Requirements:
● 10-15 page paper
● 2 or more films or videos and compare and contrast
● Must derive from or address the history of experimental film and video discussed in the
class
● At least 2 scholarly sources from the class readings and 2 from other sources. In total 4.
● Compare and Contrast by:
+ Subject of landscape,
+ Formal strategies,
+ Argue the possible aesthetic or political intentions behind them and the effects
that they have on the viewer
Grading Rubric:
● Analyzes key sequences, close attention to detail
● Compares and contrasts specific elements of the works
● Relates the film’s formal properties to the theoretical and historical arguments discussed
in the course: legacies of European modernism in the U.S. and avantgarde and and
against commercial cinema
● Engages with required texts and other research materials
● PROOFREAD!
Paper Outline:
● Title: Should reflect the theme and the argument of the paper, suggested to be done in
the end
● Abstract: Should be 13 sentence and should succinctly state the argument of the paper
● Thesis: Shouldn’t be broad and supports the relevant details from the films and texts
● Proper Citation: Chicago Manual Style or MLA
Experimental Film and Media: Sites and Spaces
Spring 2016
Compare and Contrast Essay
Topic: How Maya Daren’s Meshes in the Afternoon Influenced David Lynch’s latests Works
Relate?
Things to keep in mind:
> Relate to the woman depicted, gender. Compare and contrast “women” depicted in Daren’s
movie and also Lynch’s movies the woman depicted on both from a different perspective. How
does gender play? How the women are similar and different from each other.
> Touch upon avant gardecinema in the 40s. How it evolved. Experimental Cinema vs
Commercial meaning Hollywood Cinema. How Lynch was able to grab the elements from
commercial cinema to the Hollywood screens?
> Pay close attention to the “hyper signification” of the objects. What do these objects signify?
> Pay attention to the city that these films were made. Los Angeles? How the city landscape in
the movies relate to each other.
> Talk about the use of body in the space.
> Use of cinema language. Montage, placement of camera, lights, mise en scene, cuts… etc.
Preliminary Research
WEB
1 On Maya Daren: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/greatdirectors/deren2/
http://www.enotes.com/topics/mayaderen
2 On David Lynch:
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/12/howdoyoudefinelynchianexplorationdavidlynchscinematic
style
3 On Meshes of the Afternoon:
4 http://www.academia.edu/6817442/Images_and_themes_in_Meshes_of_the_Afternoon
http://366weirdmovies.com/119meshesoftheafternoon1943/
5 On Lost Highway: http://366weirdmovies.com/losthighway1997/
6 On David Lynch and Maya Daren: http://theartifice.com/davidlynchmayaderen/
7 http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/mayaderensmagicallabyrinths
8
VIDEO:
https://www.fandor.com/keyframe/videohowdavidlynchmesheswithmayaderen
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES
See Week 4 readings.
1 Deren, Maya. “Amateur Versus Professional.” Film Culture
2 MacDonald, Shana. “Carolee Schneemann’s Fuses as Erotic SelfPortraiture”
3 Michelson, Annette. “Film and The Radical Aspiration”
BOOKS
1 David Lynch by Dennis Lim
2 Lynch on Lynch interview book
3https://books.google.com/books?id=GOGYEfa16MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=maya+d
eren&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB2sSA983MAhWFrB4KHUymCZE4ChDoAQhAMAc#v=
onepage&q=maya%20deren&f=false