The first thing that I'd like to write about is the shock and amazement generated at seeing your first film. I can't think of the first movie I saw. I think this is because we show movies to babies and toddlers before they are really making memories. I do remember being fascinated by going to the movies, but I cannot imagine being my age and seeing a movie for the first time.
Mayakovsky says that theatre as an art was created by cinema--"until we came along, theatre and cinema, in as far as they were independent, only duplicated life."
Based on my experiences with stage productions, movies, and plays from the past, i disagree. It is an artform to see an actor act on stage. It is distinct from acting in movies(which can also be an artform). The dialogue and written word in plays is also art. Mayakovsky seems to disregard this. I wonder if he also thought that novels, essays, or poetry were also not forms of art. Art is not only seen in visuals but also in words that convey meaning or beauty. Andreyev, in his essay, said that word is a weakness of cinema. I disagree in this matter as well for the same reasons as I disagree with Mayakovsky. It is narrowminded to think you cannot find art in the written or spoken word. It is also incorrect to assume that the spoken word is not distinct on stage than it is in a movie.
"the word is its weakness rather than its strength. the word will merely drive cinema from its unique articstic path and direct it towards the well-trodden, well-rutted and well-worn path of theatre."
1 comment:
You're right about it being very hard for us to imagine what it would be like to see our very first movie as an adult--which is one of the reasons I find Gorky's article extremely valuable. And it's particularly interesting to see that his initial reaction is somewhat ambivalent--he acknowledges the wonder of film but also doesn't hesitate to lay out what he considers to be its limitations.
Mayakovsky's words are highly polemical--I think it's pretty safe to say that his articles here are part of a longstanding dispute between two different schools of acting: that of Konstantin Stanislavsky vs. that of Vsevolod Meyerhold (that latter of which Mayakovsky firmly adhered to). When you have a chance sometime over the next few days, I strongly suggest you glance through the wikipedia articles for Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. They are both much more of theatrical rather than cinematic importance, but they're two very important figures to be aware of and (from what you've written in your blog so far) I think you'd find them of interest.
As for Andreyev's words--I think we'll be in an interesting position later this week (when we make the transition from silent to sound films) to evaluate the pros and cons of adding the spoken word to film.
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