Fringe Benefits

Of the conditions that have affected non-commodity or avant-garde filmmaking in Los Angeles, two are especially important: the capitalist film industry itself and the variety and magnificence of the California landscape: the mountains and the desert, on the one hand and the other, the unusual architectural features of the city itself. The changing interaction among these is best illuminated by an historically periodized survey

Keywords: Barbara McCullough Water Ritual # 1: (1980 ; Bush Mama (Haile Gerima, 1976) ; Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep (1977) ; Hito Hata: Raise the Banner ; Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Anderson, 2003) ; Maya Deren Meshes of the Afternoon ; Nina Menkes The Bloody Child ; Requiem 29 (David Garcia, 1971) ; The Life and Death of a 9413 – A Hollywood Extra ; The Soul of the Cypress (Dudley Murphy, 1920) ; Water and Power (Pat O'Neill, 1998) ; Workers Film and Photo League