Experimental Analysis | Om by John Smith

This piece best fits under the structural form of Personal View. Throughout the film John Smith tackles the topic of stereotypes and how many human beings will stereotype a person from the way they look without giving it a second thought. It does this by showing a simple image of a bald man on the screen wearing a orange robe he then sames "Om" and drag it out to make a humming noise which goes onto last the whole video. This image makes the viewer think that he is a Monk and then a man with a razor comes into shot with a razor and begins to cut the mans hair. However, this doesn't immediately change the opinion of the stereotype the viewer has made its only until we get to the end of the video and the razor turns off and the humming stops and the robe is removed that we, the viewers, realize that he isn't a Monk and in fact is just a young man having his hair cut.

In the Bordwell & Thompson piece it says "Experimental films are made for many reasons. The filmmaker may wish to express personal experiences or viewpoints in ways that would seem eccentric in a mainstream context". I believe that this fits the ideas of Smith as he is bringing to light the stereotypes that not only himself but we the viewers keep putting on to people.