Film and Reflexivity

[LARSSON at vax1.mankato.msus.edu]

Ethan writes:
"I particularly enjoyed this closing section of the novel (although I agree
that it is difficult to read) because it is an example of a style that I
think is difficult to find in many mediums, especially film, where
experimentation I think is at a minimum.  This style (for lack of a better
word) is characterized by art that comments, or is about itself.  In other
words, because the character's world (Slothrop's) is falling apart, so does
the novel.  I think film, an obviously fake version of reality, desperately
needs directors who comment on their own work or medium within the medium."


That "lack of experimentation" in film is true enough in mainstream terms,
but to suggest that film is unique is like saying that the novel lacks
experimentation (which again is true in mainstream terms).  There's a long
and rich tradition of self-reflexive filmmaking, and indeed the very essence
of the "classical Hollywood style" has been to work against or minimize the
potentially disruptive elements of looking at a series of images projected
as 2-dimensional images on a screen.

There's a discussion group on self-reflexive film--MOVIES-SEIVOM--if you
are interested.  To join, contact

barbara at kinexis.com


Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)