Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject focuses on the history of experimental cinema. 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. Films explored in the subject may include works by the following filmmakers: 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%