Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The State of Media Making
Based on what I've gathered from the journal Senses of Cinema, film making today continues to evolve as an art form where people from all different backgrounds, professions and interests can offer their unique interpretations about the world we live in.
Journal Entry #2
http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/lynch.html
In Thomas Caldwell's essay "The Evil That Men Do" he tries to examine what the overall theme seems to be in most of David Lynch's film work. The esteemed director was once asked what this exact theme was in his paintings and films and he replied that instead of being interested in global issues, he was concerned with what happens in the surrounding small communities because "home is a place where things can go wrong." Although Caldwell briefly notes that Lynch himself had an unstable childhood because of moving around a lot, the author of this essay quickly moves away from this point and rightfully focuses on the films themselves.
"Eraserhead" is somewhat of an exception as it was Lynch's first major feature and therefore, quite personal given the time it was made. The film reflects Lynch's disgust for the industrial/violent climate of Philadelphia as portrayed by the decaying setting the story takes place in. We also see his anxieties of becoming a father manifested in the deformed baby monster. "Blue Velvet" is an examination of a patriarchal society and its violent underbelly. "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive" deal with characters who create illusions to escape from the reality they cannot bear, like Fred creating the character of Pete Dayton to avoid the realization he has killed his wife in LH or Diane's misguided interpretation of events in MD that eventually leads to her killing her female lover.
Caldwell goes on to summarize the article and Lynch by stating that "...Lynch's films are tragedies about the overwhelming tendency for people to condemn themselves to a world of darkness and confusion, by succumbing to violence and the desire to control others." I guess the only thing I can offer as to how I personally relate to Lynch's films is that even though I may not exactly understand what is going on in his films, the stories, tone and atmosphere he portrays is very identifiable to things I've experienced in my own life. I've felt the disgust of industrialization and anxiety of parenthood like in "Eraserhead." The late-night debauchery in "Blue Velvet" is something I've seen firsthand while growing up in small Mid-Western college towns; drinking, drugs, sex and violence. And perhaps my own misgivings in these areas have led me to create a false reality or rationalization like the characters in "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive." All I know is that the surreal symbolism and other techniques used by David Lynch in his films have shown to be something that I can identify with and that to me makes Lynch and his work relevant.
In Thomas Caldwell's essay "The Evil That Men Do" he tries to examine what the overall theme seems to be in most of David Lynch's film work. The esteemed director was once asked what this exact theme was in his paintings and films and he replied that instead of being interested in global issues, he was concerned with what happens in the surrounding small communities because "home is a place where things can go wrong." Although Caldwell briefly notes that Lynch himself had an unstable childhood because of moving around a lot, the author of this essay quickly moves away from this point and rightfully focuses on the films themselves.
"Eraserhead" is somewhat of an exception as it was Lynch's first major feature and therefore, quite personal given the time it was made. The film reflects Lynch's disgust for the industrial/violent climate of Philadelphia as portrayed by the decaying setting the story takes place in. We also see his anxieties of becoming a father manifested in the deformed baby monster. "Blue Velvet" is an examination of a patriarchal society and its violent underbelly. "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive" deal with characters who create illusions to escape from the reality they cannot bear, like Fred creating the character of Pete Dayton to avoid the realization he has killed his wife in LH or Diane's misguided interpretation of events in MD that eventually leads to her killing her female lover.
Caldwell goes on to summarize the article and Lynch by stating that "...Lynch's films are tragedies about the overwhelming tendency for people to condemn themselves to a world of darkness and confusion, by succumbing to violence and the desire to control others." I guess the only thing I can offer as to how I personally relate to Lynch's films is that even though I may not exactly understand what is going on in his films, the stories, tone and atmosphere he portrays is very identifiable to things I've experienced in my own life. I've felt the disgust of industrialization and anxiety of parenthood like in "Eraserhead." The late-night debauchery in "Blue Velvet" is something I've seen firsthand while growing up in small Mid-Western college towns; drinking, drugs, sex and violence. And perhaps my own misgivings in these areas have led me to create a false reality or rationalization like the characters in "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive." All I know is that the surreal symbolism and other techniques used by David Lynch in his films have shown to be something that I can identify with and that to me makes Lynch and his work relevant.
Listen up!
I'd like to examine two pieces from the program, Break in the Chain of Light, and they are "Brilliant Noise" and "Observando el Cielo" Both share the same quality, that Aaron Ximm describes as atmosphere, in that they both have a celestial/sci-fi vibe that examines outer space and all its mysterious treasures. They both incorporate the use of radio recordings, white noise and instruments like the guitar/piano to convey an atmosphere of chaotic frenzy and majestic splendor at the same time. Both also translate the physical/non-physical manifestations of their subjects into audio representations. Ximm called this "the way things sound like objects, people, animals, plants, places, spaces and events of the world ". In "Brilliant Noise" the intensity of the sun's brightness, energetic particles and solar wind are directly translated into audio representation and manipulation; we are essentially hearing what the sun looks like. And in "Observando el Cielo" natural VLF radio recordings of the magnetosphere allow the universe above to have its own voice and essence. However, even though these two pieces share these qualities, I felt that they had one major difference between them and that is the use of silence.
Kubrick took a lot of guff for "2001: A Space Odyssey," and his use of silence in the majority of the exterior space scenes (The Simpson's parody is a funny example). But it was an effective technique and not only because of its realistic portrayal of space. It gave it that isolated feeling that one must surely experience in space and shares that quality of majestic awe that works when there is sound. The absence of sound is a direct manifestation of the unknown abyss that is outer space. In "Brilliant Noise," I wonder what the film would have been like if we were given moments of silence while watching the sun and its chaotic physicality but the white noise and instrumentation never let up. "Observando el Cielo" does incorporate silence with its images but is poetically used with shots taken from the perspective of Earth looking up into the heavens while shots closer to celestial happenings are filled with the psychedelic ambiance discussed earlier. So does the use of silence have an important effect on the film? I think both pieces do function as entertaining studies of outer space so I guess it depends on your perspective of the subject as art. But the difference is there nonetheless.
Kubrick took a lot of guff for "2001: A Space Odyssey," and his use of silence in the majority of the exterior space scenes (The Simpson's parody is a funny example). But it was an effective technique and not only because of its realistic portrayal of space. It gave it that isolated feeling that one must surely experience in space and shares that quality of majestic awe that works when there is sound. The absence of sound is a direct manifestation of the unknown abyss that is outer space. In "Brilliant Noise," I wonder what the film would have been like if we were given moments of silence while watching the sun and its chaotic physicality but the white noise and instrumentation never let up. "Observando el Cielo" does incorporate silence with its images but is poetically used with shots taken from the perspective of Earth looking up into the heavens while shots closer to celestial happenings are filled with the psychedelic ambiance discussed earlier. So does the use of silence have an important effect on the film? I think both pieces do function as entertaining studies of outer space so I guess it depends on your perspective of the subject as art. But the difference is there nonetheless.
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