Maya Deren Experimental Films

Maya Deren's experimental films show examples of how the camera can be used to bend reality. In her article, she mentions Kodak's slogan, "You push the button, it does the rest," which at the end of the day sums up the camera. However, making films is more than just the click of a button...it's how the juxtaposition of many other images, and the ideas they create in the audience's heads. Deren made a scene at the beach turn into a dinner of some sort, and creates the illusion that the tree at the beach leads to one end of the dinner table. Deren explains that "a leap in the air can be extended by the same technique, but in this case, since the film action is sustained far beyond the normal duration of the real action itself, the effect is one of tension as we wait for the figure to return, finally, to earth," thus producing a different reality than what we would otherwise perceive in our reality.

In At Land, the first scene has the waves rolling out to sea, rather than crashing into the beach. It is merely being played backwards to create that illusion, but it still looks somewhat natural. Seeing the waves filmed and played back in reverse shows us a different perspective. Deren's experimental films succeed in showing different realities that are almost believable.