David Firth is a British animator whose series of animations, "Saladfingers," gained popularity back in 2004 and continues to grow today. He started out working with hand animation, but eventually started to use Flash to make his work. One of his lesser known films: "Socks 4 Socklops" really struck me as interesting in a sort of Postmodern way by the way that it takes fragments of stories and composes them in a manner that does not follow a pursuit of meaning. Take, for instance, the scene involving the French scientist. Everything the scientist creates turns out to be completely useless. I see his character very clearly as a jab at the useless nature of science.
I would like to warn those who are squeemish not to watch this film, as it contains animated violence and gore. Watch at your own risk, please.
Sock 4 Socklops
So, what I would like to hear opinions on this from whoever would like to contribute. Can this work be considered Postmodern, or does it fall under some other sort of category? I think it is a very difficult task to try and pin anything as being Postmodern or not, or maybe that's just me. Anyways, enjoy!
Friday, May 9, 2008
what i'm trying to say is that...there shouldn't be a point.
so, in a way i'd like to talk about all the differences there are in eraserhead between postmodernism and surrealism/modernism, though i could talk about the similarities also. even if this will end up in a jumbled mess probably here goes...
i kept trying to place this movie with surrealism, as much of the class was saying they thought it was surreal, though i couldn't fit it in perfectly to the genre.
the reasons for my opinion are this:
1. there's a plot. even if there were ways for people to get confused about certain things and even the whole meaning or story line, the fact that there was an actual story, that they follow through to the end, is more than most (or any) surrealist films.
2. If we think of any example, Un chien andalou (from 1929)it is said the salvador dali and luis bunuel went into making the story knowing that it couldn't make any sense. It wasn't supposed to. ideas jumped through to different ideas in a matter of minutes. in eraserhead, though the meaning is questionable and lynch doesn't agree with anything anyone has come up with, the story line of the baby and the man who has to take care of this baby because he had sex with a woman (when they weren't even married gasp) and the process of him being left alone by the baby's mother. there are visions of sperm like objects constantly, and the tone of sex is beyond apparent. the lady in the radiator takes a stand against them by squishing them under her feet in rebellion while saying everything will be ok, (in heaven).
there are in fact moments and ideals in this however that are very much based off of surrealist concepts however:
1. the dream sequences. the subconscious plays a huge role in this movie. his dreams of men in a factory turning his head into erasers, his dreams of the baby appearing from his body.
2. the lady in the radiator has a surrealist feel saying that things are ok, but coming from a radiator which is a symbol of henry's desire for suicide.
i think if anything it is obvious that this film is made by someone who knows what he is doing through the decades of arts. he has made a point of this movie to have both surreal subconscious nature and the makings for a really well done postmodern piece.
also...just so monica gets to see how eraserhead and radiohead come together...here you go ma'am.
i kept trying to place this movie with surrealism, as much of the class was saying they thought it was surreal, though i couldn't fit it in perfectly to the genre.
the reasons for my opinion are this:
1. there's a plot. even if there were ways for people to get confused about certain things and even the whole meaning or story line, the fact that there was an actual story, that they follow through to the end, is more than most (or any) surrealist films.
2. If we think of any example, Un chien andalou (from 1929)it is said the salvador dali and luis bunuel went into making the story knowing that it couldn't make any sense. It wasn't supposed to. ideas jumped through to different ideas in a matter of minutes. in eraserhead, though the meaning is questionable and lynch doesn't agree with anything anyone has come up with, the story line of the baby and the man who has to take care of this baby because he had sex with a woman (when they weren't even married gasp) and the process of him being left alone by the baby's mother. there are visions of sperm like objects constantly, and the tone of sex is beyond apparent. the lady in the radiator takes a stand against them by squishing them under her feet in rebellion while saying everything will be ok, (in heaven).
there are in fact moments and ideals in this however that are very much based off of surrealist concepts however:
1. the dream sequences. the subconscious plays a huge role in this movie. his dreams of men in a factory turning his head into erasers, his dreams of the baby appearing from his body.
2. the lady in the radiator has a surrealist feel saying that things are ok, but coming from a radiator which is a symbol of henry's desire for suicide.
i think if anything it is obvious that this film is made by someone who knows what he is doing through the decades of arts. he has made a point of this movie to have both surreal subconscious nature and the makings for a really well done postmodern piece.
also...just so monica gets to see how eraserhead and radiohead come together...here you go ma'am.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
in the panoptic colony
Ever since we read the Foucault, it has got me thinking about Kafka's In the Penal Colony. Now, I know that the whole Postmodern movement started up around the 1970's and that In the Penal Colony was written in 1914, but they seem to really inform one another. I don't think either that the story is all that Postmodern, but more like both Kafka and Foucault were drawing from the same history and text in terms of discipline and punishment.
In the story, none of the characters have names. they are all referred to by their title: the officer, the explorer, and the condemned man. Much like Foucault's body of the king, and body of the condemned man. In the Penal Colony serves to illustrate the old means of discipline.
For those of you who haven't read it--well, you should. It's friggin' Kafka and there are sexy torture devices involved. Full text: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/inthepenalcolony.htm
anyway- an explorer comes to the penal colony to observe and study their system of judgment (Michel?) and is shown by the officer their "machine" with which they are going to execute the "condemned man." The explorer learns that their justice system is not the best (ie: the condemned man doens't know why he is being executed and cannot defend himself) and learns that the machine is meant to carve a phrase into the body of the condemned for 12 hours. At the end of 12 hours, right before he dies, the condemned man comes to"Enlightenment" of what the machine as taught him. The officer complains that no one comes to see the executions anymore and that this new boss wants to shut him down. The explorer says that he cannot endorse this and at this, the officer frees the condemned man and places himself under the machine--which malfunctions and instead of "exquisite torture such as the officer desired" it impales and kills him.
right. so, this seems to be a perfect example of the punishment of the body. They are not concerned with the state of his mind or rehabilitating him. He learns to be just through the mutilation of his body. He learns by "decipher[ing] the script with his wounds." This torture is idolized as a blessing where by though you die you are shown what you cannot see without the pain. The "Enlightenment" is "a moment that might tempt one to get under the Harrow oneself."
And the officer does just this when he realizes that the times of physical torture is over and he subjects himself to his own punishment. He does not gain his enlightenment and is simply killed quickly and violently.
To me, this shows the passing of the era of punishing the body and begins to question the idea of Enlightenment. Seems like our friend Franz was really on the ball in beginning to voice in his own way the basis of Foucault's ideas of punishment. Just wanted to put that out there, since it's been bugging me.
Also, when looking for a full text of the story i came across a "dramatic short film" as it is called of In the Penal Colony. And dramatic it is. I couldn't watch the whole thing, just skipped around but it involves dramatic slow motion chases and falls, classical music, german accents, a "machine" made with a budget of about $40, stiff acting, and very slow goose-stepping. it's good for a laugh, but read the story and don't blame Kafka for this.
In the story, none of the characters have names. they are all referred to by their title: the officer, the explorer, and the condemned man. Much like Foucault's body of the king, and body of the condemned man. In the Penal Colony serves to illustrate the old means of discipline.
For those of you who haven't read it--well, you should. It's friggin' Kafka and there are sexy torture devices involved. Full text: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/inthepenalcolony.htm
anyway- an explorer comes to the penal colony to observe and study their system of judgment (Michel?) and is shown by the officer their "machine" with which they are going to execute the "condemned man." The explorer learns that their justice system is not the best (ie: the condemned man doens't know why he is being executed and cannot defend himself) and learns that the machine is meant to carve a phrase into the body of the condemned for 12 hours. At the end of 12 hours, right before he dies, the condemned man comes to"Enlightenment" of what the machine as taught him. The officer complains that no one comes to see the executions anymore and that this new boss wants to shut him down. The explorer says that he cannot endorse this and at this, the officer frees the condemned man and places himself under the machine--which malfunctions and instead of "exquisite torture such as the officer desired" it impales and kills him.
right. so, this seems to be a perfect example of the punishment of the body. They are not concerned with the state of his mind or rehabilitating him. He learns to be just through the mutilation of his body. He learns by "decipher[ing] the script with his wounds." This torture is idolized as a blessing where by though you die you are shown what you cannot see without the pain. The "Enlightenment" is "a moment that might tempt one to get under the Harrow oneself."
And the officer does just this when he realizes that the times of physical torture is over and he subjects himself to his own punishment. He does not gain his enlightenment and is simply killed quickly and violently.
To me, this shows the passing of the era of punishing the body and begins to question the idea of Enlightenment. Seems like our friend Franz was really on the ball in beginning to voice in his own way the basis of Foucault's ideas of punishment. Just wanted to put that out there, since it's been bugging me.
Also, when looking for a full text of the story i came across a "dramatic short film" as it is called of In the Penal Colony. And dramatic it is. I couldn't watch the whole thing, just skipped around but it involves dramatic slow motion chases and falls, classical music, german accents, a "machine" made with a budget of about $40, stiff acting, and very slow goose-stepping. it's good for a laugh, but read the story and don't blame Kafka for this.
P.S.
I don't think the italics worked on that last post - but don't forget that book titles are italicized and chapters/articles are not.
<3
M
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Bibliographic info
OK, as promised, here are the citations for the class handouts.
The three below come from the following compilation (please include it in the citations):
A Postmodern Reader. Ed.s Joseph Natoli and Linda Hutcheon. Albany: SUNY Press, 1993.
Articles:
Derrida, Jacques. "Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences." 223-242.
Hassan, Ihab. "Toward a Concept of Postmodernism." 273-286.
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. "Excerpts from The Postmodern Condition: A Report On Knowledge." 71-90.
Then here's the Foucault:
The Foucault Reader. Ed. Paul Rabinow. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.
Foucault, Michel. "The Body of the Condemned." 170-178.
"Docile Bodies." 179-187.
"The Means of Correct Training." 188-205.
Please do CORRECT MLA FORMATTING!!
Consult cheat sheet on library homepage if necessary.
The three below come from the following compilation (please include it in the citations):
A Postmodern Reader. Ed.s Joseph Natoli and Linda Hutcheon. Albany: SUNY Press, 1993.
Articles:
Derrida, Jacques. "Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences." 223-242.
Hassan, Ihab. "Toward a Concept of Postmodernism." 273-286.
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. "Excerpts from The Postmodern Condition: A Report On Knowledge." 71-90.
Then here's the Foucault:
The Foucault Reader. Ed. Paul Rabinow. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.
Foucault, Michel. "The Body of the Condemned." 170-178.
"Docile Bodies." 179-187.
"The Means of Correct Training." 188-205.
Please do CORRECT MLA FORMATTING!!
Consult cheat sheet on library homepage if necessary.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Noticed a few things in the movie
A few things that caught my eye, or mind, whatever. I haven't thought them all through yet to their ends seeing as how we still have to watch the rest of the film.
1. We see Henry walking by a building that looks similar to the efficient housing of modernism. Perhaps there is some meaning about walking away from the unfeeling architecture. Maybe it is just another scene of a dude walking around.
2. Henry also heads into a tunnel/under a bridge (I'm not sure what it was) that looked like a large square tunnel/underpass thing. Not to say that architecture can't be square or boxlike unless it is influenced by modernism. Having the scene after the building that looked like housing left me trying to pull some connection. As does most of the film.
3. The lingering idea of neglect seems to pop up a lot. The man pulling levers seems very determined and harsh when pulling. They let out squeals that could be fixed with a bit of oil perhaps but it seems unlikely that they will be cared for. The mail slots or shelving unit that holds papers like mail slots appears dusty and covered in cobwebs. The older woman who does not move (grandmother?) seems neglected. Mary, the husband, the pups and of course "Spike." I guess it is just fine to leave the baby alone especially when it is sick.
4. Thinking of the baby as a product of Mary and Henry, I was trying to come up with what it would mean if the baby is not fully formed or is disfigured. It seems easy to jump to the idea that neither Henry nor Mary are fully formed individuals and any mixing of the two would not equal a whole. Like two people having the genes for some disorder would probably pass that on to any offspring. (I know it depends on the genes and the disorder) Or even thinking about it with mental illness. Having one mentally ill parent can have an influence on the child and two mentally ill parents makes it an even greater possibility that the child will also be mentally ill. I'm not saying that Mary and Henry are mentally ill. I'm not even going to try to go there with them.
So, yeah. That is all right now. These are clearly just a few things I had thought of. Nothing concrete.
Oh, something neat, I thought. Because of the darkness of the television and the darkness of the movie, some parts made it so the action was hidden and all I could see was the reflection of all of us watching the film. Sort of a cheesy "in the dark we find ourselves" kind of thing. It also tied to the idea of being kept in the dark, for me. I thought it was fun and kind of cool for something that wasn't intentional.
1. We see Henry walking by a building that looks similar to the efficient housing of modernism. Perhaps there is some meaning about walking away from the unfeeling architecture. Maybe it is just another scene of a dude walking around.
2. Henry also heads into a tunnel/under a bridge (I'm not sure what it was) that looked like a large square tunnel/underpass thing. Not to say that architecture can't be square or boxlike unless it is influenced by modernism. Having the scene after the building that looked like housing left me trying to pull some connection. As does most of the film.
3. The lingering idea of neglect seems to pop up a lot. The man pulling levers seems very determined and harsh when pulling. They let out squeals that could be fixed with a bit of oil perhaps but it seems unlikely that they will be cared for. The mail slots or shelving unit that holds papers like mail slots appears dusty and covered in cobwebs. The older woman who does not move (grandmother?) seems neglected. Mary, the husband, the pups and of course "Spike." I guess it is just fine to leave the baby alone especially when it is sick.
4. Thinking of the baby as a product of Mary and Henry, I was trying to come up with what it would mean if the baby is not fully formed or is disfigured. It seems easy to jump to the idea that neither Henry nor Mary are fully formed individuals and any mixing of the two would not equal a whole. Like two people having the genes for some disorder would probably pass that on to any offspring. (I know it depends on the genes and the disorder) Or even thinking about it with mental illness. Having one mentally ill parent can have an influence on the child and two mentally ill parents makes it an even greater possibility that the child will also be mentally ill. I'm not saying that Mary and Henry are mentally ill. I'm not even going to try to go there with them.
So, yeah. That is all right now. These are clearly just a few things I had thought of. Nothing concrete.
Oh, something neat, I thought. Because of the darkness of the television and the darkness of the movie, some parts made it so the action was hidden and all I could see was the reflection of all of us watching the film. Sort of a cheesy "in the dark we find ourselves" kind of thing. It also tied to the idea of being kept in the dark, for me. I thought it was fun and kind of cool for something that wasn't intentional.
Monday, May 5, 2008
latest blog tally
OK, here's what I have:
Maggie - 9 (done since some were extra long)
Ryan - 8 (just do one more, since a couple were really long)
Laura - 8
Jeff - 4
Davyn - 2
Kelsey - 10 (done)
Erica - 1
Ben - 10 (done)
Julian - 0
Matt - 6
Rachel - 9
Marie - 11 (done)
Kristen - 5
Jess - 7
The blog will be closed for business at the end of the day on Sunday, May 11.
Also - on Monday, May 12, at 1 PM, you will be expected to present for seven minutes on your final paper. You may read from it or talk about it or show something or perform... whatever.
I will post bibliographic info for all the handouts I gave you soon (here).
Maggie - 9 (done since some were extra long)
Ryan - 8 (just do one more, since a couple were really long)
Laura - 8
Jeff - 4
Davyn - 2
Kelsey - 10 (done)
Erica - 1
Ben - 10 (done)
Julian - 0
Matt - 6
Rachel - 9
Marie - 11 (done)
Kristen - 5
Jess - 7
The blog will be closed for business at the end of the day on Sunday, May 11.
Also - on Monday, May 12, at 1 PM, you will be expected to present for seven minutes on your final paper. You may read from it or talk about it or show something or perform... whatever.
I will post bibliographic info for all the handouts I gave you soon (here).
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