Godard and Counter-Cinema

This week I read Peter Wollen's article on Jean-Luc Godard and his Counter-Cinema that he has practically created himself. Wollen talks about each of the seven values that Godard has showcased in the films he has made. By reading more about these seven techniques, I have learned a great deal more about experimental film-making and have been inspired to try out some of these techniques.

1) Narrative Transitivity v. Narrative Intransitivity

• Narrative Transitivity is the usual narrative that many people are used to. Wollen discusses how Godard broke this process very early on. He tells how in one of his films, he showed a series of random images throughout to represent the ups and downs of everyday life. This definitely relates back to my vision for my video since I want to create moments like this as well. My video will show many shots of different situations and imagery that can relate back to certain emotions, ultimately giving the images new meaning.

2) Identification v. Estrangement

•  In this technique Godard would go against the normal emotional and close relation to characters that most movies create. The article says that sometimes he would not match the voice to a specific character, or would have the characters directly address the audience. By doing this he is going outside of the norm and using the characters as a completely different tool. While the characters that will be shown in my video will be unidentified throughout, this is definitely another interesting tactic to play around with in the future.

3) Transperency v. Foreground

• Thirdly, Godard also showed the process of the film actually being made in one of his movies. This had never really happened up until Godard did it, but when he did he created another game-changer. By showing the film-making process in one of his films, he ultimately changed the whole meaning of the film just within that sequence. Not only did he show this, but during this sequence he scratched the surface of the actual film, creating an interesting visual effect. Techniques and effects like this will definitely be a huge part of my capstone video. 

4) Single Diegesis v. Multiple Diegesis

• Typically in films we always see characters that a part of the same world within the film. Yet again Godard goes outside the norm in his movies by creating series of characters who all come from different worlds, and speak different languages. In my video, the characters will be unidentified, leaving their backgrounds and locations a mystery throughout, leaving the interpretation up to the audience. 

5) Closure v. Aperture

• Many of the images that we see in film that evoke our emotions are normally a self-contained object that could mean something to a specific character in the film. Godard used many different styles in his films to create meaning in certain images such as open-endedness, overspill, and allusion. While I will be using lots of different kinds of abstract imagery, all of the scenes that I create will help evoke that emotional reaction that I am trying to help the audience receive. 

6) Pleasure v. Unpleasure

• While filmmakers are normally always trying to get a good reaction from their audience, it does not always happen. Wollen goes into more detail about how Godard's films were not received well by some simply because of some of the harsh and explicit imagery that he used. Sometimes when trying to convey a message, more explicit imagery can really enhance certain points trying to be made. Unfortunately, this can turn off certain audience members based on the fact that some do not want to view explicit imagery. 

7) Fiction v. Reality

• In today's cinema fiction is normally the cookie cutter style of film-making, since that what normally attracts bigger audiences. Godard wanted to convey images of "real life" to create different representations and emulate them to audiences. This style will be extremely prominent in my video, since I want to capture as many natural moments that occur in everyday life. I want to steer away from acting for this project simply to give the footage the most natural feel possible.