Response to the Video Manifestos

DOGME95

This truly had the feel of a manifesto. It has a sort of political style about it, but in an angry, rabble rousing, superficial sort of way. "In 1960 enough was enough! The movie was dead
and called for resurrection." Ignoring how Trier and Vinterberg discount nearly four decades of great cinema, one can't help but wonder what took them 35 years to conglomerate and come up with "The Vow of Chastity". Maybe they couldn't work out the logistics. "'DOGME 95 has the expressed goal of countering “certain tendencies” in the cinema today."' Yes, but what are these tendencies? DOGME's identifications of those tendencies are intermittent and obtuse. I don't believe director's goals are to fool the audience, and we certainly don't worship predicability. However, I do appreciate the authenticity that would be brought about by following these rules by filming on location and using sound captured on site.

Lumiere

Movies were once referred to as "moving pictures". The Lumiere style encourages a regression to movie making's beginnings during which films literally were "moving photographs". I appreciate the Lumiere Manifesto's acknowledgement and support of technology (computers and the internet) to share films. I was rather surprised to learn that Louis Lumiere felt cinema was an invention without a future, considering he co-hosted the first public film screening.

Anti-100 Years

I enjoyed Mekas' humorous recount of the history of film. He also makes some valid claims about modern cinema. I agree that in general film today is too commercial to the detriment of cinema's artistic merits. Not surprisingly, I haven't heard of any of the many names of directors he mentions. I think in some way, the internet and sites like YouTube are challenging commercial film. Technology today is such that almost anyone in the developed world can make a film and share it with the world. Now, there is a significant number of avant-garde directors, often vlogers, who have an opportunity to make an impact.