Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality

– Lewis Carol

I adore the absurd. When watching the two Lynch films however, I became very uncomfortable, which prompted me to think; how can we measure what is absurd, when the bizarre is something different for everyone? Artistic people are often told to focus on thinking “outside the box”, but have audiences become so accustomed to the absurd that the box has gotten bigger?

Absurd is defined as “wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate”. Movies that fit this definition include cult classics such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, modernised fantasy stories such as Into The Woods, Spike Jonze’s Adaptation and just about every adaptation of Alice in Wonderland ever made. Is there a formula to create an absurd movie? How many random musical numbers does it have to include? Does it have to have stunning visual effects that trick audiences into seeing more than a person in front of a green screen? These are questions I wish to explore throughout the creation of our short film for this class, one that we have self described as “absurdist”.

Looking to some well known filmmakers has not clarified much for me, however it has reinforced that taking such risks and daring movements in a story is the only way to truly test yourself in the cinema. Several quotes that will stay with me include;

There are no rules in filmmaking. Only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness.
– Frank Capra

Capra theorises that a film should never be dull, but is it possible that a film can try too hard to avoid this “dullness” Capra speaks of, and in turn prove too much for an audience to enjoy? An example that comes straight to mind for me is Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge which seems to scream and throw glitter every time there is a pause in dialogue. In the case of that film, I think I would’ve preferred dullness rather than the assault of the senses that it was.

People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.
–Steven Spielberg

There are many successful movies that have followed an un-linear storyline, successful ones that come to mind for me are Christopher Nolan’s Memento and Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy, both of which resonate as stories that continue to evolve once the credits have ceased rolling. Is this always a good and creative decision? Lynch’s short films certainly behave this way, however I think they would only work as short films.

And finally, a quote that has stuck with me and seems to differ from the rest;

 The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.
– Orson Welles

Is Welles suggesting that we need limitations to create art? Is it those limitations that inspire us to break free in the first place?

I hope to discover the answers to these questions and more as I progress through the process of pitching and creating an “absurdist” short film.