Cross-zek-plan

This week I watched Herzog's film Stroszek in its entirety. It has really stayed with me since class ended. I keep mentally returning to it and trying to decipher what I really think of it. On some level, it really resonates with me. I read in an article that Herzog has been categorized as someone who, rather than working with "real actors" finds "real people" that capture the essence of a character that he is investigating so that they just behave as themselves. I think I agree with that interpretation and I think the capture of a "true essence" is the mark of a quality work. I think works that do this, movies, films, paintings, etc. are the ones that are most successful with me and I try to do something similar in achieving emotional reaction in my artwork. Now many see this film only for an unsettling, open or ambiguous ending, but to me this openness is very precisely orchestrated so that it is actually a sort of simplicity that makes it more complex. I am referring to a sort of less is more effect. I think in my art that works are most effective when they leave some room for connections and interpretation because it is impossible to predict how a viewer will interpret an end product and it is more effective to leave some psychological gaps in a piece that will be naturally interpreted by the viewer to fit what makes sense to them. I think this is a beautiful process and it takes real skill to find a balance of sufficient suggestion, but enough left to interpret that it makes the viewer respond with the result. This makes them return to the piece, much like the ending of Stroszek. To think of it in terms of physics and waves, such a work has enough emotional or intellectual content to stimulate a resonant frequency in the viewer. Meaning, that with little energy there is a much greater output or result. Perhaps, my resonant frequency for film and music and other works is something of a dark or tragic (according to others) range of response.

In class and in other blog entries, I have addressed my inspiration or connection with films like the Machinist, Memento, Donnie Darko, and bands like Hurt and Flaw to name a few. People don't seem to understand this and the fact that I have interest in or identify with these themes has confused people and cause me to be labeled as one thing or another since before I was in Middle School. But I don't care if someone thinks there is something wrong with me because they think I only listen to Death Metal or only like twisted films. I don't think of it in those terms and I don't much care that some people are so limited as to see things that simply. I like a lot of things in those categories that others find, but for my own preferences I just think of it as something that does or does not resonate with me. Can I relate to it or find some truth in it? I do not much care for things that are cliche, contrived, or overly superficial. Those things just seem false and wrong to me. Maybe that means that I or my tastes are odd or out of the ordinary, but I do not really mind. I think that the end of Stroszek is profound in this sense. There is a suggestion there that makes you figure the film out yourself and investigate something internal instead of just passively observing the film.

There is something about Bruno and his character, or his real personality, that is very believable and grounded in reality. There is no magical solution to his problems, he takes the things he has left, the gun, and the turkey and goes on a journey. It seems like he might be close to finding some sort of help in the character that has lunch with him and speaks some German to Bruno. He summarizes his problems, but despite language barriers and his sort of marginalized or outcast character, Bruno really did know what was going on the whole time. When there was no one to translate the banker, he still understood that he was losing everything. Before that he was resistant to leaving for America and basically predicted it would end badly for him. In this way he seems to occupy a sort of "savant" archetype. Bruno only really agrees for the sake of others (who would not be so selfless in turn) because he does his best to improve life for others despite the constant abuse and mistreatment he has suffered at their hands his whole life. Bruno sort of comes full circle. Instead of just giving up, I think he takes the rest of his journey to confront what fate has in store for him. This is sort of symbolized by the circles of the truck and the ski lift and also the animals forced to habitually repeat their actions. It is as if Bruno had this revelation to find this place where he fit in and could participate in the actions of repetition that perhaps most people are too blind to recognize. The animals, the music, and the ski lift seem like they made his journey complete and offered him some comfort in what could be the end of his journey and the start of something else. Perhaps I am too much of a realist to prefer a happy ending to this. But I think that others have this understanding too. I seek out those things that I can relate to and find comfort in even if they are tragic, depressing, haunting, dark or whatever. This always reminds me of the Japanese concept of Mono no aware, which is a sort of understanding and savoring or enjoyment of sorrow even though most Americans are lost on this concept. If my project can conjure such a provocative response as Stroszek, I will be pleased.


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Jordan Severson