Permian Strata (1969) Bruce Conner

“Because film is a medium that trades in gradations of light and dark, Conner often interjects clear frames or flash frames—the degeneration of the image into pure cinematic information. The ’hero’ of Permian Strata, like modern man habituated to visual media, must respond to truth, not as ’the word,’ but as light. A biblical tyrant is confronted with the truth and finds that he can’t handle it. Permian Strata (1969) is almost a throw-away gag. For a while Conner planned a collaboration on a 35mm narrative feature film which did not evolve. If he couldn’t personally direct large, costumed casts in big studio sets in synchronous sound he certainly could find one and turn it on its ear. With his relentless zeal he zeroed in on one of those amateur­ish and spiritually unconvincing Bible movies. To the druggie metaphor of “... everybody must get stoned!“ from Bob Dylan’s song, “Rain Day Women #12 & 35,” the Bible heroes become targets of real (painted papier-mâché) stones in the marketplace of religious propaganda. — Anthony Reveaux