Alternative film and video
E Stoney
8 points * 4 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton * Prerequisite: At least one of VSA1040, VSA1050, VSA2190 or VA103.06
This subject traces the history of experimental cinema and video. Within this history, traditions and theories of aesthetic exploration and political engagement will be discussed in detail. The film movements examined will include dada and surrealist film, the American underground film, structural-materialist film and feminist film practice. Among the films examined will be works of filmmakers including Dali, Bunuel, Deren, Dulac, Anger, Gidal, Warhol, Godard, Akerman and Rainer. While these practices have been discussed historically within debates concerned with oppositional modernist strategies, this subject will proceed towards a reassessment of the concept of the avant-garde in the light of recent postmodern debate. Recent theoretical perspectives suggest a complete redefinition of oppositional form in ways that encompass some of the central forms of the popular cinema. New histories of alternative film which engage with questions of desire, creativity and perception are emerging, providing a significant context for analysis of the cult film, pornographic cinema and queer cinema, as well as film and video practices associated with technological innovation.
Assessment
Essay (2000 words): 33% * Essay (2500 words): 42% * Visual test (1 hour): 25%
Preliminary reading
Bordwell D and Thompson K Film art: An introduction rev. edn, Addison Wesley, 1986
Prescribed texts
Gidal P (ed.) Structural film anthology BFI, 1976
Williams L Figures of desire: A theory and analysis of surrealist film U Calif P, 1981