First published as ''Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression'' by Creation Books in 1995 and subsequently republished as ''Deathtripping: The Extreme Underground'' by

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under b ...

, ''Deathtripping'' is a book by Jack Sargeant which examines the New York based,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

underground film An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing. Notable examples include John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'', David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'', Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'', Rosa von Praunheim's ''Tal ...

movement known as the

Cinema of Transgression __notoc__ The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City–based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using shock value and black humor in their films. Key players ...

that formed around the manifesto written by underground filmmaker

Nick Zedd Nick Zedd ( James Franklyn Harding III; January 25, 1956 – February 27, 2022) was an American filmmaker, author, and painter based in Mexico City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minde ...

. The loose-knit group of underground filmmakers included

Richard Kern Richard Kern (born 1954) is an American underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to prominence as part of the cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films like ' ...

, Tommy Turner,

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

Beth B Scott B and Beth B (also known as Scott and Beth B, Beth and Scott B or The Bs after B Movies) were among the best-known New York No Wave underground film makers of the late 1970s and early 1980s. They went on to form an independent film ...

Cassandra Stark Casandra Stark Mele was a principal director and actor in the No wave cinema movement referred to as Cinema of Transgression. She made all her films in the 1980s and early 1990s under the name Casandra Stark.Sabin, Roger 1999. ''Punk Rock: So Wh ...

, Joe Coleman and

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( ; September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and HIV/AIDS activism, AIDS activist prominent in the East Village, Ma ...

, amongst others. The book examines the work of the Cinema of Transgression filmmakers through lengthy interviews with directors, collaborators, musicians and actors associated with the movement. Alongside these the book features analyses of films, an overview of the history of the movement and its influences. It features an appendix of scripts by some of the filmmakers. Following the publication of the book Jack Sargeant co-produced a VHS tape with the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

showcasing a number of these films. The films ''

Kill Your Idols Kill Your Idols is an American hardcore punk band from New York, active from 1995 through 2007 and again from 2013 to the present. They were signed to SideOneDummy Records. Their releases on SideOne were Funeral for a Feeling (2001), a split ...

'' (2006) and ''

Blank City Blank or Blanks may refer to: *Blank (archaeology), a thick, shaped stone biface for refining into a stone tool *Blank (cartridge), a type of gun cartridge * Blank (Scrabble), a playing piece in the board game Scrabble *Blank (solution), a soluti ...

'' (2010) both feature Jack talking about the films and the writing of Deathtripping.

Various Editions

The first and second editions were both published by Creation Books in 1995 and 1999. Both featured a pink cover depicting a photo by Richard Kern. The second edition was numbered as part of Creation Books' Film Collection series. In 2007

Soft Skull Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under b ...

published a redesigned copy which featured various corrections, a new introduction and afterwards alongside numerous new illustrations.

External links

Review in Your Flesh magazine.

Deathtripping at GoodReads

Review at Slug Mag

Interview with Angelique Bosio about Llik Your Idols.

Interview with Jack Sargeant

Underground Film Journal on ''Deathtripping''. Underground culture Experimental film Books about film History of film Soft Skull Press books {{film-book-stub