The Eye of the Machine

The film that made the most impression on me was Harun Farocki's "Eye Machine 1." In my opinion, "Eye Machine 1" was the most intriguing of all the films we watched. "Eye Machine 1" provided an interesting perspective in how much we rely on machines in our daily lives. Every image and scene was from the machine or technological standpoint. It was a film that made me rethink the profound influence to which machines seem to be able to have an eye of their own. I had never thought about how cameras were eyes to a missile or robot. It was quite interesting to see how cameras were portrayed as similar to human eyes. However, there was something oddly discomforting about the camera eyes. Although the idea of making of film about the eye of the machine was creative, the repetition of certain scenes such as the one with the missile did not need to be repeated. Farocki's "Eye Machine 1" reminded me a little bit of Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera with its intense usage of Kino-Eye.

I was quite frankly disappointed by Viola's "Migration" film. Although the beginning was intriguing, once I realized that the rest remained blurry and indistinct, I failed to see the point in the film. The falling drops of water that created a gong sound was slightly irritating. I was frustrated throughout the entire film when the camera never fully revealed the individual who was sitting in the chair. It seemed as if Viola was merely messing around with a certain idea that actually executing and carrying out a developed concept.