Recreation v Re-creation

After viewing Robert Breer’s Recreation for the first time, my head was spinning. There were just too many images for me to take in at one time, and my brain was on overload. When we watched the piece again in class, I couldn’t help but wonder how Breer jammed so much information into such a short time span. For a film that only lasted two minutes, it provided an enormous amount of material to discuss. For example, what connection, if any, did the title or the narration have to the images that flashed across the screen? After analyzing the title of the piece, our class was able to decipher this double entendre. Breer’s intentionally ambiguous choice can be taken as either a fun loving, light hearted interpretation of leisurely images or as a sort of rebellion against the norm that showcases the need for rebirth. When this double meaning title is taken into account, it is no surprise that Noel Burch’s words are just as puzzling. It turns out that his French narration is nothing more than a nonsense poem that barely relates to the objects at all. This defiant stand against sensible stories is a an honorary salute to both abstract filmmakers and avant-gardists alike.