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Introduction
Kenneth Anger (born 1927) is one of the most famous American underground filmmakers. His works are well-known among connoisseurs of high art due to their uniqueness in a variety of respects. In fact, Anger’s short films re-define the “what” and “how” of movies, that is, the contents of motion pictures and the manner in which they are shown. In this paper, the life and career of Kenneth Anger are briefly discussed; after that, using his movie “Lucifer Rising” as an example, it is demonstrated that his films can indeed be considered revolutionary in a number of respects.
Kenneth Anger’s Life and Career as a Filmmaker
Kenneth Anger is known for his experimental short movies, which, generally speaking, include a variety of elements and devices such as surrealism, occultism, and eroticism (primarily gay eroticism). In this respect, it is important to note that the occultism in Anger’s films is mainly tied to such a religion as Thelema. It should also be observed that Kenneth Anger is also known as the first American moviemaker who openly concentrates the topic of homosexuality in his motion pictures (Brook 4-6).
Kenneth Anger (Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer) was born in 1927 in California. Early in his life, he became rather interested in cinema and movies. It is possible that he had the chance to play a role in his first movie in 1935, but it is certainly the first motion picture in which he starred, “Ferdinand the Bull,” appeared in 1937. Kenneth was only 10 years of age at that point; the future filmmaker played a matador in it. In 1947, Anger created his first movie “Fireworks,” which he directed and in which he appeared as an actor. The motion picture was homoerotic and caused legal charges against its creators. Later, in 1950, Kenneth moved to Paris, only to return to the U.S. more than a decade later to shoot “Scorpio Rising.” On the whole, most of his films contain a considerable amount of homoeroticism, as well as themes related to Anger’s religious views, which were focused on the mysticism of Aleister Crowley and the religion he founded, Thelema. In addition, Kenneth stated that he was devoted to Lucifer but rejected to agree that he was a Satanist (Haug and Anger 76-81).
In his works, Anger collaborated with a plethora of well-known actors and musicians. For instance, in his “Lucifer Rising,” such actors and representatives of the movie industry as Marianne Faithfull and Donald Seaton Cammel starred. Kenneth Anger had also became friends with Jimmy Page, the guitarist from Led Zeppelin, and planned to use his music in the film, although later they fell out with one another, and Page’s music was removed from the movie.
When it comes to the influence of Kenneth Anger’s works, his motion pictures played an important role not only in the history of American film art but also in its political history. This is due to the fact that Anger created movies which included openly gay eroticism, making the issue visible even while homosexuality was criminalized (Brook 4-5). Clearly, the effect of Anger’s works on the culture in the U.S. can hardly be overestimated, for these movies impacted not only the film industry but also music video art by popularizing such elements and techniques as fantasy, dance, dream sequence, and so on (Haug and Anger 83-88).
Analysis of “Lucifer Rising” and Other Kenneth Anger’s Movies
One of the most known movies by Kenneth Anger is “Lucifer Rising,” which was created in 1972. In certain respects, the motion picture can serve as a bright example of Anger’s films; it is a movie that has no words spoken in it; visual images are accompanied by music only (“Lucifer Rising”). The movie was shot in Egypt, and some scenes demonstrate Egyptian settings known from the ancient times, such as the Sphinx, the river of Nile, the ruined old temples, and so on. The manner in which these places are intertwined with the actions of the characters of the movie provides a new vision upon what can be shown in motion pictures, and how it can be presented.
It should be stressed that the film includes scenes displaying Egyptian gods such as Isis and Osiris calling the angel Lucifer to appear (“Lucifer Rising”). This is tightly related to the occultist beliefs of the religion known as Thelema, which had been created by a British mystic Aleister Crowley. On the whole, the movie might be difficult to comprehend or interpret without having some knowledge about this religion; in fact, it might be possible to state that the motion picture is primarily focused on internal feelings and experiences of its creator pertaining to the said religion. This differentiates “Lucifer Rising” from the majority of other Kenneth Anger’s movies, which are considerably easier to understand, and which are less focused on mysticism and very often concentrate on scenes including a considerable amount of homoeroticism (although the latter is present in “Lucifer Rising” as well). In fact, the said peculiarities of this movie allow for defining it as a representative of the genre of a trance film.
It is interesting to point out that in his article “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin states that contemporary art has lost its “aura”, which occurred because of the possibility to reproduce art using technical means, and because art started playing political and practical roles, serving primarily as entertainment. Although it might be possible to characterize some of the movies of Anger as entertaining to a certain degree, “Lucifer Rising” is a film that requires an understanding of the mystical practices of Thelema, or else the motion picture may not be comprehended by the viewed. Because of this, it should also be stressed that according to the terminology of Greenberg, “Lucifer Rising” may be classified as an example of an avant-garde work of art that radically re-defines the traditional art, and can be sharply contrasted with kitsch, for it cannot be interpreted as an example of popular rather than high culture (Greenberg; James 10; Varela 4).
As has been previously observed, in his movies, Anger rejected the taboo on homosexuality that existed in the 20th century in the U.S., which is why he shot many of his films underground (Brook 5). On the other hand, specifically in “Lucifer Rising,” he supported the religion of Thelema; the movie is apparently based on his own mystical convictions about Lucifer. On the other hand, it should be stressed that the techniques used in Anger’s motion pictures were later utilized by a number of artists creating films and music videos (Haug and Anger 76-78).
Conclusion
On the whole, it should be stressed that the motion pictures of Kenneth Anger supply a new understanding of what can be shown in films and how it can be demonstrated. Apart from the fact that Anger was the first openly gay filmmaker in the U.S., introducing the topic of homosexuality into the movie industry, he also utilized an innovative way of communicating a plethora of feelings and experiences using musical and visual elements.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists Internet Archive, 1936. Web.
Brook, Vincent. “Puce Modern Moment: Camp, Postmodernism, and the Films of Kenneth Anger.” Journal of Film and Video, vol. 58, no. 4, 2006, pp. 3-15.
Greenberg, Clement. “Avant-Garde and Kitsch.” Sharecom.ca. Web.
Haug, Kate, and Kenneth Anger. “An Interview with Kenneth Anger.” Wide Angle, vol. 18, no. 4, 1996, pp, 74-92.
James, David E. “Hollywood Extras: One Tradition of ‘Avant-Garde’ Film in Los Angeles.” October, vol. 90, 1999, pp. 3-24.
“Lucifer Rising.” YouTube, uploaded by Diego Garcia. 2016. Web.
Varela, Willie. “We Will Not Go Quietly: Some Thoughts on the Avant-Garde, Then and Now.” Journal of Film and Video, vol. 57, no. 1/2, 2005, pp. 3-8.
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