At the BIG JOY Project, we’re fond of holding salons. Usually they revolve around poetry, but honestly, they can revolve around just about anything creative. So if you’re keen to have a showing of BIG JOY: The Adventures of James Broughton and add even more spice and flavor with a little discussion afterward, we’ve got something for you. This month we are featuring the Experimental Film section of our BIG JOY Discussion Guide.
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS DISCUSSION GUIDE
James Broughton has been variously noted as the “father of West Coast experimental film,” for being first to introduce full frontal nudity into films, for his playfulness in his art, for the way he merges God and Body, and for the way that he celebrates sensuality in all forms, including (but not exclusive to) homosexuality. Which one of these legacies speaks to you? What value do you find in this development, either personally or holistically? In what ways might you integrate it, or be inspired to add more of it to your own life or art?
James Broughton viewed cinema as a form of poetry. What similarities do you see in his experimental film works and written poetry? What parallels can you make between the relationship of poetry and prose and the relationship between experimental film and narrative films?
“I for one could wish for more perception of the poetic view. For me cinema is not social phenomenon or cultural question mark, it is a potential oracle of the imagination. For me cinema is poetry and love and religion and my duty to the Lords of Creation. I use these terms interchangeably.” From Seeing the Light (1977)* by James Broughton
Do these analyses change your approach to experimental filmmaking in any way? Do you agree with Broughton’s use of cinema as metaphor for poetry, love and religion? In what ways do you think he may be making these connections?
“All of my own films have been acts of love. They have been made with love and for love, with the love of others and for those whom I loved. And for the most part the theme of all my work is Love: a call for, a quest for, a fete for.”
While thinking about the films shown in BIG JOY (Mother’s Day, Loony Tom, The Pleasure Garden, The Bed, Erogeny, Devotions) and the themes and ideas that James’s friends shared, what do you think it was that James Broughton really loved? How did he express this love?
After winning an award at Cannes, Broughton was offered a chance to make more commercial films but instead took the “poet’s road” and went back to San Francisco to write poetry. How do you believe James Broughton’s views on cinema affected his decision. Can you think of other examples of artists navigating commercial success with artistic integrity? Do you think these paths are mutually exclusive?
“When I made The Bed I thought it too was the one and only last picture show. I had not made a film for 13 years and I was prodded into making ‘just one more’ by Jacques Ledoux of the Belgian Film Archive for his international experimental powwow of 1967. All I did was express how life felt to me in my 50’s. The Bed has no special style, there isn’t a trick in it, it is all straight cuts. I wanted to show as directly as possible my vision of the flowing river of existence and I thought of it as a private communication to an old friend in Brussels. The public success of the film astounded me.” -James Broughton, Seeing the Light (1977)*
Why do you think The Bed resonated with audiences so strongly at the time of its release in 1968? How do you feel Broughton’s approach to each film as his “last picture” affected the way he went about making films? James states that he did not plan for this film to be a success, yet it was his most commercially successful film. Do you see this as an example of the culture opening their arms to new artistic visions? Or do you think this was more of a case of his riding the wave of Hippies and “flower power”?
“’Follow your own Weird.’ But this doesn’t mean that all you have to do is turn on the camera and express yourself. Just as talking has nothing to do with creating, self-expression has nothing to do with art. ‘Anything goes’ may be therapy but that is only prelude to the shaping of visions thus discovered. As in painting it is the frame that defines the image, gives shape, selection, point of view, and crystallizes essences.” -James Broughton, Seeing the Light (1977)*
James Broughton advocated for experimental filmmaking and life-living. Throughout BIG JOY, we learn a little bit about the progression of his film aesthetic and style. Were there any rules he seemed to be following? Did you notice any artistic tropes he repeated? (Ex. use of characters, common imagery, voice, editing, medium)
What does James mean by the quote above in terms of creating art? Do you relate to it in terms of creative expression and artistic direction? Look up the meaning of the word “weird,” as Broughton was very precise in his language and interested in word derivations.
“Zen is poetry in action. It is the reality one creates out of what already exists. It is the big movie of existence, which is the everyday spectacular, made out of innumerable haiku moments frame by frame. Zen is seeing the light in everything you see.” -James Broughton, Seeing the Light (1977)*
Thinking more about James Broughton’s spiritual beliefs, what are some examples of James Broughton inserting these ideas into his filmmaking? Who were some of James Broughton’s spiritual influences? Can you trace any type of spiritual growth and/or change through the themes of his films? How did the relationships in James Broughton’s life influence his filmmaking? What may this say about his artistic process?
“When I was 30 my greatest consolation was the thought of suicide. But that was three years before I began to make films. What a lot of vicissitude, ecstasy and ennui I would have missed! Did the creation of moving black and white images save my life? It is certain that I have never seriously contemplated suicide since. ‘It takes a long time to become young,’ said Picasso.” -James Broughton, Seeing the Light (1977)*
Why do you think the act of making films was such a powerful experience for James Broughton? How do you think James used filmmaking to express himself? What were ways in which he used filmmaking as a tool for artistic and spiritual growth?