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.