VM100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Citizen Kane, Yellow Journalism, Un Chien Andalou
1 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
VM100
Semester #1 Lecture 12
Professor Michael Selig
The Avant-Garde
Two types of film- Social criticism, explorations in subjectivity
-Explorations in subconscious- ‘personal films’
Dada “means nothing”- Short lived, primarily in France, group of artists embracing anything that
is non-naturalistic
-Art often ambiguous, shocking and making social conventions
DADA and Entr’acte (1924)- Rene Clair
-Films often frustrating to spectators
-Reliant on form rather than narrative
Surrealism and the French Avant-Garde
-One of many modernist movements in the arts in early 1900s
-Lack of contracts in Dadaism while surrealism has specific doctrines
-Late teens through 1920s
Andre Breton- Artistic interpretation of Freud (subconscious, id, ego)
-Breton believed art should represent the subconscious
-Id, ego, superego, conflict between them brought on by ideas, moral concepts, stimuli
Subconscious= What is repressed by the ego
“Sublimate” into art…
“(Surrealism is about) stimulating subconscious mind its limitless store of fantastic and
dreamlike images”
Key —> Ways of representing the subjective vs. naturalism
-How do you leave a film feeling like it was a dream?
-How do you represent subjectivity of surreality?
-Non-naturalistic imagery (often in naturalistic conception of space)
Un Chien Andalou or “An Andalusian Dog” (1929)
-Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali
-Most well known surrealist film of the time
-Break with conventions of naturalistic mise-en-scene (like paintings)
-Creating incongruous relations of space and time
Orsen Welles
“Wunderkind”
1936- Federal Theater Project and an All-black “MacBeth” that Welles stages
1937- Mercury Theater Founded
1938- Radio- voice of The Shadow for MBC, contract from CBS: Mercury Theater on the Air-
broadcasts plays
-“War of the Worlds” broadcast
October 1938- Broadcast news format
Document Summary
Two types of lm- social criticism, explorations in subjectivity. Dada means nothing - short lived, primarily in france, group of artists embracing anything that is non-naturalistic. Art often ambiguous, shocking and making social conventions. One of many modernist movements in the arts in early 1900s. Lack of contracts in dadaism while surrealism has speci c doctrines. Andre breton- artistic interpretation of freud (subconscious, id, ego) Id, ego, superego, con ict between them brought on by ideas, moral concepts, stimuli. (surrealism is about) stimulating subconscious mind its limitless store of fantastic and dreamlike images . Key > ways of representing the subjective vs. naturalism. Non-naturalistic imagery (often in naturalistic conception of space) Un chien andalou or an andalusian dog (1929) Most well known surrealist lm of the time. Break with conventions of naturalistic mise-en-scene (like paintings) 1936- federal theater project and an all-black macbeth that welles stages.
