What Impact Did the Dogme 95 Movement Impose on Mainstream Hollywood?
Founded by Thomas Vinterberg and Lars Von Trier in 1995, Dogme 95 was a provocative movement that aimed to, "address and correct the failings of contemporary film" (Walters, 2004:40), which is expressed in its manifesto. Contrary to mainstream Hollywood, its films were run against ‘The Vow of Chastity’, devised by its founders; its rules often a direct contrast to Hollywood. Vinterberg states, "We asked ourselves what we most hated about film today, and then drew up a list banning it all" (Kelly, 2000:9). Ironically, a few of the techniques used to construct the divisive movement were integrated into future Hollywood movies, which will be explored; Dogme 95 did create an impact on cinema, however in some measure aiding what they were fighting against.
Directors worked against the illusionary system of the Hollywood blockbuster, instead incorporating a non-intrusive mindset; for example, in this scene of Julien Donkey Boy (Korine, 1999), the camera is handheld, and all sound is diegetic, which evokes an air of authenticity regarding the audience’s emotional connection to Chris, as well as a heightened sense of fear towards the father. Korine’s dedication to authenticity was severe, “…Harmony confessed that he tried very hard to impregnate [Sevigny] for the purpose of the film but it just didn’t work” (Kelly, 2000). Gyenge states, “The realism effect of the films produced and presented in the spirit of Dogme 95 is indisputable” (Gyenge, 2009:71). Hollywood’s attempt at authenticity integrates handheld camera with traditional techniques, creating a ‘found footage’ effect, seen in The Blair Witch Project (Myrick and Sánchez, 1999), or to add immersion in fight scenes such as in Casino Royale (Campbell, 2006).
Traditionally Hollywood avoided sensitive or taboo issues, whilst Dogme 95 tackled these head-on. Lars von Trier’s The Idiots (von Trier, 1998) presents ‘spassing about’ as a mindset, a form of mental regression that seems to be utilised as a meditation of some kind. Mifune (Kragh-Jacobsen, 1999) follows Kresten as he, with the help of a prostitute, takes care of his mentally disabled brother. These approaches to mental illness would not be seen in Hollywood. However, few recent Hollywood dramas have incorporated similar themes, such as The Theory of Everything (Marsh, 2014), concerning Hawking’s fatal illness and its effect on his relationship; Split (Shyamalan, 2016) presents a kidnapper with Multiple Personality Disorder.
The Dogme 95 website was taken down in 2008, as the founders believed that the movement itself had established a genre, one of the rules in The Vow of Chastity. It could be argued, in a way, that the movement itself had been absorbed by Hollywood, of which it was fighting against. In an interview about Hollywood and Dogme 95, Korine replies, “I don’t think it ever will [pay attention]. And I don’t think it should…” (Kelly, 2000); ironic as it is undeniable the impact the movement has had, especially on low-budget horror films such as The Blair Witch Project. Realism is Dogme 95’s USP to an extent, which is notably attractive to the horror and action genres.
Bibliography
Gyenge, Zsolt (2009) 'Illusions of Reality and Fiction or the Desired Reality or Fiction: Dogme 95 and the Representation of Reality' In: Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies, 1. Budapest: Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. pp. 69-79
Kelly, Richard (2000) The Name of this Book is Dogme 95. London, UK: Faber & Faber
Walters, Tim (2004) 'Reconsidering The Idiots: Dogme95, Lars von Trier, and the Cinema of Subversion?' In: The Velvet Light Trap, Number 53. Texas, US: University of Texas Press. pp. 40-54