Review on Experimentation

Throughout the course of the semester, I have seen many different films on which I was to record my thoughts and opinions. During this time my opinion on the experimental film genre has changed somewhat. Coming into this course I really did not see a point in experimental film as most of it seemed random. I suppose I never thought there would be more meaning in films other than what was placed right in front of you. The idea of intervention is what I found which tied all of the films we watched together. This doesn't have so much to do with the viewer as it does with everything else. Experimentation intervenes on the entire medium of film in a way that changes your way of thinking; true experimental film that is. It could be argued that anything could be considered experimental and I would have to say that is false because putting anything on the screen and calling it an film is still just a bunch of images in my book. However, if the film can change someone's way of seeing something or provide insight into anything at all, it can be called a film and to some degree, experimental. This is why I said that my opinion had changed somewhat. Most films that provide insight on anything have some sort of narrative laced into them, whether they want it or not. Through the pranks, stunts, ulterior motives; there is still something to follow, otherwise it becomes just a mess of random images and not quite a film at all. The difference between narrative and experimentation is what that film adds to its narrative to make it more than just a story.

Chaotic Narratives

There shouldn't even be a discussion on whether or not Duck Soup and The Way Things Go are more than just a series of jokes and stunts. The Way Things Go is a bit less obvious with it, but it is easy to see the story behind Duck Soup. Now, whether or not it was what we the viewer are meant to see is questionable. If we are judging it based on Frampton's idea of what we see the most is what the film is about, then Duck Soup is about the jokes. That is what we see most often and that is what we are most drawn to in the film. The same for The Way Things Go, what we see most is the stunts, so that is what the film would be about. That doesn't mean that there can't also be a story intertwined with the main idea. That is what both of the films do. They have a plot, but it's not what needs to be seen. It may not be there intentionally, maybe the creators never intended for there to be such a story behind a string of gags and stunts. That is more the viewers mind that creates that. It's the action that draws your attention and I think that the fact that it is going somewhere is what keeps it. So while Frampton may say it's all about the gags and stunts, I say that without the story, fabricated by the viewers or not, the films would not work as well as they do.