Surrealist & Lyrical aspects in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

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Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) use Surrealism in its way of presenting the story to its audience. Corrigan & White (2009) defines surrealism in film in the following quote. “Defying the realist tendencies and narrative logic of the medium but building on both the basis in photographic reproduction and the unfolding of images in time, surrealist styles use recognizable imagery in strange contexts” (318). In Maya Deren’s film, the audience may recognize several of the objects displayed, but not understand the context in which they are shown. Many viewing this movie may be left feeling dazed and confused, which explains my reaction perfectly.

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For example, there are many familiar objects being thrown at the viewers: a key, a flower, shattered glass, the Grim Reaper, a telephone, ocean waves, etc, but the way they are depicted in the film leaves a lot unsaid and to be desired by the end of the picture. For example, the Grim Reaper's face is exchanged for a mirror for a face, and while this image is associated with Deren maybe seeing herself in the Grim Reaper, or her husband who is representing it, the image itself is still surreal, and may confuse viewers who do not think in such a deep and psychological way (Deren, Maya).

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The flower seen on the street in the film’s opening is familiar to the viewer, sure, as one can be sure many have witnessed flowers on their streets, but the flower is placed there by a woman’s (Maya Deren) hand that appears to be suspended and upside down in mid-air, which is surreal for obvious reasons. The flower is not the only reoccurring object in the film, as there is also a key that is constantly being presented to the audience. The key itself is realistic, but when Deren has it in her hand and it vanishes, that also counts as surrealism. The audience does not know what the constant disappearing acts in the picture represent, but they do know it is confusing. One cannot say it is symbolic, because after all, Deren has noted that there is no such thing in her films (Deren, Maya).

The next aspect used in the film is Lyricism, and Corrigan & White (2009) defines the term as, “Lyrical styles express emotions, beliefs, or some other personal position in film, much as does the voice of the lyric poet.” It goes on to say, “Lyrical films may emphasize a personal voice or vision through the singularity of the imagery or through such techniques as voice-overs or hand-held camera movements” (319). While Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) may not be a Lyrical film in general, it still uses Lyrical styles in the way that it presents events in the film. Seeing as how Lyrical style refers to an expression or a series of feelings and emotions, which, are represented through the imagery in a film, it is safe to say that Deren's film definitely relates to this style.

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In another example, we see that objects are being shattered, which represents anger to me; when Deren walks into the house it appears that there was a struggle, or a fight of some sort. Items are knocked around, they are misplaced and other items are broken on the ground. We see Deren chasing down the Grim Reaper, who to me, represents her husband who she is having a domestic squabble with. In another scene she is shown with a knife, and the husband is shown with his hand around her neck. Their relationship screams violence and unease to me. While some people may see insight, I see violence. Not everyone will see the same things as we all come from various backgrounds and experiences that shape our perceptions of what we see, and I see a domestic violence situation (Deren, Maya).

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Aside from anger, we see that Deren is confused while she sits in what looks like a kitchen. I say she is confused because she is confronted with many women that look like herself, and this usually represents confusion in many cases (Deren, Maya). I have seen this use of confusion representation many times in film, poems, music, etc when one is trying to figure something out within themselves, when one is in an ever conflicting battle within themselves. They will see themselves, and they will appear to have conversations with themselves.

They are confronting themselves and are trying to make sense of the situation(s) at hand. We all have been at a place where we have battled decisions in our lives, or where we have tried to come to terms with who we are, where we have tried to figure ourselves out in one way or another. Maybe Deren is trying to make sense of her situation with the man. By having conversations or confrontations with various women that is herself, it shows she is trying to figure something out and is confused. Confusion is an emotion, and Lyrical styles deals with emotions, as the text did in fact point out earlier.

Works Cited:

Deren, Maya, perf. Meshes of the Afternoon. Dir. Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. 1943. Mystic Fire Video. Web. 14 Mar. 2011.

Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film Experience: an Introduction. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print.