weeks one and two

#1
Jonas Mekas believes that a pervasive and powerful spirit is the common thread between the New American Cinema and the French New Wave, British Free, and Young Polish cinema of to[yester]day. Beyond that, he notes three qualities in particular that these four groups of cinema share. The first is an aversion of "authority." Be it the people with the money in their pockets, the demands of the masses, or anything elsewise, there is a recognition that true art cannot be made when confined by the restraints of the formal cinema. The second is being committed to the here and the now. Taking what you know (experience) and using it to CREATE a piece of ART that is RELATABLE to this PRESENT EXISTENCE. The third one is choosing informality and spontaneity (you've got to live on impulses and let things fly!) over choosing to abide by the "norm," (i.e. script, cast, set, block, light, rehearse, shoot, etc...) Mekas proposes that only by exposing yourself and becoming "naked" and vulnerable can you achieve the kind of art that deserves to be created. Because it is free. And real. And truthful. And it can't not be good, because it is what cinema is (was/should be/can be) all about.

"Film experimentation has degenerated into 'making experimental films'."
"It proves that we can make our films now and by ourselves."




#2
What IS wrong with Hollywood? It's dead. And the things that tried to save it were actually the things that eventually killed it.

Ok... that's a bit dramatic. But, John Cassavetes proposes something to that effect in "Whats Wrong With Hollywood" (1959). Cassavetes says that Hollywood has suffered a loss of originality and a lack of individual expression, due to an adherence to the norm, largely driven by money money money (which, as we all know, somehow gained the power to kill almost anything). There is a Hollywood formula for success, which may make you successful in one or two realms ($ and fame), but not in most others that matter (truth, connection, and art).
So, what do you do and how does one fix it? Cassavetes says that only through a return to "individual creative expression" in the truest sense, meaning an awareness of oneself (the artist) in relation to the art can the craft survive. As Mekas says, "[Hollywood films] are make with money, cameras, and splicers, instead of with enthusiasm, passion, and imagination."

"...to compromise an idea is to soften it, to make an excuse for it and to betray it.... And the cost of the compromise is the betrayal of basic beliefs."



(*sorry all of my second response wasn't up before class started. I had no internet connection at my house, and an error message on my blogger login page saying this blog had been blocked due to violation of terms of service...??)