Sonic Outlaws & Emergency Broadcast Network

The Emergency Broadcast Network (or EBN), immediately shows its audience that it is ready to satirize what is commonly understood as "standardized" television. We've all seen testing occur while watching our televisions, but the "tests" performed by the Emergency Broadcast Network, are of a much different form.

First the EBN attempts to create "multimedia performances" by taking cable television feeds and breaking them down, then editing them to a beat of a song. The audio is broken down into split second clips to create lyrical phrases from numerous different vocalists. wikipedia.com offers an example of this:

For example, the lyric "electronic behavior control system" would be created with a clip of Ross Perot saying "electronic", followed by a clip of George H. W. Bush saying "behavior", then Ted Koppel saying "control", and finally a clip of Bill Clinton saying "system".

The EBN uses this too provide their own commentary on the influence of television on it's audience's lives. The most interesting story of the EBN is explained in Sonic Outlaws. Not long after U2 sued Negativland for their album, U2 started their tour "ZooTV," which has obvious similarities to media remixing and video collages. According to tvtrecords.com, EBN was hired to provide visuals for U2's tour.

Today, EBN still exists, but the make-up of the group has changed and will change in the future. Currently they have a release online at the Eclectic Method website.

Searching for Meaning

As stated in class, sometimes film students, or anyone viewing a film, immediately look for a way to interpret the film for a "meaning." This meaning is usually some sort of not so obvious themes, symbolisms, and metaphors. However, there is no rule that says that all films must be interpreted using the same logic.

After "interpreting" Hollis Framptons lecture on the most basic expression of film, the projector, the class was offered a new way to look at films. Instead of looking for some grand philosophical theme or a metaphor for some political action, we look what is most visually prominent to the viewer. For Frampton's lecture, it was obviously the white 4x3 projection on a screen, but was that really what the film was "about?"

For me, experimental film can be extremely confusing, no matter how much audience members try to hide their confusion. For this reason, the art that is entitled experimental film may both gain and lose some of the original meaning that its creator had intended upon production. Luckily, this new way of interpreting a film offered by Frampton was discussed immediately before watching Gunvor Nelson's "Natural Features." At first this film was overwhelming to me, but I attempted to combine Frampton's method with my own way of interpreting film's. It didn't help much, but it allowed me to think about my understanding of film's in general, which could potentially allow for better understaning of art in my future experiences.

Spiral Jetty & Casting A Glance

While watching Spiral Jetty in a wide-eyed, statuelike stare, I was amazed at the film's mystery and archaic feel. As I watched, I felt as if a new door in the world of experimental film had opened. Although this may sound a bit dramatic, but Smithson's film really spoke to my interests in filmmaking on a level that experimental film hasn't ever before.

Why? I wasn't sure at first, but the beautifully crimson shot in the museum of the old bones reminded me of a personal experience I had as a child. My grandparents would take me to the Milwaukee Public Museum and turn me loose to explore on my own, at a VERY young age. The way I remember the museum from those days is completely different than it is now. I remember being afraid of the odd colored spotlights used in the various exhibits, the large Tyrannosaurus Rex eating a Triceratops with lightning in the background, and the endless amounts of taxidermy on the walls.

Of course, I haven't even reached the subject of Smithson's film, the actual earthwork. But something about the intro to the film makes it seem as if we are taking part in an archaic treasure hunt, using outdated forms of locating a specific point on a map. The shots of the truck ride remind us of a trip to the unknown. On spiraljetty.org, the long list of directions are almost alien to a world of Mapquest and google maps on our iPhones.

Once the audience, which has transformed into a group of archaeologists and treasure hunters, reaches the location of the "jetty," work begins almost immediately. But instead of unearthing the expected, the jetty turn's into a giant question mark. The following helicopter shots daze the audience with its mystery. Of course, the strongest part of the work lies in the face that the "?" remains for as long as the earthwork isn't destroyed.