Homework #3

Sitney, “Apocalypses and Picaresques”

2. Why does Sitney argue that synechdoche plays a major role in Christopher Maclaine’s The End, and how does the film anticipate later achievements by Brakhage and the mythopoeic form?
I am having trouble grasping the concept of 'synecdoche'. I would appreciate it if you could clarify this concept in class.

3. What are some similarities and differences between the apocalyptic visions of Christopher Maclaine and Bruce Conner?
Maclaine and Conner both make use of metaphors and apocalyptic thematics. Conner is a little bit more creative in achieving these themes by using burlesque ironies (i.e. comedy/violence) to get his point across.

4. Why are the films of Ron Rice (The Flower Thief) and Robert Nelson (The Great Blondino) examples of Beat sensibility and what Sitney calls the picaresque form?
Both films seem to focus on a young protagonist who is alienated by society. Each film uses absurdity to convey these points as well.

Bruce Jenkins, “Fluxfilms in Three False Starts.”

5. How and why were the “anti-art” Fluxfilms reactions against the avant-garde films of Stan Brakhage and Kenneth Anger. [Hint: Think about Fluxus in relation to earlier anti-art such as Dada, and Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain."]
To me, I feel like fluxfilms are very similar approach to the Dada movement. Just as Dada tried to mock certain archetypes and a seriousness of art, fluxfilms tried doing the same.

6. What does Jenkins mean by the democratization of production in the Fluxfilms?

Film didn't have to be obsessed over frame-by-frame like Brakhage. Instead, they could produce film in much bigger quantities and much faster rates.

7. Why does Jenkins argue that Nam June Paik’s Zen for Film “fixed the material and aesthetic terms for the production of subsequent Fluxfilms”? How does it use the materials of the cinema? What kind of aesthetic experience does it offer?

It offers a different experience each time because it shows that all you need is a little bit of clear leader and some random particles of dust and/or scratches in order to create a film. It allows the viewer to create their own story.