Cinema of Transgression
The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City–based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using shock value and black humor in their films.[1][2] Key players in this movement were Zedd, Kembra Pfahler, Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Casandra Stark, Beth B, Tommy Turner, Jon Moritsugu, Manuel DeLanda, David Wojnarowicz, Richard Kern, and Lydia Lunch, who in the late 1970s and mid-1980s began to make very low-budget films using cheap 8 mm cameras.
Zedd outlined his philosophy on the Cinema of Transgression in The Cinema of Transgression Manifesto, published under the name Orion Jeriko in the zine The Underground Film Bulletin (1984–90).[3]
Cinema of Transgression continues to heavily influence underground filmmakers. In 2000, the British Film Institute showed a retrospective of the movement's work introduced by those involved in the production of the original video films.[4]
List of notable films[edit]
- Why Do You Exist (Nick Zedd, 1998)
- You Killed Me First (Richard Kern, 1985)
- Where Evil Dwells (David Wojnarowicz and Tommy Turner, 1985)
- Raw Nerves: A Lacanian Thriller (Manuel DeLanda, 1980)
- Mommy, Mommy, Where's My Brain? (Jon Moritsugu, 1986)
- Llik Your Idols (Angélique Bosio, 2007)
- Wrecked on Cannibal Island (Casandra Stark, 1986)
- Stigmata (Beth B., 1991)
- Blank City (Celine Danhier, 2009)
- Nymphomania (Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Holly Adams, 1993)[5]
- Tromeo and Juliet (Lloyd Kaufman, 1996)
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Shock Value: New York’s underground ‘Cinema of Transgression’-Dangerous Minds
- ^ Sabin, Roger (2002). Punk Rock: So What?: The Cultural Legacy of Punk. Routledge. pp. 69–72. ISBN 9780203448403.
- ^ Zedd, Nick (1985). "The Cinema of Transgression Manifesto". Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ^ Zedd, Nick (2000). "The Cinema of Transgression 1984–90". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
- ^ MUBI Nymphomania, Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Holly Adams
References[edit]
- Sargeant, Jack (October 1995). Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression. ISBN 1871592291.
