The Specter of Collective Organization in No-Budget Cinema: Contemporary Case Studies from Olympia to Staunton
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The Specter of Collective Organization in No-Budget Cinema: Contemporary Case Studies from Olympia to Staunton A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University by Brandon C. Niezgoda in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2017 ii © Copyright 2017 Brandon C. Niezgoda. All Rights Reserved. iii Dedications This dissertation is dedicated to my family, loving girlfriend, friends, advisors, colleagues, and, principally, to the embattled filmmakers that gave me their time and consideration. iv Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ viii Prologue .............................................................................................................................10 I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................12 Purpose and Significance of the Problem ......................................................................14 Research Questions ........................................................................................................16 Defining Key Terms .......................................................................................................17 Independent filmmaking. ............................................................................................18 Success and sustainability. .........................................................................................19 II. Relevant Literature ........................................................................................................22 Production Studies..........................................................................................................22 Amateur Filmmaking .....................................................................................................25 History of amateur filmmaking. .................................................................................25 Definitions of amateur filmmaking. ...........................................................................26 Digital technology and contemporary amateur filmmaking. ......................................28 Organizational Communication .....................................................................................31 Collaboration as ultimately positive. ..........................................................................33 Collaboration as unnerving. ........................................................................................35 Neoliberalism .................................................................................................................40 Cultural work under neoliberalism. ............................................................................42 The specter of collectivism under neoliberalism. .......................................................43 Failure.............................................................................................................................48 Failure and diffusion. ..................................................................................................48 Psychology of failure. .................................................................................................49 The paradox of failure. ...............................................................................................51 Failure and policy. ......................................................................................................53 III. Theoretical Overview ...................................................................................................54 Actor Network Theory. ..................................................................................................55 Auteur Theory ................................................................................................................60 IV. Methodology ................................................................................................................62 Historical Analysis .........................................................................................................62 Case Studies ...................................................................................................................63 Informal interviews. ....................................................................................................64 Participant observation. ..............................................................................................65 V. History: The Diffusion of the Collective Filmmaking Mode .......................................66 Hollywood Production and the Deactivation/Subordination of a Collective Model .....66 Pre-1908 collaborative model. ....................................................................................66 Producer model. ..........................................................................................................67 Auteurism. ..................................................................................................................72 v Tentpole Films, runaway production, and state tax incentives. ..................................76 U.S. Filmmaking Modes Alternative to Hollywood ......................................................77 Poverty row.................................................................................................................78 Little cinemas. ............................................................................................................78 New poverty row. .......................................................................................................79 Independent producers of the Sundance era. ..............................................................80 Exploitation films (1980-2000). .................................................................................84 U.S. community activist media (1980-2000). .............................................................87 Trial and Failure of Collective Modes within Avant-Garde Movements and Actor- Networks. .......................................................................................................................91 Soviet montage filmmakers. .......................................................................................92 DaDa and Surrealism. ...............................................................................................100 US postwar avant-garde: Cinema 16 and filmmakers co-op. ...................................105 French New Wave. ...................................................................................................116 New German Cinema ...............................................................................................131 European Auteurs Struggle with Collective Filmmaking Structure throughout their Careers ..........................................................................................................................145 Rosselini. ..................................................................................................................147 Fellini. .......................................................................................................................149 Antonioni ..................................................................................................................151 Pasolini. ....................................................................................................................153 Interstitial Struggles to Build a Filmic History Based on Collectivity ........................153 Eastern Europe. .........................................................................................................153 England Workshop Movement. ................................................................................155 Asia. ..........................................................................................................................162 Third Cinema and South America. ...........................................................................165 Africa. .......................................................................................................................171 Middle Eastern Cinema. ...........................................................................................176 Pragmatics of the Collective Mode (2000-Present): ....................................................180 International and interstitial collective production in contemporary society ...........184 Contemporary collaboration in the United States.....................................................190 Investigating Active and Inactive Contemporary No-Budget Collectives ......................192 Case Study One: The Collars Up Collective ................................................................193 Case Study Two: The Mad Hatter Collective ..............................................................199 Case Study Three: The Film Crush Collective.............................................................206 Case Study Four: Watchword Film Collective ............................................................211 Case Study Five: Shooting Wall Collective .................................................................218 Case Study Six: Ladder Productions Collective ..........................................................224