Lindsey Pfeiffer
GSI Matthew Gonzales
Discussion Section: Friday (2:00-3:00)
26 October 2016
The end of the nineteenth through the beginning of the twentieth century brought exciting new ventures within the realm of technology- specifically in relation to cinema. With the invention of the motion picture camera, the effects of the screen were far-reaching, and people were in awe of the new and exciting technology. Amongst all the hype surrounding the screen came about the advent of Surrealism, and naturally, its cinematic representation that began in the 1920s. While its roots were in Paris, the appeal of the Surrealist movement made its way to the United States, Spain, and Mexico. The guiding principles of the Surrealist movement as a whole were to uncover the “creative potential of the unconscious mind” and to do so through the use and juxtaposition of absurd and aberrant images. Within Surrealist cinema, this translated directly to irrational scenes that lacked an apparent or obvious connection. Because Surrealism took prominence alongside the rise of cinema in general, its creators were fascinated by the art of film, even whilst taking it into a different dimension. The idea of spontaneous and shocking images within film came from the man considered to be the founder of Surrealism, André Breton. When Breton would go to see a film, he would disregard any description of the film as well as the start time, only to walk in at random moments with no prior knowledge of the events leading up to that point. This inspired Surrealist filmmakers like Luis Buñuel to make the focus of their films irrational scenes filled with absurd images, scenes that would cut from one to next without transition.
GSI Matthew Gonzales
Discussion Section: Friday (2:00-3:00)
26 October 2016
The end of the nineteenth through the beginning of the twentieth century brought exciting new ventures within the realm of technology- specifically in relation to cinema. With the invention of the motion picture camera, the effects of the screen were far-reaching, and people were in awe of the new and exciting technology. Amongst all the hype surrounding the screen came about the advent of Surrealism, and naturally, its cinematic representation that began in the 1920s. While its roots were in Paris, the appeal of the Surrealist movement made its way to the United States, Spain, and Mexico. The guiding principles of the Surrealist movement as a whole were to uncover the “creative potential of the unconscious mind” and to do so through the use and juxtaposition of absurd and aberrant images. Within Surrealist cinema, this translated directly to irrational scenes that lacked an apparent or obvious connection. Because Surrealism took prominence alongside the rise of cinema in general, its creators were fascinated by the art of film, even whilst taking it into a different dimension. The idea of spontaneous and shocking images within film came from the man considered to be the founder of Surrealism, André Breton. When Breton would go to see a film, he would disregard any description of the film as well as the start time, only to walk in at random moments with no prior knowledge of the events leading up to that point. This inspired Surrealist filmmakers like Luis Buñuel to make the focus of their films irrational scenes filled with absurd images, scenes that would cut from one to next without transition.
=> Buñuel talking about the process of creating Un Chien Andalou with Salvador Dali.
The three iconic films that came from this venture of
Surrealism were Un Chien Andalou, L'Age d'Or, and The
Seashell and the Clergyman, they
all incorporate some commonalities from the Modernist
movement as well. As seen from the above video, Buñuel and Dali
wrote the entire script for the film in one week, which highlights the
idea of stream of consciousness, one that greatly influenced these
Surrealists. These films were supposed to represent the constant flow of
the mind’s unconscious and subconscious thought, and as we’ve seen in our
class, the Surrealist filmmakers were not the only artists utilizing this free
flow of thoughts and ideas. We saw the literary representation of stream of
consciousness in Stein’s Melanctha and
in Dos Passos’ The 42nd
Parallel, through uninterrupted thoughts that allow what is on the inside
to be revealed to the outside. The Surrealist movement was also influenced by
the Dada Movement and Freudian psychology, with obvious connections between
Freud’s theories of the unconscious mind and Surrealist cinema’s attempt to
project these innermost thoughts on the screen.
Perhaps the aspect of Surrealist cinema most integral to
its definition and goals lies within the struggles and debates surrounding the
use of the term “Surrealist cinema” and the attempt to create a genre of the
art form. While the standard of cinema as a whole is to categorize films,
the direct nature of Surrealism prevents this from happening within its own
films. As Dali himself said, “Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only
what is considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” This, too, corresponds to another guiding principle of the Modernist
movement, that of breaking free from the traditional forms of art and modes of
expression.
Discussion Questions:
1. In what ways did Surrealist cinema shape the landscape of the film industry to the present?
2. To what extent did Surrealist films heighten Modernist principles such as stream of consciousness and nonconformity in ways that literary texts could not?
Works Cited:
Flitterman-Lewis, Sandy.
"Surrealist Cinema: Politics, History, and
the Language of Dreams."American Imago (2004): n. pag. Johns Hopkins University Press. Web.
26 Sept. 2016.
Graubard, Allan. "Surrealism
and Cinema by Michael Richardson. Berg Publishers, New York,
NY, U.S.A., 2006. 240 Pp. Trade, Paper. ISBN: 1-84520-225-2;
1-84520-226-0." Leonardo 40.3 (2007): 303-04. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Moine, Raphaelle, and Pierre
Taminiaux. "From Surrealist Cinema to Surrealism in Cinema:
Does a Surrealist Genre Exist in Film?" Yale French
Studies, No. 109, Surrealism and Its Others (2006), Pp. 98-114 (2006): n.
pag. Yale University Press. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
Ramey, James. "Baroque Buñuel:
The Hidden Culteranismo in Un Chien Andalou." Bulletin of Spanish Studies (2016): n. pag. Taylor and Francis Group.Web. 26
Sept. 2016.
Thank you for your interesting blog post. I never really understood what Surrealism was before now, but I can see how it impacted our Modernist authors. With the emphasis on the conscious and stream of consciousness, it is clear why Gertrude Stein's stories were so abrupt.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you connected the concept of Surrealism with stream of consciousness. Now that I think about it, it only makes sense that the popularization of the stream of consciousness arose with growing trend of the cinema. After all, humans think more in pictures than in text. This is probably why Surrealism had such a resounding role in cinema.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post and found it interesting how surrealism has impacted the realm of cinema and the challenges that it poses in terms of developing a category within film. It's also interesting to see the variations that different art movements cause within film in terms of the expression of experiences.
ReplyDeleteThe closing of this piece really struck me. You call attention to the necessary conflict between two incompatible definitions and it brings out an interesting point, as intended. How can a film that cannot be categorized within its own self fit into any other category? It seems that to be able to be categorized a thing must first be categorized within itself. But, as you mentioned, the nature of the absurd flashing images does not allow it to be confined to a definition or be explained by any method beyond randomness. I like how you mentioned stream of consciousness in film. Never did it seem to me that it could be in cinema, but the way you introduced and explained it made it clear. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning about how Surrealist works of cinema incorporated stream of consciousness techniques into their filming. This is something that I had always associated with literature, particularly the works of Faulkner and Woolfe, but it's interesting to learn about its depiction in film as well. I also found funny Breton's technique of viewing films at random intervals and the ways in which he incorporated that randomness into his own works.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very intriguing how Breton would enter theatres at random times. In a similar way, the 42nd Parallel, took segments of stories out of their linear timeline and created a very disorienting experience. It's strange how whether in film or literature, both genres and their artists were trying to achieve a Surrealist perspective.
ReplyDeleteI find the concept of stream of consciousness to be quite interesting in the sense that one tries to capture what is going on in the subconscious mind. It is especially thought provoking when you try to capture this idea through cinema. It is almost like the stuff that appears in our dreams from time to time and it is worthy to appreciate the Modernist film creators of the era who tried to explore this topic. Thanks for the article!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting detail on early 20th Film. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the parallelism between literature and film for it has always been there, but the stream of consciousness movement is very adaptable and apparent in both forms of art. I think its so interesting how a cultural movement ca quickly become a mass movement not only across an nation, but across continents and globally.
ReplyDelete