![]() I write "our" sexual etiquette because not much has changed. Their destruction of the erotic is not an attack on eroticism or sexuality, but an attack on antiquated ideas of what is and isn't erotic, the comedy of manners that is our sexual etiquette. In their crusade for sexual expression, both directors seem to be proposing nothing less than a paradigm shift. Both evoking a similar feeling of nausea (achieved with what may be termed the gradual destruction of the erotic). In both films, the naked body of a woman (or women) is flaunted, and then covered with food. A prominent parallel can be drawn between "Mama und Papa" and "Sweet Movie". In Kurt Kren, one can see a fleeting glimpse of what is fully realized in these films. In the early 1970s Makavejev made his masterpieces, "WR: Mysteries of the Organism" and "Sweet Movie". Although the film was a breakthrough for Makavejev, he would not achieve the same level of sexual frankness, of erotic deconstructionism, or dadaism (or both), that Kren achieved in "Mama und Papa" until the 1970s. At the same time, another director working in another country, Duan Makavejev in former Yugoslavia, had evolved from shorts to feature length films with "Man Is Not a Bird". That Kurt Kren made "6/64: Mama und Papa (Materialaktion Otto Mühl)" at the same time as these films is an example of the Zeitgeist theory at work. ![]() Although they were sparely screened, they awakened a craving that audience were hitherto unaware of, a craving best articulated by Gregory Markopoulos, who said of "Flaming Creatures" that "early audiences were astounded when their secret Hollywood fantasies burst upon the screen". In the United States, Kenneth Anger's "Scorpio Rising" and Jack Smith's "Flaming Creatures" challenged the code, outraging audiences and censors alike. In Austria and abroad, post-war conservatism was faltering. ![]() To appreciate Kurt Kren's short films, one must consider the climate from which they emerged. Among so many avant garde films that are edited and presented in such a similar way, this one is able to stand out due to its particularly graphic and scary imagery, and I respect that. Many people will hate the film because of its disgusting body-horror-esque sexual content, but I think that that is honestly the main thing the film has going for it. It's difficult to describe with words that aren't just synonymous to "gross" or "creepy" or "sexual". You see bodies and strange substances being dumped on the bodies, mainly one woman's body, at some point you see her kissing another as both of them are covered in some disgusting material. None of the shots last for over two seconds or so, there is constant rapid cutting from one image to the next, and nothing is ever exactly clear. This is likely almost solely because of the weird erotic content and how it matches the chaotic editing style. As someone who has seen possibly hundreds of experimental films, I can say that I am impressed with how much this one seems to stick out. Woozy, artful editing combined with unsettling sexual imagery make up the content of '6/64: Mama und Papa', a short film even stranger than its name. ![]()
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