[Frameworks] FUTURE OF FILM (was Letter to other Filmmaker Artists)

[marilyn brakhage]

Obsessed, yes.  And without judging the reasonableness of this one way  
or the other, I know that HE probably would have added that it was not  
a "choice" at all; that if he had not followed the dictates of "his  
muse," he would not have been able to hold himself together and remain  
sane at all.  And then, so the argument goes, he would have been of no  
use to anyone.  Take it as you will.

Marilyn Brakhage


On 20-Jul-10, at 11:35 PM, Steve Polta wrote:

> Perhaps not in Brakhage's case.
>
> Brakhage was clearly obsessed with and committed to creating work at  
> a level I dare say no one involved in the present conversation  
> likely is. The narrative/heroic myth of Brakhage (which is somewhat  
> enacted in DOG STAR MAN and other of his films from that period) is  
> that of a man who chose to dedicate a large portion of his time and  
> financial resources toward personal filmmaking to a degree few  
> involved in this discussion have, of putting himself and his family  
> (five children—from his first marriage—if I'm not mistaken) through  
> notable privation and sacrifice for his art. The Brakhage narrative  
> is rife with stories of him working delivering pizza, of him  
> choosing to buy filmmaking equipment with money allotted for  
> groceries for his family , etc. How many adult men and women with  
> children on this list (for example) are making similar choices?  I  
> also dare say that DOG STAR MAN—to continue Sam's example—is an  
> achievement the likes of which few involved in the present  
> discussion have yet to attain. Yes, I know it was made at a certain  
> time in history when cultural conditions were different, that  
> personal/avant-garde filmmaking had different meanings, blah blah  
> blah.
>
> In any case, my comment about leisure time was specifically  
> addressed to the conversation at hand and was meant to refer to the  
> conditions of many (not all) contemporary filmmakers. It is clear  
> that historical conditions were different, in many ways.
>
> Steve Polta
>
> --- On Tue, 7/20/10, Matt Helme <dcinema2134 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: Matt Helme <dcinema2134 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] FUTURE OF FILM (was Letter to other  
> Filmmaker Artists)
> To: "Experimental Film Discussion List" <frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com 
> >
> Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 7:03 PM
>
> yes.
> Matt
>
>
> From: Sam Wells <silverfilm at gmail.com>
> To: Experimental Film Discussion List <frameworks at jonasmekasfilms.com>
> Sent: Tue, July 20, 2010 8:42:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Frameworks] FUTURE OF FILM (was Letter to other  
> Filmmaker Artists)
>
>
> "I mean, what are most of us talking about other than the free use  
> of our leisure time? "
>
> WTF ?????????????
>
> DOG STAR MAN was free use of leisure time ?????
>
> -Sam
>
>
> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
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