[Frameworks] abstraction and politics

[Chuck Kleinhans]

On Oct 8, 2013, at 11:26 AM, Steve Polta wrote:


Seeking the Monkey King by Ken Jacobs is entirely abstract visually but uses textual intertitles to specifically comment on capitalism, the current economy, the Occupy movement, etc.


I agree this is a particularly apt example.

While not quite so visually abstract, for some earlier theoretical discussions of the political aspects of (relatively) abstract (or minimalist) film, you could look at Peter Gidal's edited collection of essays on what he called Structural/Material film (most polemically in his own films and writings; the others discussed are sort of roped in, IMHO).  And preceding that, Noel Burch's book, Theory of Film Practice, has lots of interesting insights into work emerging especially in the 1960s, reading both politics and form in challenging ways.


Chuck Kleinhans
chuckkle at northwestern.edu<mailto:chuckkle at northwestern.edu>



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