Making Light of It

by James Broughton

James Broughton, with life partner, Joel Singer, created some of the most avant-garde films of the 1950s, 60s & 70s and fathered a child with legendary film critic, Pauline Kael.  He was a "Walt Whitman of film" and received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement award in 1989. No discussion of the spirituality of film and cinema can be complete without his contributions being taken into consideration.

Making Light of It , Broughton's book on filmmaking, first appeared from City Lights in 1977 under the title "Seeing the Light." Rewritten, with a new title, this book appeared again from City Lights in 1992.

This new version began with a glance at Dante's Vita "On a foggy morning in 1946 Sidney Peterson took me to an abandoned cemetery in San Francisco where I discovered a new life." As he did with everything, Broughton constantly mythologizes cinema, seeing it in relationship, not only to himself, but to various worlds and contexts.

124 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

James Broughton (November 10, 1913 - May 17, 1999) was a pioneer of experimental filmmaking, a central player in California's creative literary scene, a bard of sensuality and spirituality, an invigorated gay elder, and a preacher of Big Joy. His life's work was an attempt to discover the contradictory nature of his humanity and its roots; the result was a poetic and artistic life that inspired many. Broughton's advice to filmmakers: Follow your own weird.

Broughton was part of the San Francisco Renaissance. He was an early bard of the Radical Faeries as well as a charter member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence serving her community as Sister Sermonetta. His life story is told in the forthcoming feature-length documentary, "Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton," set to be released in 2013-2014.

Reviews

[Kitten Calfee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Look at cinema as a mystery religion. Going to the movies is a group ceremony. One enters the darkened place and joins the silent congregation. Like mass, performances begin at set times. You may come and go but you must be quiet, showing proper respect and awe, as in the Meeting House or at Pueblo dances. Up there at the altar space a rite is to be performed, which we are expected to participate in." -- James Broughton

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care much to write reviews but I'll leave you with this quote that moved me like an 80s child fist-pumping in a John Hughes film...

"For me cinema is not history or technology, it is the oracle of the imagination. For me cinema is poetry and love and religion and my duty to the Lords of Creation." - James Broughton

[Mills College Library]

791.4301 B8755m 1992