Reading Respose 2 (Part 2)

Sitney, “Major Mythopoeia”

6. Why does Sitney argue, “It was Brakhage, of all the major American avant-garde filmmakers, who first embraced the formal directives and verbal aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism.”

He says that the major avant-garde filmmakers such as Markopoulos, Anger, and Broughton resisted (Markopoulos, Anger until the late sixties) changing. Brakhage was probably the first.

7. What archetypes are significant motifs in Dog Star Man, and which writers in what movement are associated with these four states of existence?

1. Innocence- child and youth imagery
2. Experience- sexual foiling and consummation
3. Damned- The opposite of 1
4. Liberation- the coming to terms and desired end result of 2


Sitney, "The Potted Psalm"
[This is an addition to the syllabus. After reading the introductory paragraphs, focus on the discussions of The Cage and Entr'acte (p. 47-54 and The Lead Shoes (p. 68-70).]

8. According to Sitney, what stylistic techniques are used to mark perspective and subjectivity in The Cage, and why is this an important development in the American avant-garde film?

They use a lens distorting technique called anamorphosis. From the description and not having seen the film it appears to be the switching of perspective between anamorphic and regular lens perception. This was done in the U2 video “Mysterious Ways” It influenced other filmmakers to this technique.

9. For Sitney, what are the key similarities and differences between Entr'acte and The Cage?

The differences are the shift in comedic timing, the similarities between the two are the plot development, “the chase”, and its camera tricks.