AFTERIMAGES AND AFTERTHOUGHTS ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE OF FILM A MEMORY OF RESISTANCE Gerda Johanna Cammaer A Research-Creation Thesis In the Department of Communication Studies Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 2009 © Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-67380-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-67380-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 14-1 Canada ABSTRACT Afterimages and Afterthoughts about the Afterlife of Film: A Memory of Resistance. Gerda Johanna Cammaer, Ph. D. Concordia University, 2009. This thesis project, constructed as a "memory of resistance" (Gilles Deleuze), studies the transition to digital video in cinema (the so-called "death of film"). It explains and resists the simplicity and matter-of-factness with which this transition is usually presented, and explores the consequences and effects for both film studies and independent film production. Following Walter Benjamin's famous Arcades Project, the work is constructed in a fragmented way as a collage of texts and images; series of experiments with historical and contemporary images are combined with different writing and editing techniques, multiple narratives and varying styles in the tradition of the surrealists and writers such as Roland Barthes (humanities, photography), Robert Ray (film studies) and the Belgian artist-filmmaker-writer Marcel Broodthaers. Resisting habitual forms of Ph.D. theses in the humanities, this creative memory of resistance attempts to fulfill the Utopian aspect of philosophy and art. Hence, it resists simplistic ideas about linear time and history, constantly incorporating nonlinear, fragmented and multi-layered perspectives. It is a glimpse into a possible afterlife of film, retrieving, saving and reviving what otherwise might permanently be swallowed by our society's cultural amnesia. It traces and retraces some endangered analogue film history and analogue film practices and encourages a renewed interest in the medium as part of our collective memory, at a time when the way we communicate and preserve moving images is changing tremendously. Made with evidence from various texts and discarded 16 mm and 8mm films selected for their potential to help show the complexity of the changes at hand, this research-creation project shows how celluloid film as a medium itself has both a high historical value and a strong resistance against the workings of time, since even damaged film images can still be used to tell us something valuable about our culture. In short: the strongest and most creative resistance against the so-called death of film is to be found in afterimages of medium itself, glimpses of a possible afterlife for film evoking many afterthoughts. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Besides the numerous people who helped out with moral and practical support, the author would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for their financial support in the form of a Doctoral Canadian Graduate Scholarship (CGS). IV This work is dedicated to Dr. Rik Cammaer. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Rethinking Film Studies 17 1.1 Introduction 17 1.2 Film Theory Past 20 1.3 Reinventing Film Studies 26 1.4 Re-introducing the Experiment in Film Studies 33 1.5 Building a Thesis Project 41 1.6 Rethinking Film History 50 1.7 Conclusion: Fissures and Fragments 60 Chapter 2: Research-Creation and Doctoral Degrees in Fine Arts 65 2.1 Introduction 65 2.2 Practice-Based PhDs and Questions of Academic Legitimacy 68 2.3 The Compromise Model 72 2.4 Modes of Research Through Creative Practice 75 2.5 Academic Equivalence: At What Cost? 80 2.6 Research-Creation: Section Cinema .85 2.7 Film = Art (experimental film) 86 2.8 Film = Essay-Writing (collage films) 90 2.9 Film = Writing (camera-stylo) 94 2.10 Conclusion: a Guide for How to Read this Thesis 98 Chapter 3: The Decaying Art of Film 100 3.1 Introduction: the A and B Rolls of my Research 100 A-ROLL: Early Prognoses about the 'Death of Film': Confusion and Pessimism 103 B-ROLL: Double Identity (digital video, 3min43s) 104 A-ROLL: The 'Death of Film', the Decay of Cinema: More Pessimism 108 B-ROLL: Stargate (HD video, 10min37s) 110 A-ROLL: More (Past)Prognoses Ill B-ROLL: DowWe Sfo/(digital video, 5min 13s) 114 A-ROLL: The Rapid Decay of Cinema and 'Cinephilia' 116 A-ROLL: Towards a Revival of (Small) Cinema 120 B-ROLL: Double Dutch (digital video, lmin49s) 122 A-ROLL: The Many Deaths of Film/Cinema 123 A-ROLL: Jean-Luc Godard works the Oracle 126 B-ROLL: Double Talk (digital video, 2min 39s) 130 A-ROLL: Death by Digital: a Replay? 131 A-ROLL: The Institutional and Material'Death of Film' 133 A-ROLL: Orphan Films 137 A-ROLL: What Is/Was Film? 144 B-ROLL: Double Jump (digital video, 12min 51s) 150 3.2 Conclusions: ,.151 A-ROLL: Manifesto #1: Is Film Biting the Dust? (15 statements): 151 B-ROLL: Manifesto #2: Stardust (15 minutes) (digital video) 154 CHAPTER 4: Film Decay as Art 156 4.1 Introduction 156 4.2 Peter Delpeut's Lyrical Nitrate (1990) 161 4.3 Bill Morrison's Decasia (2004) 166 4.4 Peggy Ahwesh's 77/e Color of Love (1994) 171 4.5 GustavDeutschFzVm/sf (1998/2002/2004) 175 4.6 The B-Film Keeper (digital video, 12min44s.) 182 4.7 Skindrums and Tattoos - A Mutilated Film (digital video, 5min 37s.) 188 4.8 1953 (digital video, 6min, 22s.) 190 4.9 Conclusion 194 Conclusion: This is Not a Film Museum 197 REFERENCES 216 Bibliography .216 Filmography 225 ANNEXES 227 Figure 1. The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1974): 16mm Slug Film 228 Figure 2. Double Jump (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 229 Figure 3. Hot Shots! Part Deux (Jim Abrahams, 1993): 16mm Slug Film 230 Figure 4. Hot Shots! Part Deux (Jim Abrahams, 1993): 16mm Slug Film 231 Figure 5. Double Shot (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2007): Film Still 232 Figure 6. Unidentified film: 16mm Slug Film 233 Figure 7. Double Dutch (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2007): Film Still 234 Figure 8. You've Got Mail (NoraEphron, 1998): 16mm Slug Film 235 Figure 9. Double Talk (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 236 Figure 10. Unidentified Film: 16mm Slug Film 237 Figure 11. Unidentified Film: 16mm Slug Film 238 Figure 12. Unidentified Film: 16mm Slug Film 239 Figure 13. Double Jump (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009) 240 Figure 14. Stargate (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Digital Photo Film Lab 241 Figure 15. Stargate (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Digital Photo Film Lab 242 Figure 16. Stargate (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Digital Photo Film Lab 243 Figure 17. Stargate (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 244 Figure 18. Stargate (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 245 Figure 19. Stardust (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 246 Figure 20. Stardust (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 247 Figure 21". Stardust (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 248 Figure 22. Stardust (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 249 Figure 23. Unidentified Damaged Film: 16mm Film Scan 250 Figure 24. Unidentified Damaged Film: 16mm Film Scan 251 Figure 25. Unidentified Damaged Film: 16mm Film Scan 252 Figure 26. The B-Film Keeper (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 253 Figure 27. The B-Film Keeper (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 254 Figure 28. The B-Film Keeper (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 255 Figure 29. Belles ofthe South Seas (Castle Films, 1944): 16mmFilmScan 256 Figure 30. Belles ofthe South Seas (Castle Films, 1944): 16mm Film Scan 257 Figure 31. Belles ofthe South Seas (Castle Films, 1944): 16mm Film Scan 258 Figure 32. Skindrums and Tattoos (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 259 Figure 33. 1953 (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 260 Figure 34.1953 (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 261 Figure 35.1953 (Gerda Johanna Cammaer, 2009): Film Still 262 Figure 36. R522A (Eric Rondepierre, 1995) 263 Figure 37. Rene Magritte, Lafemme cachee (1929) 264 Figure 38.