepvLFedODA/s320/Gomorrah.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423082130023984850" /></a><div><br /></div>I just had the opportunity to watch the criterion release of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomorra_(film)">Gomorrah</a></i> (2008) and found it very enjoyable. Jack Attard - a frequent film recommender and <a href="http://cinemawithoutorgans.blogspot.com/2009/08/solanas-and-getinos-problem-with-film.html">commenter on this blog</a> - recommended the film to me, mentioning that it had a documentary-like style. It certainly sits in the space between documentary and fiction, with its dispersion of different plots, nonprofessional actors, and focus on real events. This lends it a very neorealist feel, and I do love my neorealism!<div><br /></div><div>The film also seemed to have another type of realism to me, in regards to its depiction of environmental issues. The film is perhaps cliche in how it handled these issues, but I feel like it is a cliche I do not see enough in films. That is: we often know that choices are bad for the environment, but they are made anyway on account of earning profit. I became aware of <a href="http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/amazing-pictures-pollution-in-china/">Lu Guang's award winning photos</a> a few months ago, and think the photo of the sewage pipe spewing sewage into the Yangtze River is especially pertinent, since it was built <i>instead</i> of the commissioned sewage processing plant. Clearly the individuals who were responsible saved a great deal of money by doing so.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is perhaps not so cliche about <i>Gomorrah</i>, however, is where it directs its focus. While perhaps about 'gang violence' in general, it more specifically focuses on violence against youth, the environment, innocent residents of the violent area, people who try to extract themselves from the violence, etc. Maybe there are films that focus on some of these issues, but <i>Gomorrah</i> is refreshing in that it seems to refuse to have an intended interest in any specific issue. Of course, the one I found most interesting was the case of Roberto, who was helping a member of one of the gangs dump chemicals illegally.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I think of mafia wars<i>, </i><i>The Godfather</i> is obviously what comes to mind. There are plenty of other 'mobster-like' examples that follow suit. What I wouldn't think of, however, is how these organizations that exploit legality for profit might impact the environment. As the end-titles state: the amount of toxic waste illegally dumped by the Comorrah could be stacked as high as Mt. Everest and populations in these areas suffer from a 20% increased chance of cancer. Now, the cliche that 'bad choices are made in the name of profit' usually results in the crowd pleasing 'but one person is going to make a change.' In the case of <i>Gomorrah</i>, it is a mixed bag. Roberto <i>does</i> in fact leave his job with the crime family, and there is no follow up to his situation, but I was left assuming mediocrity for his future. Pasquale, in a similar example, quits his job as a very talented haute couture dressmaker to avoid working for the mafia controlled garment maker. In his case, we know what happens, he becomes a truck driver to earn a living. In most other cases, lives of violence lead to death.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the case of Roberto and Pasquale, the film provides a pertinent statement: yes, one person can make a decision to refuse corruption, but they will pay the price. They will revert to their un-corrupt, unglamorous lives. This is perhaps the saddest truth of this film. In light of Felix Guattari's <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosophy">Three Ecologies</a></i>, however, this is also the most important truth to be told. In both Roberto and Pasquale, we see a change in their outlook or subjectivity. Roberto realizes he doesn't want to be a part of an operation that poisons the earth. Pasquale realizes that he doesn't want to work for a company who will kill to stay ahead. And this change in subjectivity is one important, perhaps the most important, element leading to improving our affect on the environment. And while it seems like their individual choices won't make much of a difference, their individual choices as part of a film which millions of people will see will perhaps make a difference, because it will influence subjectivity on a mass-scale. For each person who views <i>Gomorrah</i> and says, "Yeah, I wouldn't work for that guy" the film is making a positive impact on the environment.</div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277254478712719910.post-14697781169445000872009-11-05T13:58:00.000-08:002009-11-09T05:17:44.751-08:00Collaborative Distribution: Music, Literature, FilmIn a few recent chats I've had with Jonathan Rosenbaum while he's been in St. Andrews, we've talked about the difficulty of distributing certain films. This could be the result of the film being 'too experimental,' that the director is not well known, or the way in which the filmmaker tries to distribute the film (independently). Additionally, film festivals often receive so many submissions that preliminary screening is done by an army of volunteers that are not very representative of the festivals themselves (they may have vested interests in certain types of films, little film experience, etc. etc.), so the 'traditional' way of finding an audience for a film is relatively unreliable. So, how do dedicated, but relatively new filmmakers find an audience for their films?<div><br /></div><div>In a talk Jonathan Rosenbaum gave at St. Andrews on cinephilia (he was partly drawing from <a href="http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=14853">this post</a>) he mentioned a 'viewing party,' where he got together with a group of interested people and watched <i>Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War</i>. The event, as he described it, sounded very much like the 'film act' of Third Cinema, where a group of people would get together to watch a political film as a sort of political rally. Solanas and Getino thought that alternative methods of screening such as this would be an effective way to circumvent Hollywood (and dominant political) ideologies - I'm oversimplifying for the sake of a blog post, read <a href="http://revolutionenausdemoff.de/man_solanas.html">here</a> for the real stuff. Regarding the 'film act,' Solanas and Getino say: "We thus discovered a new facet of cinema: the participation of people who, until then, were considered spectators." In this situation, the audience members become actors and filmmakers, or perhaps it is more proper to say that everyone involved becomes a 'participant.'</div><div><br /></div><div>To a certain extent, musicians already follow this model of distribution. Although it would be difficult to reconcile the goals of Third Cinema with the goals of (most) musicians, musicians do still run up against hegemonic forms of distribution similar to Hollywood in its relation to the distribution of films - that is, it is relatively impossible to sell a film or an album through common channels (Border's, etc.) without a media presence. Thus small independent bands do not tour for ticket sales, they tour for exposure in the hopes that they will build a fan base and receive positive press. Even if most bands do not become famous rockstars by touring, they do build a presence that is difficult to extinguish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Filmmakers have yet to really tap into this method of distribution for the most part. It is true that they have their own methods of distribution, notably film festivals for aspiring filmmakers. As noted above, however, the festival market is anything but easy to tap into. Therefore, it is a great deal different than the band that is able to book a small show for 30 or so people. Certain artists have attempted to hybridize their distribution, for example, I know that my friends in <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thebrailletapes">The Braille Tapes</a> often offer novels written by members of the band for sale at their shows. Writers tour as well, in a slightly different sense, offering readings and book signings (although, this is already part of the mainstream method of distribution - so it may not be tenable for relatively unknown authors).</div><div><br /></div><div>I find it somewhat surprising that filmmakers have yet to really validate an operation such as this, because movies are a relatively easy medium to transport outside of mainstream channels of distribution. What I'm proposing here is not that filmmakers contact local theaters to arrange screenings (although this can't hurt either), but that they arrange small screenings in homes or other willing venues for a very small fee (or, by donation). At the event, the filmmakers can present their film, answer questions, and meet interested folks (who are potential small distributors themselves).</div><div><br /></div><div>'Touring' with films in this way would go far in circumventing the problems emerging filmmakers face when trying to market their films. This is not a new phenomenon. As I mentioned briefly above, political Third Cinema filmmakers 'marketed' their films in the same way. Of course, their goal was not to sell their films, but to build a political congregates dedicated to a particular cause. But how different is the goal of the emerging filmmaker? - the goal is still to build a network of relations and support of the filmmakers' art, political or otherwise.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is probable that the myth of Hollywood still cripples such efforts. The myth of succeeding at a film festival and being bought up by a production company, etc. There are limit cases that continue to propagate this myth, but by following it filmmakers are forgetting or leaving behind new potentials for their films. The potential to turn 'audiences' into 'participants' by bringing them an affective experience. Perhaps this is unglamorous, but all the more important for being so - a form of distribution based on hard work and real people, not a transcendental ideal.</div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone can think of films or people that are working this way, please let me know. </div>Matthew Holtmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18067293472876044857noreply@blogger.com5