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.