Researching relevant Films and Media Arts.

The Green Knight

Meshes of The Afternoon

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Myths are our stories, myths aren’t what happened, they are what happen.

The style of film I am most interested in making is non-conventional films with loose narratives that are open to interpretation. There is a strong element of experimentation, in terms of non-linear narrative, no dialogue, emphasis on sound and lush production design.

Stylistically I am inspired by films such as The Green Knight with its more experimental approach to narrative storytelling, leaving a lot of the plot open to interpretation by the audience. In addition, it takes a lot of reference from medieval art and the story unfolds in a series of vignettes which appear to be their own self-contained story but could also apply to a larger context. It also engages with themes of the relationships between humans and nature. The populated areas like Camelot are showing signs of deterioration and sickness, whereas the wild places are thriving that are untouched by human hands. Other films that I am inspired by are Meshes of The Afternoon by Maya Deren and Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin. Meshes of the Afternoon is of interest to me because of its approach to cyclical narrative but with a heavy focus on the interpretation of the plot. Beasts of the Southern Wild taps into a lot of similar themes that I want to explore relating to the environmental crisis and the relationships between humans and nature. In addition, there are various artworks I want to draw inspiration from for this film. My background is in the history of art, and I often take art as a point of inspiration in my work as it’s part of my creative practice. The painting Still by Daniel Richter, the work of sculptor and photographer Mary Mattingly, Pandora by John William Waterhouse and The Raft of Medusa by Théodore Géricault. It is such a powerful painting of human destruction and has influenced all forms of art since its ground-breaking unveil. It blends the traditional ‘history’ painting with current events that were truly horrifying, which is an approach I would like to take. I want to confront viewers much in the same way, through the scope of this horror film.

Cultural and ideological context of my practice

My practice is informed by my background in the History of Art, my interest in mythology, the tradition of storytelling, my experiences as a practicing Wiccan (a type of pagan religion) and my academic and practical knowledge of the occult and Tarot, which was the focus of my undergraduate dissertation. I am also a Queer, Neurodivergent Woman, so my daily life experiences and how I think form an important part of my practice as well. I enjoy critically engaging with the world around me and constantly asking questions about how the world works; why certain systems function the way they do; challenging the societal norm and thinking politically about important topics like Climate Change.

Cultural and ideological context of the practice of the films in which I am engaging: (I will do a larger blog post expanding on each of these films individually to do them justice)

The Green Knight - this film is inspired by the Arthurian Legend Gawain and The Green Knight, and is essentially a retelling of it, but in an artistic, interpretive way. At its core, it is about accepting death, and not trying to outrun it. Those in the film who have sought power and glory over living happily and harmoniously, like King Arthur, appear waif-like and ill-looking. Their place in the world has come at a personal cost for them, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect. Gawain is young and inexperienced; indeed, he says that he has no stories to tell when King Arthur prompts him. There is an arrogance of youth in how he handles things, and the film takes him on a journey of realisation that he must deal with the consequences of his arrogance in taking the easy option. The Green Knight challenges anyone brave enough to leave him a mark that in a year’s time, he will return. Gawain volunteers and decides that the bravest thing to do is beheading this Knight who has knelt and bowed before him. Immediately, Gawain thinks that was a clever solution and that he has avoided any consequence, however, the Knight stands again and collects his head, laughing that he’ll see Gawain in a year once he leaves. Realising the error of his ways in beheading the Knight, Gawain decides to ignore this and focus on the glory he has earned with classic short-sighted arrogance. The moral of the story is essentially hubris will be your downfall and that taking easy options can lead to misery.

The Beasts of The Southern Wild – this film is set in the South of the United States in a bayou region. The core theme of this film is that this ecosystem is under threat by the melting ice caps, and all the animals and people that live there’s way of life are going to be destroyed by the rising waters. There are elements of magical realism in the film, and we experience these events primarily through the eyes of a young girl called Hushpuppy. It’s an incredibly moving film. The ideology of this film is to promote an awareness of climate change and to tell the story of the people who are going to be directly affected. I think the choice for it to be set in the US is important as it makes it feel closer to home for North American audiences. I think there is something very effective about relating the characters on screen to the viewer.

Meshes of The Afternoon – this short experimental film was created by famous Surrealist filmmaker Maya Deren, a Ukrainian-born American artist and filmmaker. It was created in 1943, right in the middle of World War II. The Surrealist movement began in the 1920s, and artists engaged with genre throughout the 20th Century, and continue to do so. This film uses montage and a cyclical narrative structure to explore an emotional experience. There’s a hooded figure that Deren is following on a loop through the house, in what we can infer is some sort of dream. The film plays with reality and time and makes you distrust what you are seeing as the character is unreliable.

What interests me and their reasons:

• Mythology and Folklore are a special interest of mine. I’m fascinated by stories of Gods and Goddesses, Monsters, Fae, Nymphs, Heroes, Kings and Queens, as you can examine societies and the way they think through these tales.

• Unreliable narrators – I find stories more enjoyable when I can’t trust the narrator. It leaves an opening for me to be surprised and for the story to journey in ways that I can’t predict.

• Allegories, Visual Metaphors and Symbolism – this links to my interest in Mythology. My undergraduate degree is in History of Art and a big part of this was learning how to read paintings and artworks. I love it when films tap into this broader artistic tradition and communicate things to the audience in a way that they have to interpret. All the films I reference as an inspiration do this and I think that’s part of the draw I have towards them.

• Morally grey characters – I find that morally grey characters are so much more interesting as they feel closer to real life. For example, Gawain is an interesting character as throughout the film you are unsure of his morals and motivations. He seems quite selfish and self-serving in the beginning and continues to be throughout the film, right up until his confrontation with the Green Knight. This, I think, makes him feel more human and relatable, as I often feel like do-gooder characters or classic heroes feel incredibly boring and unrelatable.

• Experimentation in narrative structures - all three of these films have unconventional narrative structures with strong elements of experimentation. I really like this style and I would like to engage in similar techniques in my film.

Moodboard of artworks that inspire me

From left to right top row:

Still by Daniel Richter (2002), Personal Flight Machine Mary Mattingly (2007), Hope by G.F. Watts (1886), The Angel of Death by Evelyn de Morgan (1880)

Middle row: Inflatable Home by Mary Mattingly (2008), and Pandora by John William Waterhouse (1898)

Bottom row: The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault (1818-19) and Death and The Maiden by Marianne Stokes (1908).

Montage using clips and audio from the above-mentioned films: