Valery's Ankle Essay

Thesis: Through his film essay, Valery’s Ankle, Bret Kashmere illustrates the danger of hockey violence, both to the players and to the art of hockey itself.
Thesis: Bret Kashmere’ underground film essay, Valery’s Ankle, has helped the underground film industry transform into a trendy, political art genre.

1. Art is often used as a tool for expressing oneself and getting the community involved.
"Art in the public interest is activist and communitarian in spirit; its modes of expression encompass a variety of traditional media, including painting and sculpture, as well as untraditional media" (Kwon, 105).

2. Film has evolved into a popular art form.
(quote from critical art ensemble)

use quote from: New American filmmakers : selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art Film Program

Quote from Sontag:
“Such images are indeed able to usurp reality because first of all a photograph is not only an image (as a painting is an image), an interpretation of the real; it is also a trace, something directly stenciled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask” (Sontag, 350).

3. Underground artwork is often used to tell a story that the artist is unable to clearly tell in the public eye.

Quote Bret

4.. Although violence has always been part of the sport, hockey violence has escalated to a hazardous level.

“Some people think violence occurs because hockey is an intense emotional game, but now is the time when the inaccuracy of such explanations is most clear.” (Mark Moore)

or

“I am not a preacher of non-violence. But violence belongs in war, not in sports. As do most Canadians, I like tough, physical hockey and played it. As do most Canadians, I don't like the cheap illicit stuff - the knees, the checks from behind, the charging, the goon tactics when a team is down.”( Mark Moore)

5. Kashmere’s film essay has had a profound affect on its viewers.
(Quote from Bret and quote from his website)

6. Conclusion

I will also talk about the implications of making an underground film throughout the paper.