From: Tony Conrad (email suppressed)
Date: Mon Jan 18 2010 - 20:40:13 PST
Please stop!
This is not a sensible topic.
"Overload" originates in 1) electronics and 2) mechanics or law, and the usages
in these two areas already contradict one another. An electrical circuit can be
said to include a "load", and if it's "overloaded" it draws too much power and
burns up. But senses can't meaningfully be "overloaded" in this way, since there
is no power drain associated with the viewer and the film is certainly not going
to burn up.
A mechanical system may on the other hand be overloaded if the strain on it is
too great and the system snaps. Also, in legal terms a vehicle, for instance, may
be over loaded with people or personal possessions: a condition defined by its
potential for an accident (arising directly or indirectly from the condition),
which is prevented by the police.
"Sensory overload" is a metaphorical invocation of the viewer's sensory pathways
as circuits (not as mechanical systems or pickup trucks), but the metaphor only
works if the term is also understood as implying some kind of excessive strain
toward a breaking limit, or as tempting accidental and incidental damage -- with
an implicit sense of illegality.
This sort of stew -- a confusion of semi-contradictory but in each sense somehow
vivid metaphorical relationships -- is what makes trashy criticism exciting. But
don't try to extract a coherent critical category out of this mess. If you do,
the latent contradictions rapidly infect your discourse, and we get what has
happened here: an "overloaded" discussion of a term that is itself "overloaded,"
where "sensory" overload has turned to "sense" overload.
--------t0ny
On Mon 01/18/10 5:45 PM , Myron Ort email suppressed sent:
> In 1968, the era of psychedelic light shows at concerts, the
> popularity of underground cinemas showing all kinds of unusual
> experimental films , concerts by John Cage et al, "happenings"
> etc , given that context "Cut Ups" doesn't seem that far out to me in
> the "overload" sense, however, it is a very good film, perhaps even
> a pioneering film, and one that I certainly would have been excited
> about in 1968 (as I am now), since some us were clamoring for that
> kind of thing back then. So I take it, we are maybe searching for a
> "term" which might describe such a narratively "non
> linear" approach and this is what you (and others?) are designating "sensory
> overload"? Would there not be several other alternatives terms?
> "Overload" has this "I can't take it --too much man! my
> head will explode!" connotation which, I guess, Is what I am objecting to. Cut
> Ups, through an approach to montage (collage) breaks up (disjoints)
> otherwise "figurative/narrative/continuous" type recognizable
> shots and reassembles them with a type of "musicality" instead. Its a
> musical! An experimental film "musical". Is that the term we
> are looking for? ha ha ha. smiley face, etc.
>
> Myron Ort
>
>
> On Jan 18, 2010, at 1:11 PM, Jack Sargeant wrote:
>
> > I'm pretty sure Cut-Ups is on Ubuweb or
> Youtube.>
> > OK, by sensory overload in this instance I mean
> that the film uses > image and sound in such a way as to break any
> notion of coherence, > so that, watching it, the audience are compelled
> to experience the > film rather than just understand it or follow
> it. It resists the > normal sensory satisfactions associated with
> film, both the > experiences of hearing and watching are
> transformed, the > combination of linguistic permutations in the
> narration and the (on > first viewing) apparently random images means
> that the audience > have to 'go with the film' and experience
> something utterly > unfamiliar.
> >
> > As I said the notion of overload would be
> personal, I have no > problem with Cut-Ups but grew up in an MTV
> riddled world, however > for somebody watching the film in '68 the
> experience was probably > utterly different.
> >
> > Jack
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 19 Jan 2010, at 07:17, Myron Ort
> wrote:>
> >> I was hoping for a "theoretical"
> definition of "sensory overload" >> rather than another example of a film or
> whatever that I cannot >> easily access. Even watching 77 minutes of
> Sistiaga's handpainted >> @ sound speed with overloud live punk
> music, I wasn't really >> thinking "sensory overload", just
> "unpleasant experience". Even >> multiple screen performances don't seem like
> "sensory overload" to >> me, but just what they are supposed to be.
> I was hoping for a >> definition of "sensory overload"
> that wouldn't need to include >> "handpainted" films almost by
> definition. In other words, once I >> accepted the hand painted film, or films
> where every frame is >> really (or really really) different it seems
> there can no longer >> be anything called "sensory
> overload". By "handpainted" I mean >> the one's where there is not so much
> figurative continuous action >> between frames like animation or clearly
> comprehensible >> anthropomorphic dancing blobs etc. As
> someone who digs >> "experimental filmmaking" and
> phenomena of nature, (pre and post >> psychedelic) I am not sure there is such a
> thing as "sensory >> overload".
> >>
> >> Myron Ort
> >>
> >>
> >> On Jan 17, 2010, at 4:14 PM, Jack Sargeant
> wrote:>>
> >>> Although outside the period of the
> original question perhaps >>> Balch & Burroughs' The Cut Ups could
> be considered an example of >>> sensory overload.
> >>> But, of course the very notion of
> overload would be a personal >>> experience.
> >>>
> >>> Jack
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 5 Dec 2009, at 04:04, Myron Ort
> wrote:>>>
> >>>> Now that I think of it, I don't
> think I have ever experienced >>>> anything I would call "sensory
> overload" as pertaining to a film >>>> experience. Could someone define
> this genre for me. What are >>>> the characteristics?
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks.
> >>>>
> >>>> Myron Ort
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Dec 3, 2009, at 4:05 PM, Mark
> Toscano wrote:>>>>
> >>>>> Howdy all -
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I've been working out a possible
> program (or two) of films that >>>>> demonstrate the idea of
> "sensory overload", and although I have >>>>> a bunch of titles in mind
> already, I'd love to get more >>>>> suggestions, especially of work
> from the past 10-15 years or >>>>> so. Shorts are preferable, as
> it's meant to be a diverse, >>>>> mixed program of numerous
> artists from different eras.>>>>>
> >>>>> thanks much for any suggestions
> ->>>>>
> >>>>> Mark T
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> __________________________________________________________________>>>>> For
info on FrameWorks, contact
> Pip Chodorov at om>.>>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> __________________________________________________________________>>>> For info
on FrameWorks, contact Pip
> Chodorov at om>.>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> __________________________________________________________________>>> For info
on FrameWorks, contact Pip
> Chodorov at om>.>>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> __________________________________________________________________>> For info
on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov
> at om>.>
> >
> >
> __________________________________________________________________> For info on
FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> om>.>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at om>.
>
>
>
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.