JOHNNY CHAZZ' TURN: FILM: A HYPNOTIC STATE OF BEING

Georges Melies': VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE (1902)

JOHNNY CHAZZ: So often here on CINEMA: COUNTERPOINT we spend time focusing on specific films and the particular cinematic aspects associated with each. We dive into the details of script, production, sets, performance, cinematography, editing and so on. Rarely though do we take a moment to step back and examine a phenomenon which has always amazed me: The ability for films to place each of us into a “hypnotic” state where we as audience members have completely bought-into the experience on screen and are no longer conscious of the fact that we are sitting in a seat inside a movie theater. What is key is to remember that the subconscious mind is truly “accepting”, and it is often this level of consciousness where people are affected and changed at the inner core of their being. Oh, the power of film.

Remember “Mulholland Drive” in 2000? The scene inside of Club Silencio shows us two characters sitting inside a “movie-like” theater / playhouse watching a performance that not only do they know is strictly a “performance”, but the host even makes it clear time and time again that everything they see on stage is just an illusion. Still, the characters completely buy-into what they see and it is the inter-weavings and power of the lighting, the costumes, the music and the performance that leave our characters in such an emotional and hypnotic state. Oh, the power of theater.

Visit 'Club Silencio' in this clip from MULLHOLLAND DR.

We see it in other films that are simply too far-fetched for the conscious mind, yet we still believe and react to what we see. Examine “El Topo” from 1970 for a moment when the colonel says “Who are you to judge me?” and the response from our main character is: “I am God”. Now we know this cannot be true, but the journey that the film has led us on takes us to a point where we absolutely must believe what we hear from beginning to end in the film. Oh, the power of desire.

In 1980, audiences experienced “Altered States” with William Hurt. Aren’t we all, in a sense as audience members, placed into a tank or isolation chamber such as a movie theater and given a hallucinatory drug to realize the full effect of the experience? What a tremendous monologue by Hurt when he states: “There’s a physiological pathway to our earlier consciousnesses. There has to be.” Oh, the power of dreams.

Fantasy genre films act in the same fashion. Films such as the recent “Avatar” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” were truly outstanding examples of a film that was too “incredible” for the conscious mind to fathom, yet the director’s ability to use tools such as color, light, sound, sets, music, effects, CGI and more forces the audience into a trance state.

In 1966, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” stunned audiences with such graphic language and scenes, yet we all bought-in. Why? The realism. The script punched audiences in the face like an angry-fist. It was the hypnotic patters of language and story-telling that grabbed us. It was the combination of script and performance that elevated this genre to a point where audiences simply do not like to think of actor’s really “acting” – rather that they are drawing from something deep-down inside of themselves that really illuminates their performance on screen to the point where it becomes real. One only needs to take a look at the performance by Sandy Dennis where she says “I like to dance….and you don’t want me to dance.” It is purely gripping – and audiences at this point of the film have completely consigned to oblivion in respect to the real world at this point.

Antonioni’s “Blow-Up” would later follow in 1966 causing another wrinkle in the hearts, minds and ultimately – the consciousness of film-goers.

Adult films also qualify. Do we as audiences not have a vested interest in what we see on the screen? Laugh if you will, but there is little doubt in my mind that avid viewers of these films and fans of this genre allow this vehicle to completely transport them into another type of consciousness – and desire for that matter. The outside world is forgotten and all of our problems have completely melted away.

Film is a vehicle. Placed in Lehman’s terms: Film hypnotizes us without us knowing it. As a matter of fact, the great films should always strive to tap into the subconscious mind of the audience while creating an “altered state”. For a film to simply be brilliant it must utilize traces of realism combined with touches of abstract expressionism per se to create enough balance that audiences will want to become deeply involved. Casting, script, lighting, sound, effects and editing remain crucial to the process. What remains constant is that in order for the movie-making industry to continue to offer audiences the full experience of “escape”, and to begin giving us this drug all over again, we simply have to care about the subject and the specific motivation of characters on screen. I just do not see films doing this in this era of today.

Allow me now to turn this topic over to Jer to respond to along with two (2) questions attached: “Do you feel that films today are truly placing audiences in a hypnotic state”? Finally, what films over the years do you feel have been most effective at transporting your conscious state into a dream-like state?

JER: I applaud your decision to go with this topic and stay within the boundaries of safely selecting yet another film recommendation or other familiar go-to’s. Before I take a turn in the recognition of our topic, let me address the questions at hand.

2009's WATCHMEN

The first question proposed: “Do you feel that films today are truly placing audiences in a hypnotic state”? Reply? Only a very minor and select few are able to successfully drive the mind into a location or state it rarely goes to. By way of example, most films referenced here are usually classic films and not anything worth mentioning within the last couple…aside for an exception (AVATAR) or two (WATCHMEN, the UNDERWORLD series).

The first film to capture our state of imagination is also one of the earliest films ever made: French director Georges Melies took us on a journey to the moon in 1902's VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE. This would only be the start for both audiences and film makers to take the leap forward into expanding the concept of film to be used as a medium for artistic expression for years to come. Well, now giving it some second thought…I could maybe plea the case that an “attempt” to make more imaginary films are taking place now then ever before because of the advancement in cinema technology, namely the use of CGI (Computer Generated Images). Films like TERMINATOR 2, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE MATRIX are just a small example of the worlds we have been able to view. Allow me to discuss the more successful use of these techniques and how they have transported our imaginations to other places.

Director Zack Snyder

To start, director Zack Snyder is one of the most influential directors working comfortably in the new world of cinema technology. With a small but highly impressive list of films under his belt already including 300 (2006), WATCHMEN (2009) and SUCKER PUNCH (2011) and in post- production on the newly re-tooled Superman film: THE MAN OF STEEL (set for 2013) Snyder makes no secret of the fact that most of his film are shot in front of screens to allow him the freedom of creating the worlds around the actors. The familiarity/ unfamiliarity of these films rely on its audience to see and accept what is common to us: earth, buildings, vehicles, etc. yet still feel foreign to non-human abilities: super human strength, slow motion sequences, etc. Nonetheless, the director requests that a ‘suspension of reality’ be placed when viewing his work.

Enjoy this great tribute to Director Zack Snyder and his films



THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

The same can be arguably said about director David Lynch who has made a career of suspending and even questioning the ‘dream state’ to the conscious effort. Lynch originally began his early career in the hopes of becoming an artist. After high school he attended the School of the Museum of Modern Art in Boston and planned a 3 year trip through Europe…only lasting 15 days when he decided it wasn’t for him and returned home. It is through that expressionistic level that he has been able to relay his dreams on film and not the canvas. Films like the cult classics ERASERHEAD (1977), THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980), BLUE VELVET (1986), MULHOLLAND DR (2001) and the popular TWIN PEAKS television series, only solidifies the fact that a director can dedicate his life’s work to always blurring the lines of what is real and what we interpret as fantasy.

The second question: What films over the years do you feel have been most effective at transporting your conscious state into a dream-like state?

VIDEODROME (1983)

I would have to say that there have been a small selection of films that have effectively taken me to that dream-like state. There is a method to watching these films that have proven to be the best way to really appreciate the ambience created by the director, the cinematographer and anyone else involved in the creative process. Usually I like to hold-out until after midnight, the surroundings take on a different life of its own and things seem quieter and my senses feel more adapt to believing the world presented to me. Such films include David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME (1983), Lynch’s MULHOLLAND DR (2001), Francis Coppola's ONE FROM THE HEART (1982), Sofia Coppola’s LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003), Peter Weir’s THE MOSQUITO COAST (1986), Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER (1982), Richard Elfman’s THE FORBIDDEN ZONE (1982), Brian DePalma’s PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) and Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980) and Oliver Stone’s THE DOORS (1991). These are but a few films that I feel take me out of the world I live in and allows me to visit on the occasion when I need to. So much can be said about the grouping of these titles, yet can be said about each film and where it takes its audience.

The original trailer to THE MOSQUITO COAST with Harrison Ford!

JOHNNY CHAZZ: The "suspension" of reality as you refer to here Jer is well taken and hits home with our topic at hand this week. What the audience interprets as "fantasy" certainly qualifies as a worthy escape, and thus - audiences find themselves in that hypnotic-state.

BREATHLESS (1960)

Hitchcock films including the likes of "Vertigo", Fellini's "Roma" or "8 1/2", any film from Yasujiro Ozu ("Tokyo Story", "Early Summer" and "Late Spring") or even "Wild Strawberries" from Bergman could fall into this realm of outstanding dream-like and late-nite films that have a profound impact on us at a subconscious level. How about Godard's "Breathless" or Antonioni's "The Passenger"? Where do we place Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool" from 2003 or Haneke's "Cache" (2005)? The transitions used in terms of score, lighting, editing and pacing virtually would begin at the end of one scene and simply dissolve into the next - just like a dream.

How about "Inception" (2010) as another film that recently placed us in a hypnotic state? Heck, during that film my occasional move to my popcorn bag was my own little "totem" in a sense.

Christopher Nolan's Oscar nominated film INCEPTION

A nice selection of films you have chosen here Jer including works from Kubrick, Lynch, Stone, and Coppola (S.) with the common theme of that late-night, hypnotic trance that these films seem to put you in - and there is real truth in the fact that they work best in the wee-hours. Thus, the topic for this week: The power of films to hypnotize us and to impact us at deep, subconscious levels.

So, we turn the attention of this blog over to our audience to see what films in particular hold them in that hypnotic-grip when watching. In essence - what films out there simply engross you when you experience them? Are we just mesmerized and transfixed visually, or are we simply being controlled / hypnotized by the hand of the director and the players? Perhaps the power lies within: Films have the power to change and to alter the way we think and feel about the world around us. Is it subliminal per se? Is it really fair, or is it in a bizarre sense....a violation? We leave this for you decide this week ~

Tune in next on WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29th, 2012 for a very special look at the Academy Award results. You do not want to miss what we will have to say about who won and who deserved to win!

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