The following paper concerns three early feature length films by the
independent filmmaker Jon Jost. These films are Speaking Directly: Some
American Notes (1974), Last Chants for a Slow Dance (Dead End) (1977), and
Chameleon (1978). In its broadest sense this thesis is an attempt to define
certain trends in Jost's early filmmaking career with the hope that a better
understanding of his work can be developed. Each film is examined
separately in detail and compared with the other two films. More specifically,
each film is examined in regard to the philosophical and aesthetic
movements of Romanticism and Realism.
