Exploring non-narrative has been confusing to me and I am curious to see and make film that follows this style. I still have questions about it like:

How can meaning be conveyed without story?

How do I invest myself in a film without a character, or even sequence of cause and effect?

My favourite film out of the ones we saw was Gap-toothed women (1987).  Gap-teeth have always fascinated me because they are a minor detail yet distinct feature. One of my friends had been gap toothed her whole life, then one day she just became fond of her own flaw; I think it had something to do with the “London-look ads” ahh the power of advertising! I feel a little envious and I don’t even know why.

My eyes were always drawn to the gap instantly after the repetition of similar shapes. Graphic matching was particularly effective in portraying the diversity of women with a similar trait. I had a good laugh at the anecdote about the lady who left unique bite marks on all her snacks.

Frederick Wiseman’s “fly on the wall” approach to capturing human conflict was quite disturbing to me. The lack of cut aways and hand-held following of the camera made me feel like I was trapped in the scene of a woman being choked and all I could do was watch. In comparison to newer hollywood cinema with sharp editing, the lack of interruptions seemed odd and forced me to think about what was happening, rather than relying on direction from structure.

I was interested in his “stick it to the man” attitude to institutions so I went off and watched the clip from Highschool (1968).

“Hey, you listen, you better come in a gym outfit”

I could feel the tenseness in the room with this scene which felt more like a police interrogation rather than a teacher nagging a kid for the right uniform. I’m glad I didn’t go to school in the 60’s. Wiseman’s erratic use of zooms emphasised the teacher’s growing anger and framed him as the unreasonable one. It’s interesting how he manages to stay in the background while getting into the action, but of course the subjects are aware of the presence of the camera.

In a more modern context this approach reminds me of trashy reality shows like 16 and Pregnant, Keeping up with the Kardishians and Here come the Habibs. The camera follows in the background as the contestants argue and entertain us and we all seem to forget that they know we are watching.