The ideas presented in the films are representative of the logic or rather the lack of logic argued for in the manifestos. The films did not have a plot or a direction that could be followed, which is the essential purpose of the films, to upend deliberate thought and actions. The films illustrate a contradiction of traditional logic and seek to oppose established institutions by introducing concepts that are uncensored and question convention in an effort to create a new form of thinking.
Un Chien Andalou does not have a plot, however it does appear to display certain ideas about what is considered normal behavior. The scene of the eye cut open, the woman poking the severed hand in the street, as well as the ants crawling out of the man’s hand, would provoke shock at a grotesque occurrence, however it is presented in the film as an element of intrigue. Rather than viewing these scenes are objectively gross, the film prompts the viewer to reexamine if these scenes can be interpreted alternatively.The film appears to use the images in their context to challenge their interpretation. In addition to that there are to main characters the man and woman who interact throughout the film. The man appears to be a different person in every scene, while the woman appears the same person who reacts to his new persona differently each time she meets him, this implies that there is cohesive idea. The film appears to have surrealist elements such as the spontaneous and irrational scenes depicted, which are suggestive of a dream-like state.
Ballet Mécanique is almost a video compilation of random short video clips. Images of people, objects, numbers, machines, and other indistinguishable images appear in a random order, sometimes repeating. The scenes don’t have any connection or particular order. The film appears to be a visual representation of the ideas presented in the Dadaism manifesto on rejecting established norms of aesthetics and what is rational. The film also draws on ideas from Futurism, a lot of the scenes are of what looks to be metal objects and of machines preforming tasks.
If I’m not mistaken, you were the only one to mention the fact that the male and female characters change in every scene (whether their person or personality). This is especially interesting given what we’re reading now (Beckett and Lispector). What does this interchanging of the actors say about our notions of the Subject, of the Self? How does it change or challenge our perceptions of these two? We generally take a person to be stable, to be a self-contained entity who is somehow constant — yes, we change as we get older, we might have a different job, a different partner, dye our hair, change our political opinions, etc. But still, there is an urge to see, to experience the self and the person in general as some stable entity that persists through time. So what sort of conclusions might we come to through this film, Beckett, and Lispector, about this? Good reading! 5/5