From: Freya (email suppressed)
Date: Mon Dec 04 2006 - 13:49:49 PST
Actually Saul,
I was really enjoying the other thread! :)
I was really cheered up no end to see so many of us
discussing the political issues! I guess because for
me experimental film is a political act. The work of
Stan Brakhage was political because it was the total
atithesis of Hollywood narrative cinema for example.
Lately I have become very disillusioned with the world
of experimental film, not because of the death of
film, not because of the tiny audiences but because I
truly feel the whole space has been severely co-opted.
I'm probably causing myself trouble by saying this,
but the whole view of experimental film and video as
being a branch of art.
People are now no longer interested in it as a
political act but for other reasons. Perhaps they want
to be involved for some kind of intangible reason to
do with being cool, and impressing their friends, or
sometimes it's bizzarely issues of money and their art
career, no matter how small.
I was very, very shocked to meet people in the world
of experimental film and video with quite right wing
political viewpoints. Yes they are into experimental
film today but they are really looking forward to the
new Borat movie.
At one point when mentioning that I didn't agree with
their veiwpoints on minorities I was bizzarely accused
of being politically correct! Er yeah! and then some!
I mean surely politically correct is what right
wingers accuse mild liberals of to make them feel bad
about their slightly left wing viewpoints. It's not
the kind of thing you would say to Karl Marx for
example.
So shocked that not only were we not on the same page,
we weren't even reading from the same book!
The upside for us filmakers is it means we are no
longer preaching to the converted! Yay!
The downside is that we are surrounded by the enemy.
Basically, the world of experimental film and video,
no longer exists as an alternative space but as an
extension to the world of art. It means the work we
make can be automatically co-opted. In order to work
in this space we have to make works that are overtly
political or risk them just being seen as beautiful
artworks or just really cool films. I'm not sure how
much I like either option.
As a result of all this I've been reconsidering my
involvment in making film and video work. I've thought
about giving it up altogether, or perhaps being
involved in a different way?
However reading the messages here on the list has
cheered me up greatly. I'm soooo glad that I stayed on
this list and I'm looking forward to the future no
matter what form my involvement takes then.
Thankyou to you all! Hit them with some beautiful and
political films. Make them think for a change. Keep
doing your wonderful thing and keep talking here about
politics and the other things you want to express.
Communication is good!
Positive.
As for this thread...
I was just interested in the idea of a boycott of
artists. It's like a boycott of ideas. How can you
miss them unless you already had them and if you
already had them how do you get rid of them.
Surely you will never miss an idea you never had,
although the world may certainly be the poorer for it!
and yes I'm afraid I do agree that the personal is
very much political too. I've certainly been in at
least one situation where I've sat in a room full of
flag waving anarchists while someone made highly
prejudiced and hateful remarks about certain
minorities of whom there were two or 3 such people in
the room! One so called radical even joined in the
hate speak with their friend. So much silence from so
many supposedly political people.
Later they will tell you how they admire you for the
bravery to speak up. :(
It seems to me that it's very easy to stand in a crowd
and wave flags and shout with your mates, but it's
very hard when it's real life and you have to face up
to the realities of the bad and hateful people who
exist in your personal life.
Then it's a lot easier to keep quiet and not rock the
boat.
love
Freya
--- saul ostrow <email suppressed> wrote:
> as always one reduces issues of politics to the
> personal
> whatever happened to the idea of political vision
> and savvy among
> intellectuals - I guess it went away with identity
> politics and the
> slogan the personal is the political
> On Dec 4, 2006, at 12:21 PM, Freya wrote:
>
> > I know it's really far from the thread we were
> > originally on, but I'm interested in this idea of
> > boycotting artists.
> >
> > The question I have to ask is, would anybody
> notice?
> > :)
> >
> > Someone told me a story of how some artist friends
> of
> > theirs went on a strike for a whole year! Suffice
> to
> > say the government didn't collapse! ;)
> >
> > Heres another question, if there was a total
> boycott
> > or ban on Experimental film, would anybody really
> > notice???!
> >
> > Apart from my lovely friends on this list of
> course!
> > ;)
> >
> > love
> >
> > Freya
> >
> > --- saul ostrow <email suppressed> wrote:
> >
> >> I wish that someone would call a boycott against
> >> artists from the
> >> States -- it would show our gov't and our
> audiences
> >> that business
> >> (culture) can not go on as usual when as policy
> our
> >> government
> >> continues to openly engage in, support and is
> >> complicit in crimes
> >> against humanity. Yes a boycott against US artist
> >> (in the broadest
> >> sense) is a good idea
> >> Saul
> >> On Dec 4, 2006, at 8:41 AM, Yoel Meranda wrote:
> >>
> >>> A "cultural boycott" sounds ridiculous to me.
> >>>
> >>> Who are you trying to punish? Israeli artists?
> >>>
> >>> How would the Americans feel if the world
> >> boycotted all their art
> >>> because of their country's policies. So ban all
> >> American art, with no
> >>> discrimination, whether it is universal, whether
> >> it preaches humanism,
> >>> respect towards the other, or criticizes its
> >> government?
> >>>
> >>> How is this going to help your cause? Punish the
> >> artists who are
> >>> usually the ones who fight most against the
> >> oppression, the
> >>> xenophobia, the wars?
> >>>
> >>> So US artists should be boycotted? Sudanese
> >> artists should be
> >>> boycotted? Afghan artists should have been
> >> boycotted during Taliban?
> >>> China, who tortures thousands of people, should
> be
> >> boycotted? Russia,
> >>> too? Or do you think Israel is the only country
> in
> >> the world who has
> >>> crimes against humanity?
> >>>
> >>> This is ridiculous...
> >>>
> >>> How is it that the artists and scientists (of
> all
> >> people) choose to
> >>> boycott artist and scientists (of all people).
> >>>
> >>> Multicultural dialogue is the only solution...
> if
> >> there is any...
> >>>
> >>> Amos Gitai is one of my favorite filmmakers
> alive,
> >> his films are very
> >>> critical of the Israeli government's policies
> and
> >> he tries to
> >>> understand the narrative of both sides,
> especially
> >> the Palestinians.
> >>> But according to some, the world should hear no
> >> more of what he has to
> >>> say...
> >>>
> >>> Arbitary "borders" should have no influence on
> who
> >> we choose to read,
> >>> listen, watch...
> >>>
> >>> yoel
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >
>
__________________________________________________________________
> >>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> >> <email suppressed>.
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> >>> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> >>> believed to be clean.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
>
__________________________________________________________________
> >> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> >> <email suppressed>.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
______________________________________________________________________
>
> > ______________
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> rates.
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> >
> >
> >
>
__________________________________________________________________
> > For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
> >
> > --
> > This message has been scanned for viruses and
> > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> > believed to be clean.
>
>
>
__________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
>
____________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________
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