DOCSLIB.ORG

Cashbaugh-Dissertation-2016

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cashbaugh-Dissertation-2016 Copyright by Sean Francis Cashbaugh 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Sean Francis Cashbaugh Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: A Cultural History Beneath the Left: Politics, Art, and the Emergence of the Underground During the Cold War Committee: Randolph Lewis, Supervisor Brian A. Bremen John Hartigan Steven D. Hoelscher Donna Kornhaber Julia Mickenberg A Cultural History Beneath the Left: Politics, Art, and the Emergence of the Underground During the Cold War by Sean Francis Cashbaugh, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2016 Dedication To Cait, Tuli, and whoever comes next. Acknowledgements Rapper Kool A.D. (otherwise known as Victor Vasquez) inadvertently but aptly summarized the experience of writing a dissertation when he said, “I suck very much sometimes and other times I think, ‘Yo, I’m the f---ing man.’” Thankfully, I have had a large community of scholars, teachers, mentors, friends, and family that have made the latter far more frequent than the former as I completed this project. They have reassured me in the face of complex intellectual questions, asinine bureaucracies, the tedium of research, cross-country moves, and everything else one confronts as a late-twenty- something building a life and career while writing what is essentially the rough draft of a book that is far too long. First and foremost, I need to thank Randolph Lewis, the chair of my dissertation committee. I have been working with Randy since I was a second year Masters student, when I emailed him based on a hunch that he would make a good first reader on a Masters Report about weirdo science fiction fans and communism in the 1930s. In the nearly seven years since, he has been an invaluable mentor and friend, the very model of a teacher and scholar, the sort I hope to be. He offered invaluable feedback at every stage of the dissertation writing process and enthusiastically supported its more bizarre turns. His sense of humor and intellectual sensibilities mirror my own, and I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to work with him during my time in graduate school. v I have worked with Julia Mickenberg ever since I came to UT in the fall of 2008. She was actually the first member of the faculty I ever spoke with – she took the time to meet with a naïve recent college graduate to discuss the world of graduate school. It was a great introduction to academia. Her enthusiasm for the labors of scholarship has been an inspiration, and her work has consistently served as a model for my own. Her feedback throughout the dissertation process was vital to my thinking. She has consistently gone above and beyond to support my academic work and professional goals. I am proud to have worked with her. The remaining members of dissertation committee have been invaluable teachers and mentors. Steven Hoelscher, John Hartigan, Brian Bremen, and Donna Kornhaber have all offered tremendous amounts of support and advice. Their comments during the prospectus meeting and during the dissertation defense were insightful and generative. Their collective enthusiasm for this project inspired me to work my hardest throughout the dissertation writing process. I am deeply appreciative of the fact that they took the time to work with me. This work is better for it. The entire faculty of the American Studies department has created an amazing intellectual community and I am grateful to have been a part of it. I would have washed out of grad school quite early if not for the guidance of the department’s amazing staff. Thanks to Ella Schwartz, Rachel Rutter, Chad Crawford, Stephanie Kaufman, and Valeri Nichols-Keller for making sure this department actually exists and for helping me navigate it, as well as the university as a whole, without getting lost. I also need to thank a few undergraduate professors who set me on this path. Many thanks to Timothy vi Barnard, Colleen Kennedy, Charles McGovern, and the rest of the faculty in the departments of English and American Studies at the College of William and Mary. This work would not exist without the careful attention and labors of librarians and archivists across the country. The staff at Perry-Castañeda Library is incredible. The Interlibrary Services Department and whoever decided to introduce the flatbed scanners on the first floor saved me on more than one occasion. Many thanks to the staff at the Harry Ransom Center, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, the New York Public Library, and Archives and Special Collections at Columbia University. The Dodd Research Center awarded me a Rose and Sigmund Strochlitz Travel Grant to conduct research at their institution, and I deeply appreciate their enthusiasm for this project. I have said it before and I will say it again, there are none better than my comrades in graduate school. When I first came to UT, American Studies graduate students welcomed me with open arms. They have taught me as much, if not more, than faculty members at the University. Over the course of my eight years here, I have made countless friends that have sustained me when the stresses of work seemed insurmountable. They have expressed and enacted solidarity when misguided and self- serving administrators made decisions that impeded our ability to do our work. Most importantly, they have joined me in many nights of revelry at Hole in the Wall and other fine Austin establishments. Many of them have graduated and moved on, while others are just beginning their intellectual and academic journeys. I am grateful to them all. I would like to list everybody here, but this dissertation is long enough as it is. A few specific vii shout-outs, however, are necessary. I have forged a friendship with John Cline that is unmatched. Our late night conversations have shaped my intellectual sensibilities as much as any academic seminar. Brendan Gaughen is a BAMF of epic proportions and I cannot state that loudly enough. Carly Kocurek is one of the sharpest people I know and has always been eager to help out whenever possible. Some of my best memories involve hanging out with Andy Jones, and I promise I will make it to Cleveland soon. Susan Quesal and I entered grad school at the same time and I deeply value our conversations over the years. Late night arguments with Andrew Busch are the pinnacle of intellectual debate. Sherri Sheu’s unbridled enthusiasm for almost everything inspires me to do the same. Hopping between my office and the one next door to grab something from Littlefield’s with Kirsten Ronald made sparsely attended office hours enjoyable. Anne Gessler has offered perceptive advice time and time again. Tracy Wuster was and always will be the wise sage of departmental lore. Shout out to Carrie Andersen, Philis Barragan, Marvin Bendele, Gavin Benke, Jose Centeno-Melendez, Eric Covey, Dave Croke, Stephanie Kolberg, Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, Irene Garza, Amanda Gray, Andi Gustavson, David Juarez, Julie Kantor, Kerry Knerr, Josh Kopin, Katie Feo Kelly, Lily Laux, Robert Oxford, Emily Roehl, and Eddie Whitewolf. Every member of The Machine in the Garden is an MVP in my book. An amazing circle of friends outside graduate school came through for me time and time again, even when thousands of miles separated us. Many thanks to Bayley Butler, Brian Chiglinsky, Robyn Davies, Caitie Davis, Noelle Spiel Gaughen, Jessica Heselschwerdt, Matt Mascolo, Ed Melendez, Ismael Rivera, Kirstan Ryan, Santosh viii Sateesh, Renee Searfoss, Anand Sharma, Robert “Hurricane” Thompson, Emily Weber, Lindsay Weber, and Fernando Valle. Over the years, Jack and Kim Weber have helped out in myriad ways and I am very grateful. Thank you Based God. My family has supported me in innumerable ways. My parents, Kim and Elaine Cashbaugh, have encouraged me at every step in this process. Even when they seemed baffled by my life as a would-be scholar, they have always listened attentively and encouraged my academic pursuits, always lending a hand whenever it was needed. The same should be said of my brother, Justin. Throughout the years, he has been an invaluable and often hilarious intellectual sparring partner. One person deserves more thanks than most: Caitlin Elizabeth Weber. She has been the center of my life since before I started graduate school and has been there every step of the way. I began thinking of the ideas contained herein shortly before I proposed to her. I defended my prospectus shortly before we wed. The writing of this project from beginning to end accompanied the first few years of our marriage. She has patiently listened to me talk endlessly about underground culture and graciously tolerated some weird movies. She has proofread countless pages and never failed to point out every moment I left out words like “the.” When it got really difficult, she looked me in the eye and assured me that not only would I finish, but I would do so amazingly. I love her and her love has made all of this possible. ix A Cultural History Beneath the Left: Politics, Art, and the Emergence of the Underground During the Cold War Sean Francis Cashbaugh, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2016 Supervisor: Randolph Lewis When critics use “underground” to describe cultural matters today, its meaning is clear: it describes something obscure, transgressive, and opposed to the “mainstream.” This is a relatively recent understanding of the term.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Manchester's Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange
    Article for Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Manchester’s Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange Richard Brook, Manchester School of Architecture Martin Dodge, Department of Geography, University of Manchester Introduction Deep under the heart of Manchester city centre lies a large network of reinforced concrete tunnels known as the Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange (GUTE). It is an ageing relic from the beginning of the Cold War era, built with some degree of secrecy in the mid 1950s, but it still operates silently and largely unmanned as an infrastructural space facilitating the communications of those above. Surprisingly little information regarding the GUTE is readily accessible and the subterranean nature of the structure itself acts to entomb the reality of its shape and scale. A lack of concrete information has allowed facts to be supplanted by myths, fostering numerous (mis)perceptions of the same intangible space. The GUTE was conceived during a time of escalating international tensions in the early 1950s as a ‘hardened’ bunker to protect vital national communication links in the event of an atomic bomb attack upon Manchester. However, this defining characteristic of subterranean defence was never achieved because, even before construction was complete in 1958, advances in nuclear weapons yield and the accuracy of intercontinental ballistic missiles meant the tunnel design would be ineffective for protection of the telecommunications machinery and personnel working within. The bombproof tunnels
    [Show full text]
  • 2018–2019 Annual Report the Center for the Humanities
    The Center for the Humanities for The Center The Center for the Humanities The Center for the The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 5th Ave., Room 5103 New York, NY 10016 Humanities 2018-2019 2018–2019 Annual Report 2 3 4 Letter from the Director 6 Letter from the Staff 11 Student Engagement 29 Faculty Engagement 51 Public Engagement 75 Statistics 80 About the Center Front cover: Rachel Mazique presents at "Publishing American Sign Language Poetry," 2018. Participants at "Listening with Radical Empathy," 2018. Top: Hawwaa Ibrahim presents the keynote at the Y.E.S. Youth Summit, 2018. for the Humanities Bottom: Installation view of Ellen Rothenberg, "ISO 6346: ineluctable immigrant," 2019. 4 5 Letter from the Director The Center for the Humanities has been serving its various constit- uencies for a quarter century, and to commemorate our milestone year, we have chosen to arrange this annual report by celebrating the people we work with, demonstrating the variety of ways we collaborate with researchers—from individual students, faculty members, and visitors to community groups and global organizations. Over the last academic year, the Center for the Humanities has concentrated its energies on initiating, developing, and promoting sustained bodies of research over time. These discrete projects comprise an increasing part of our work. Moving away from delivering one-off events and conferences and toward supporting integrated multidisciplinary research, the Center has initiated collaborations with an increasingly diverse range of partner organizations across the city and internationally. Where core themes constructively overlap, we look to amplify such Director Keith Wilson in conversation with Harry Blain, Jacob Clary, Eileen Clancy, Christian Lewis, Dilara O’Neil, and artist crossover with bold public programming, as well as organize events that Mariam Ghani at screening of Dis-Ease, 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • A Conservation Focused Inventory of Subterranean Invertebrates of the Southwest Illinois Karst
    Julian J. Lewis, Philip Moss, Diane Tecic, and Matthew E. Nelson - A conservation focused inventory of subterranean invertebrates of the southwest Illinois Karst. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 65, n. 1, p. 9-21. A CONSERVATION FOCUSED INVENTORY OF SUBTERRANEAN INVERTEBRATES OF THE SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS KARST JULIAN J. LEWIS J. Lewis and Associates, Biological Consulting, 217 W. Carter Avenue, Clarksville, IN 47129 USA PHILIP MOSS Ozark Underground Laboratory, 1572 Aley Lane, Protem, MO 65733 USA DIANE TECIC Natural Heritage Regional Administrator, 4521 Alton Commerce Parkwary, Alton, IL 62025 USA MATTHEW E. NELSON formerly The Nature Conservancy; current 7401 Placer Run, Fort Wayne, IN 46815 USA In 1998-1999 The Nature Conservancy conducted a bioinventory of caves in Monroe and St. Clair coun- ties in southwestern Illinois. This karst area comprises a small section of the Ozark Plateau isolated from the Missouri Ozarks by the Mississippi River. In the 71 sites that were sampled, 41 species thought to be globally rare were found and were assigned state (S) and global (G) ranks of rarity for conservation use. The list includes 10 species considered to be new to science and 12 species previously unreported from Illinois. Twenty four taxa were classified as obligate subterranean species, including four endemic species: the pseudoscorpion Mundochthonius cavernicolus, the amphipod Gammarus acherondytes, the milliped Chaetaspis sp. (undescribed), and the dipluran Eumesocampa sp. (undescribed). Gammarus acherondytes, recently listed as an endangered species, was found in six previously unsampled caves. All sites were rank-ordered according to the number of global and state rare species. The greatest single site diversity was found in Fogelpole Cave with 18 global and 20 state rare species.
    [Show full text]
  • Adzahlie-Mensah, Vincent.Pdf
    A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details i BEING ‘NOBODIES’: SCHOOL REGIMES AND STUDENT IDENTITIES IN GHANA VINCENT ADZAHLIE-MENSAH DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX NOVEMBER, 2013 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My adviser, Prof. Mairead Dunne, provided invaluable support to me in the course of this research. She took interest in my academic, economic and social needs. Prof. Mario Novelli provided critical comments that shaped my thinking and theorisation. He is more than a friend, a present help in the time of need. Dr. Barbara Crossouard deserves special mention for her guidance as PhD Convenor. My PhD colleagues and staff of the Centre for International Education have been a source of great support throughout the period of my studies. I cannot forget the invaluable support that the families of Rebecca Webb and Rachel Thompson provided me in some of my most difficult moments. Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) provided sponsorship to support my studies through the staff development programme of the University of Education, Winneba.
    [Show full text]
  • BTC Catalog 172.Pdf
    Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc. ~ Catalog 172 ~ First Books & Before 112 Nicholson Rd., Gloucester City NJ 08030 ~ (856) 456-8008 ~ [email protected] Terms of Sale: Images are not to scale. All books are returnable within ten days if returned in the same condition as sent. Books may be reserved by telephone, fax, or email. All items subject to prior sale. Payment should accompany order if you are unknown to us. Customers known to us will be invoiced with payment due in 30 days. Payment schedule may be adjusted for larger purchases. Institutions will be billed to meet their requirements. We accept checks, VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DISCOVER, and PayPal. Gift certificates available. Domestic orders from this catalog will be shipped gratis via UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail; expedited and overseas orders will be sent at cost. All items insured. NJ residents please add 7% sales tax. Member ABAA, ILAB. Artwork by Tom Bloom. © 2011 Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc. www.betweenthecovers.com After 171 catalogs, we’ve finally gotten around to a staple of the same). This is not one of them, nor does it pretend to be. bookselling industry, the “First Books” catalog. But we decided to give Rather, it is an assemblage of current inventory with an eye toward it a new twist... examining the question, “Where does an author’s career begin?” In the The collecting sub-genre of authors’ first books, a time-honored following pages we have tried to juxtapose first books with more obscure tradition, is complicated by taxonomic problems – what constitutes an (and usually very inexpensive), pre-first book material.
    [Show full text]
  • Frameworks for the Downtown Arts Scene
    ACADEMIC REGISTRAR ROOM 261 DIVERSITY OF LONDON 3Ei’ ATE HOUSE v'Al i STREET LONDON WC1E7HU Strategy in Context: The Work and Practice of New York’s Downtown Artists in the Late 1970s and Early 1980s By Sharon Patricia Harper Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of the History of Art at University College London 2003 1 UMI Number: U602573 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U602573 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract The rise of neo-conservatism defined the critical context of many appraisals of artistic work produced in downtown New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although initial reviews of the scene were largely enthusiastic, subsequent assessments of artistic work from this period have been largely negative. Artists like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf have been assessed primarily in terms of gentrification, commodification, and political commitment relying upon various theoretical assumptions about social processes. The conclusions reached have primarily centred upon the lack of resistance by these artists to post­ industrial capitalism in its various manifestations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sixties Counterculture and Public Space, 1964--1967
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2003 "Everybody get together": The sixties counterculture and public space, 1964--1967 Jill Katherine Silos University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Silos, Jill Katherine, ""Everybody get together": The sixties counterculture and public space, 1964--1967" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations. 170. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/170 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.
    [Show full text]
  • The Saylor Foundation 1 Guide to Responding Study Guide for Plato's
    Guide to Responding Study Guide for Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave Main Point Summary/Background: Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave is a meditation on “the essence of truth” and its paradoxical relation to human comportment. Plato uses this allegory to gradually guide readers toward a personal realization of knowledge and philosophy as the key elements for freedom and enlightenment. This fable also contains exquisite reflections on concepts such as knowledge, education, and politics. The Allegory of the Cave is one of the most famous pieces of philosophical literature and a pillar of western philosophy. To this day, it remains the best known and most critically assessed of Plato’s works. Just remember that this text is full of complex symbols and analogies, which scholars still differ as to their full meaning. Related Readings: This reading is related to the other readings in subunit 5.3 “Greek and Hellenistic Culture,” particularly to Dr. Steven Kreis’s “Greek Thought: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.” Remember that Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave is considered as one of the most important of Classical Greece’s literary and philosophical works; thus, this reading is of great importance to understand the entirety of Unit 5 “Classical Greece and the Hellenistic World.” Instructions: Below are excerpts from the reading and responses that serve as sample answers for the study questions. Review these answers after you have completed the study questions. Highlighting or taking notes while you read paired with later outlining and paraphrasing is an excellent method to ensure comprehension and retention of difficult material.
    [Show full text]
  • XXXI:4) Robert Montgomery, LADY in the LAKE (1947, 105 Min)
    September 22, 2015 (XXXI:4) Robert Montgomery, LADY IN THE LAKE (1947, 105 min) (The version of this handout on the website has color images and hot urls.) Directed by Robert Montgomery Written by Steve Fisher (screenplay) based on the novel by Raymond Chandler Produced by George Haight Music by David Snell and Maurice Goldman (uncredited) Cinematography by Paul Vogel Film Editing by Gene Ruggiero Art Direction by E. Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons Special Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie Robert Montgomery ... Phillip Marlowe Audrey Totter ... Adrienne Fromsett Lloyd Nolan ... Lt. DeGarmot Tom Tully ... Capt. Kane Leon Ames ... Derace Kingsby Jayne Meadows ... Mildred Havelend Pink Horse, 1947 Lady in the Lake, 1945 They Were Expendable, Dick Simmons ... Chris Lavery 1941 Here Comes Mr. Jordan, 1939 Fast and Loose, 1938 Three Morris Ankrum ... Eugene Grayson Loves Has Nancy, 1937 Ever Since Eve, 1937 Night Must Fall, Lila Leeds ... Receptionist 1936 Petticoat Fever, 1935 Biography of a Bachelor Girl, 1934 William Roberts ... Artist Riptide, 1933 Night Flight, 1932 Faithless, 1931 The Man in Kathleen Lockhart ... Mrs. Grayson Possession, 1931 Shipmates, 1930 War Nurse, 1930 Our Blushing Ellay Mort ... Chrystal Kingsby Brides, 1930 The Big House, 1929 Their Own Desire, 1929 Three Eddie Acuff ... Ed, the Coroner (uncredited) Live Ghosts, 1929 The Single Standard. Robert Montgomery (director, actor) (b. May 21, 1904 in Steve Fisher (writer, screenplay) (b. August 29, 1912 in Marine Fishkill Landing, New York—d. September 27, 1981, age 77, in City, Michigan—d. March 27, age 67, in Canoga Park, California) Washington Heights, New York) was nominated for two Academy wrote for 98 various stories for film and television including Awards, once in 1942 for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Here Fantasy Island (TV Series, 11 episodes from 1978 - 1981), 1978 Comes Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato the ALLEGORY of the CAVE Republic, VII 514 A, 2 to 517 A, 7
    Plato THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE Republic, VII 514 a, 2 to 517 a, 7 Translation by Thomas Sheehan THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE SOCRATES: Next, said I [= Socrates], compare our nature in respect of education and its lack to such an experience as this. PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE: THE CAVE AND THE FIRE The cave SOCRATES: Imagine this: People live under the earth in a cavelike dwelling. Stretching a long way up toward the daylight is its entrance, toward which the entire cave is gathered. The people have been in this dwelling since childhood, shackled by the legs and neck..Thus they stay in the same place so that there is only one thing for them to look that: whatever they encounter in front of their faces. But because they are shackled, they are unable to turn their heads around. A fire is behind them, and there is a wall between the fire and the prisoners SOCRATES: Some light, of course, is allowed them, namely from a fire that casts its glow toward them from behind them, being above and at some distance. Between the fire and those who are shackled [i.e., behind their backs] there runs a walkway at a certain height. Imagine that a low wall has been built the length of the walkway, like the low curtain that puppeteers put up, over which they show their puppets. The images carried before the fire SOCRATES: So now imagine that all along this low wall people are carrying all sorts of things that reach up higher than the wall: statues and other carvings made of stone or wood and many other artifacts that people have made.
    [Show full text]
  • YOU KILLED ME FIRST the Cinema of Transgression Press Release
    YOU KILLED ME FIRST The Cinema of Transgression Press Release February 19 – April 9, 2012 Opening: Saturday, February 18, 2012, 5–10 pm Press Preview: Friday, February 17, 2012, 11 am Karen Finley, Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Richard Kern, Lung Leg, Lydia Lunch, Kembra Pfahler, Casandra Stark, Tommy Turner, David Wojnarowicz, Nick Zedd “Basically, in one sentence, give us the definition of the ‚Cinema of Transgression’.” Nick Zedd: “Fuck you.” In the 1980s a group of filmmakers emerged from the Lower East Side, New York, whose shared aims Nick Zedd later postulated in the Cinema of Transgression manifesto: „We propose … that any film which doesn’t shock isn’t worth looking at. … We propose to go beyond all limits set or prescribed by taste, morality or any other traditional value system shackling the minds of men. … There will be blood, shame, pain and ecstasy, the likes of which no one has yet imagined.“ While the Reagan government mainly focused on counteracting the decline of traditional family values, the filmmakers went on a collision course with the conventions of American society by dealing with life in the Lower East Side defined by criminality, brutality, drugs, AIDS, sex, and excess. Nightmarish scenarios of violence, dramatic states of mind, and perverse sexual abysses – sometimes shot with stolen camera equipment, the low budget films, which were consciously aimed at shock, provocation, and confrontation, bear witness to an extraordinary radicality. The films stridently analyze a reality of social hardship met with sociopolitical indifference. Although all the filmmakers of the Cinema of Transgression shared a belief in a radical form of moral and aesthetic transgression the films themselves emerged from an individual inner necessity; thus following a very personal visual sense and demonstratively subjective readings of various living realities.
    [Show full text]
  • MONTHLY GUIDE November 2015 | ISSUE 76 | Eastern
    MONTHLY GUIDE NOVEMBER 2015 | ISSUE 76 | EASTERN How We Played the Endless Corridor Revolution Leon Somov & Jazzu Live The Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies Low Lights Conversations on Serious Topics Celebrate Lithuania with a stellar selection of feature films, shorts, documentaries, and music! Vortex Without Letters Live Without Letters Live Euroshorts LithuaniaEUROCHANNEL GUIDE | NOVEMBER 2015 | 1 2 | EUROCHANNEL GUIDE | NOVEMBER 2015 | MONTHLY GUIDE| NOVEMBER 2015 | ISSUE 74 The Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies lithuanian m o n t h n November, Eurochannel pays tribute to Lithuania and celebrates the I Conversations on Serious Topics 25th anniversary of the Day of Restoration of Lithuanian Independence with a curated selection of movies and documentaries that promise to entertain and reveal new knowledge about this enigmatic, fascinating country! Eurochannel’s Lithuanian Month explores the many different, often hidden sides of Lithuanian culture and heritage through provocative documentaries and breathtaking feature films. Never before has Lithuania been the center of the main programming for a whole month on cable TV, and the time has come to discover its thrillingly engaging Leon Somov & Jazzu Live stories, and learn about its nearly forgotten struggles and nearly lost folk culture, as well as the genius of their filmmakers. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event! History and modernity blend in this month’s movies and documentaries TABLE OF lineup as we offer you the pieces of the enchanting puzzle that is CONTENTS Lithuania. Their suffering during the Soviet Era, how they gained their independence through a revolution lead by irreverent musicians, the view of Lithuanian children about topics such as divorce, love, 6 Highlights friendship, the future, and much more are on Eurochannel this month.
    [Show full text]