Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which mainstream spectators bring to their mainstream film-going. [35]

Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which mainstream spectators bring to their mainstream film-going. [35]
How do experimental  films differ from mainstream?

Experimental films are often easier to understand than mainstream films as there is a lot to discuss and the topics vary much more. In 1929 Luis Bunuel created 'Un Chien Andalou' in which surrealist themes ran wild. I found this film to be disturbing and I started to wonder where ideas, such as the armpit on the mouth, even came from. It seems like a film that reflects social context such as post war drama and religion. One of the male characters actually drags two priests on the ground which can be seen as people dragging religion on the ground because they lost belief in the war. It appears to be a film about escapism and exploring Freud's theory of the unconscious mind and how dreams make no sense. There is clearly an identifiable message within the film whereas compared to Mission Impossible which is aesthetically pleasing but not worth anything more than the typical 'fighting for your life' storyline.

 In films such as Kenneth Anger's 1947 film 'Fireworks' there is much deeper interpretations going on such as illegal homoeroticism. 'It's a dream within a dream. He goes to bed less empty than before'. It was incredibly influential on queer cinema such as mainstream Oscar winner 'Brokeback Mountain'. Through the mise-en-scene, there are flashes of light. Maybe to symbolise that finding his homosexuality is finding the light, and therefore himself. It's violent imagery is a lot more controversial and high brow than a 'popcorn' film. Similar shots are used in 1999 cult film 'Fight Club'. I thought that it was respectively daring but didn't entertain me, it was very realistic as some men do get beaten up for their sexuality. So in this way I think it was making a powerful statement, as this was still a time where homosexuality was classed as a disease in medical books. For a 17 year old, it inspired much more artistic viewings outside The L Word and Queer As Folk.