As a part of my film theory class, I have to post a response to one of my classmates blogs. Her blog can be found at http://kt-watches.tumblr.com/ if you’re interested in seeing her writing. My response is as follows:
Your insights that you have provided in your blog are very informative and, also, very personal. Reading your blog felt a lot like reading your own journal dedicated to Avant-Garde film, which is in my eyes a good thing because it allowed me to experience your reactions to these films which were oftentimes odd and confusing. I especially liked when you inserted quotes by the filmmakers to help us understand these complex pieces of work, for example when you quoted Peter Greenway in his post about Intervals, you really showed me a perspective on his piece I probably would not have gathered myself! Your personal insights were profound as well, especially with interpreting “Blue,” “Scar Tissue,” and “Tails” to name a few. I like how you related Scar Tissue to the separation of the genders and the feminist plight. Really, I could not have related to that since I’ve never walked around in high heels. Your post about Tails gave me the chills, so much so that I’m going to quote it: “THERE’S SOMETHING SAD ABOUT THE FILM TOO, BECAUSE THESE FILM TAILS WERE CUT FROM SOMETHING ELSE, AND THEY GOT TO FINALLY BE SEEN WHEN THIS WAS MADE, OR ELSE THEY’D JUST BE FORGOTTEN MOMENTS IN TIME CAPTURED ON CELLULOID.”
Really profound. One tip I think I could give you to help your film theorizing in the future would be to not take the “effects” at face value and how simple and complex they are, but rather to look at why those effects were implemented and what the filmmaker was aiming to express with those effects. For example, in your interpretation of David Rokeby’s “Watch,” while you made a great point about how the effects were simple and any computer could achieve them in post, you missed the powerful and profound social commentary embedded in the piece. Or maybe you didn’t, but your post certainly gives that impression. Same goes for your interpretation of Science Friction. There are much more to these films than having fun with special effects to make something that looks cool., they are pieces inspired by emotions and sentiments of their times.
Besides that, I think you are an excellent writer. You have a wonderful way of expressing your feelings regarding these works and I understand how hard that can be to do. Keep on writing!
The Truth Within... 