I was exposed to experimental film for the first time this week. My preconceptions about the genre was that it was composed of either random, confronting or shock value elements in order to break out of the conventional film structure and style, or gain a reaction (be it either good or bad) from it’s audience. (I must admit the term ‘experimental’ still conjures up images of a mad scientist in a lab coat laughing evilly accompanied by thunder and lightening). But now I see experimental film as the artistic equivalent of going to an op shop, trying on odd gowns with strange hats and parading around the store. The other shoppers look on and some are amused at your antics, some are confused and leave the store, some are outraged at your behaviour and some admire your bravery to be dressed so outrageously in a society so occupied with appearance. An experimental film will rarely please all theatregoers, hence them not bursting into mainstream spotlight but that’s beside the point. They are not blockbusters; they won’t generate millions of dollars in revenue or have advertisements thrown at the community every time they look at their phone. They’re a lot more personal than that, a personal experiment, a personal reflection. As a form of media, experimental films are 95% concerned with the art and creative aspect, and have very little to do with the political, legal and technical side. In this way they are much more raw, they stem from an idea that was meaningful enough to the creator to independently create and distribute to the world outside of studios and complicated contracts. In this way they feel more natural, their pure form as the creator intended straight from the mind of the master themselves. In my opinion more films need this raw natural edge to them, we want stories and feelings when we go and see a film. I don’t care if George Clooney produced it.