[Frameworks] Experimental Documentary

[Jason Halprin]

quoting Marilyn Brakhage


"Perhaps Christopher needs to tell us more about the intended purpose  
of his class:  a history of formal inventiveness in non-narrative  
filmmaking?  Unusual personal approaches to the the presentation of  
some perceived aspects of "reality"?  Self-reflexive documentaries  
that are honest, also, about their subjectivity?   Or simply any  
strong individual works of a non-fiction sort.   . . . But presumably  
he is using the words, or "names," "experimental" and "documentary" to  
define SOMETHING that he is trying to construct a course around."


I would second this! I've just been able to catch up to this thread, and the 
whole time I am thinking about the numerous conversations I have had with 
students about whether something is "Documentary," or "Experimental," or 
"avant-garde," or even an "experimental Documentary" vs. 
"Experimental-Documentary." 


I by no means anti-genre, I think it can be a useful idea for both the audience 
and the artist. If a course is being taught that offers students a definition of 
what it is for a film to be an Experimenal-Documentary (and it seems many of us 
have our own definition...supported or not, correct or not...if that's even 
possible), and then provides them with the opportunity to view films that don't 
quite fit the definition, IMO that would be best. Through that sort of endeavor 
an engaged student would be forced to define the genre themselves, and have to 
deal with the messy task of cataloging the world into neat bundles.

On of the things that continually excites me about media art is that a common 
lexicon of expression exists throughout most works. but makers can construct a 
message that is unintelligible by changing the structure and syntax. Clear 
boundary lines do not exist between Narrative, Documentary, and Experimental 
film. And teaching that to young artists should be a primary goal!

-Jason Halprin


      
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