Terrence Hunt’s 2017 capstone project, “Secret and Divine Signs: A Cinematic Ode to the Art of Cruising,” is an interdisciplinary creative project that combines several disciplines, such as gender studies, film studies, and New York City studies. Its documentary/art film component serves as not only the audiovisual evidence and statements about “cruising” but also the analysis of related films and poems. 

The documentary progresses from the definition of cruising slowly towards the positive advocating of it as an old art form in the new century, and Hunt writes in the paper that he shoots footage of four seasons in the different cruising sites. However, the montage of “cruising footage” and the repetitive use of the same music make the film cyclical or horizontal. The vertical depth of his interview questions, which are not revealed to the viewer but could be inferred from the corresponding answers, does not cohere with the repetition of montage that becomes a little one-dimensional at the end of the film. However, Hunt’s choice to explore the cruising issues using video as the tool is inspiring. His use of audio tools, video cameras, editing software enables him to record, edit, and share knowledge in a time-based medium. The paper provides the content of his research and the context of the production of this video. 

One issue that Hunt should have considered is who his audience is. He uses it as a component of his capstone project and sends this film to some LGBTQI film festivals. His audience in academia may be very different groups of people from those who attend those film festivals. Does he intend to make this short film analytical, educational or persuasive? His project reveals the potential risks of research methods based on creative/artistic practice and compels us to rethink how university researchers can create works of great scholarships in the new digital era.

March 1st, 2020

Tian Leng