The Dream Machine: Moving beyond the dichotomy between genre and auteur cinema
Abstract
At a time when the moving image is more omnipresent than ever in modern society, the cinema is suffering an identity crisis, with some commentators questioning whether the medium is already dead. Hollywood cinema has shifted predominantly towards superhero and fantasy franchises complemented by kids animation movies, while Europe is divided between comedies with limited export potential and auteur films that are increasingly restricted to the film festival and museum circuit. The inclusive vision of film as a universal art form has been superseded by a strongly perceived dichotomy between a more erudite “auteur cinema” on the one hand and a visually spectacular “genre cinema” on the other. A key moment of change in the critical consensus in relation to film occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the first wave of the auteur theory was superseded by a second wave, which radically shifted the theoretical framework for thinking about cinema and for making films. This new critical consensus coincided with a sea change in the industry itself, in the wake of the rollout of television. The industry is now undergoing a new transformation as a result of the digital revolution, with power shifting away from cinema and towards streaming platforms. The new theoretical framework associated to the second wave of auteur theory has had a decisive impact on curatorial strategies at the level of film funding by national film institutes, commissioning strategies of television broadcasters with cultural remits, film education, and the programming strategies of film festivals. This thesis provides evidence for the growing dichotomy between auteur and genre cinema, including extensive statistical analysis in the annexes. It analyses the various set of theories that led to the creation of this dichotomy at a theoretical/curatorial level, and the associated historical forces that led to this divide. It offers a theoretical framework for understanding poetic cinema and why it was so inspiring to early filmmakers and how it can form the basis for moving beyond the auteur/genre dichotomy. It also analyses the contribution provided to these issues by recent cognitive film theory. In conclusion it traces a theoretical framework that can overcome this dichotomy and identifies future areas of research.
Full text
ii
DIREITOS DE AUTOR E CONDIÇÕES DE UTILIZAÇÃO DO TRABALHO POR TERCEIROS
Es te é um trabalho académic o que pode se r util izad o por terc eir os de sde que re sp e it ada s as
re g ras e boas práticas in t er n aci o nal me nte ac eites, no que con ce rne aos dir eitos de au tor e d ir ei tos
con exo s .
Ass im , o presen te trabalho pode se r uti liza do nos te rm os previstos na lice nça abaixo in di cada.
Cas o o uti liz ador ne cessi te de perm issão para poder fa zer um uso do trabalho em co n diç õ es
não pr evistas no lice nci ame nto in di cado, deve rá co n ta ct ar o autor, at ravés do Re po si tór iUM da
Uni ver sida de do Mi nh o.
At r ibui ção - NãoCom erc ial - SemDerivações
CC BY - NC - ND
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc -nd/ 4 .0/
ii i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing thi s thesis has been a lon g and arduou s journ ey and it’s deeply sat isf yin g to be drawing
tow ards com ple tio n . I wou ld lik e to than k first and for emos t my daughters, Eva and Maria An tón ia, my pa rents ,
brothers and their famili es for all thei r support . Withou t the supp ort from my thesis su pervisors, pr ofs . Moisés
Martins and Ne lson Zaga lo I wou ld ne ver have com p l e ted this task . In addition to their support and gu i dan ce,
I drew gre at inspi rati on from prof. Moisés in term s of his expl orati on of the philo sophical roots of
com munica ti o n theory and from prof. N els on throu gh his int er est in cog nit ive film th eory and th e lin ks
between cin ema, videoga mes and tran smed i a. I wou ld also lik e to expre ss my deep gra ti tu de to the late Am os
Vogel wh o sup e rvise d my mast er’s de gree st ud ies at th e An nen berg Sc hoo l of Comm uni c ation s at the
Un iv ers it y of Pe nn sylvan ia. His in te re s t in poet ic cin ema lef t an indelib le mark on me and is re flected in thi s
thesi s. My ti me at th e Un iv ersi t y of Minho, as a PhD stude n t and profes sor has be e n a tran sform ation al
exp erie nce and I wou ld like to underli ne the import ance of the wa rm we lcome I received wh en I join ed th e
un iversit y, whi ch in addition to pro fs. Moisés and Nelson inc luded imm edi ate strong suppo rt from profs . Ro sa
Cabe cinha s, He lena So u sa , Manuel Pinto, An ge lo Pe res an d An tón io Bran co da Cun ha, inval uab le te c h nic al
supp ort from Fe rn an do Je sus and An tón io Ov ídio , and un flagg ing administrative supp ort from Ale xandr a Dias.
During my tim e in the de partm ent it has been pos sible to con solidate the audiovisual area an d it has been a
pleas ur e to work with my col leag ues (li ste d in alphabetic order) profs . Dani el Bran dão, Pe dro Flor es, Ana
Melo, Leonardo Perei ra, Pedro Porte la, Al b erto Sá and Luí s San tos. It ha s also been a gre at ple asure t o work
with many other col leag ues at the Un iv ers it y of Minho inc ludi ng profs. He lena Pire s, Ana Be tte nco urt , Carl a
Martins, An tón io Az ev edo and Paul o Aze vedo and the researchers Vítor Sou s a and Ri car di n a Magal hães .
Equ a lly import antly, I wou ld lik e to than k all the un derg ra duat e and master’s deg re e st ud e nts wh o I ha ve ha d
the plea sure to work with . Thei r en thu si asm , ideas and video produc tions have played a ke y role in th e gen es is
of my ideas . I am also ext remely gr at e ful for th e revision of th e fin al thesi s by Vânia Lima.
During the yea rs or pr eparing this th esi s my wo rk beyond th e un iversi ty ha s al s o played an impo rtant
con trib uti ng role, in par ticular my vi deo produc tion. In thi s con te xt I wou ld like to tha nk my co ll eag ues
Norberto Valente, Edu a rd o Rê g o, João Prieto, Diogo Cos ta, Ru i Pedro Ag uia m, Cat arina B arbosa, Miguel
Fe rn and e s , Luís Lobato , Sé rgi o Olé , Filipe Le ite, Pedro Alve s, Paul o Re i s, Sérgi o Co sta and Vasco Fe rreir a. At
the level of vari ous cli ents I wou ld like to than k Ca rlos Sá , Nuno Soare s , Manuel Sou s a, Tani a Cardo so
Re be ll o, Júl io Perei ra, Mar iana Fe rn an des, Carla Go m es, Bru no Caldas, San dr a Fe rnandes , Luí s Mac hado,
Marta Magalhães, Varico Pereira, Te resa An d rese n, Carl os de Je sus, Hugo Mesquita, Altin o Be ssa, Filo me n a
Alve s, Ru i Fe rreira, Sí lv ia Faria, Mig ue l Martins, Joã o Melo, Iag o Sou sa and Bárba ra Coe lho.
My wor k for
Variety
has also been an inval uable source of inf ormation and ide as and I wou ld like to
tha nk my friend of many years, Joh n Hop e w ell, and my friends and coll eag ues Eri c L eg end re and El sa
Ke sla s sy. I hav e cond uct ed many fasc in ating inte rvie ws, but wou ld like to highli ght in partic ular a se rie s of
inte rvie ws I hav e con du cted with Frenc h director, Bertr and Ta vernie r.
The te ams at th e Marrakech and Panama fil m fe stival s ha ve also become frie nds and co ll eag ues,
and I wou ld like to expr e ss my th an k s to Melita Tosc an du Pl an t ier, Bru no Bar de, Fai ç al Lara ichi, Pituk a
Ort ega Heilbron , Dian a San ch ez, Blan ca Gran ada s, Cat Cab all ero, Be g oñ a Ca rabañ o and Maia de Za n Hatc h,
to name but a few.
My tran slati ng work in the field of con te mpor ar y art has also be e n a valu able source of inspi r ation
and I wo uld lik e to than k Nun o Far ia, Miguel vo n Hafe Perez, Sí lv ia Fer nandes , Lídia Que irós, Nuno Ca rvalh o ,
Marta Fer reira , Pe dro Si lv a, Carla Fili pe , Mauro Ce rque ira and the en tire te am at th e Se rr alv e s Fou ndatio n.
There are jus t some of the people from who m I hav e sense d suppor t ove r th e wo rk of pr oducing this
thesi s. In evit ab ly I wi ll have forg ot te n to inc lude many people.
iv
iv
STATEMENT OF INTEGRI TY
I he r e by decl ar e hav in g con d ucte d th is academic work wi t h in tegri ty. I co n fi rm th a t I have not
used pl agiarism or any for m of und u e use of inf orm ati on or fal si ficat ion of re sult s along the pr ocess
le ading to it s elaborati o n.
I fur the r declare th at I hav e fu lly ac k nowl edged th e Cod e of Et hi ca l Con duct of th e Un iver sity of
Mi nh o.
v
The Dream Machine: Moving beyond the dichotomy between genre and auteur cinema
ABSTRACT
At a time when the moving image is more omnipresent than ever in m odern so ciety, the cinema
is suffering an identity crisis, with some commentators questioning whether the medium is already dead.
Hollywood cinema has shifted predominantly towards superhero and fantasy franchises
complemented by kids animation movies, wh ile Europe is divided between comedies with limited export
potentia l and auteur films that are increasingly restricted to the film festival and museum circuit.
The inclusive vision of film as a universal art form has been superseded by a strongly perceive d
dichotomy between a more erudite “auteur cinema” on the one hand and a visually spectacular “genr e
cinema” on the other.
A key moment of change in the critical consensus in relation to film occurred in the late 1960s
and early 1970s when the first wave of the auteur theory was superseded by a second wave, which
radica lly shifted the theoretical framework for thinking about cinema and for making films. This new
critical consensus coincided with a sea change in the industry itself, in the wake of the rol lout of television.
The industry is no w undergoing a new transforma tion as a result of the digital revolution, with
power shifting away from cinema and towards streaming platforms. The new theoretical framewor k
associated to the second wave of auteur theo ry has had a decisive impact on curatorial strategies at the
level of film funding by national film institutes, commissioning strategies of television broad casters with
cultural remits, film education, and the programming strategies of film festivals.
Th is thesis provides evidence for the growing dichotomy between auteu r and genr e cinema,
including extensive statistical analysis in the a nnexes. It analy ses the various set of theories that led to
the creation of this dichotomy at a theoretical/curatorial l evel, and the associated historical forces that
led to this divide. It offers a theoretical framework for understanding poetic cinema and why it was so
inspiring to early filmmakers and how it can form the basis for moving beyond the auteur/genre
dichotomy . It also analyses the contribution provided to these issues by rec e nt cognitive film theory. In
conclusion it traces a theoretical framework that can overcome this dichotomy and identifies future areas
of research.
Key wo rd s: au teur, cog n it ive , genr e, poe ti c
vi
vi
A Máquina de Sonhos: Ultrapassando a dicotomia entre cinema de género vs. cinema de autor
RESUMO
Numa altura em que a imagem em movimento é mais omnipresente do que nunca na sociedade
moderna, o cinema está a sofrer uma crise de identidade, com alg uns a questionar se o meio está já
morto. O cinema de Hollywood tra nsmutou-se predo minantemente em direção aos super- heróis e ao
género de cinema fantástico, complementados por filmes de animação infantil, enquanto a Europa está
dividida entre comédias com potencial de exportação limitado e “filmes de autor” que estão cad a vez
mais restringidos aos circuitos dos festivais de cinema e dos museus.
A visão inclusiva do cinema como uma arte universal foi substituída por uma visão fortemente
dicotómica entr e um “cinema de autor”, de ca ráter mais erudito, por um lado, e um cine ma de “género”,
visualmente espetacular, por outro.
No final dos anos 60 e início da década de 1970, ocorreu um momento chave de mudança no
consenso crítico em relação ao cinema - quando a primeira vaga da teoria do auteur foi substituída por
uma segunda vaga, que mudou radicalmente o quadro teórico. Este no vo consenso crítico coincidiu com
uma mudança radical na própria indústria, na sequência do avanço da televisão. A indústria está agora
a ser perpassada por uma nova transformação, como resultado da re volução digital, com o poder a
deslocar-se do cinema para as plataformas de streaming.
O novo quadro teórico associado à segunda vaga da teoria do cinema de autor tev e um impacto
decisivo nas estratégias curatoriais ao nível do financiamento de filmes pelos institutos cinematográficos
nacionais, estratégias associadas a comissões dos organismos de radiodifusão televisiva com
competências culturais, educação cinematográ fica e programação estratégica de festivais de cinema.
Esta tese fo rnece evidências pa ra a crescente dicotomia entre cinema de autor e cinema de
género, incluindo análises estatísticas exaustivas apresentadas nos anexos. Analisa o conjunto das várias
teori as que conduziram à criação desta dicotomia a nível teórico/curatorial, além das força s históricas
associadas a tal divisão e que a esta conduziram. Oferece um quadro teórico para a compreensão do
cinema poético e para o motivo pelo qual este foi sobremane ira inspirador para os primeiros cineastas,
além do modo como este pode servir de base p ara ultrapassar a dicotomia autor/género. Analisa
também a contr ibuição dada a estas questões pela recente teoria do filme cognitivo. Em conclusão,
traça um quadro teór ico que pode superar a dicotomia apresentada e id entifica futuras áreas de
investigaçã o.
Palavras-chave: autor, cognitivo, género, poético
vi i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DIREITOS DE AUTOR E CONDIÇÕES DE UTILIZAÇÃO DO TRABALHO POR TERCEIROS .... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii
STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY ......................................................................................... iv
The Dream Machine: Moving beyond the dichotomy between genre a nd auteur cinema . v
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... v
A Máquina de Sonhos: Ultrapassando a dicotomia entre cinema de género vs. cinema de
autor .......................................................................................................................... vi
RESUMO ..................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ xiv
LIST OF CHARTS ........................................................................................................ xv
FOREWORD – DEFINITIONS AND KEY QUESTIONS ........................................................ 1
THESIS STRUCTURE ................................................................ ..................................... 6
THESIS OVERV IEW ..................................................................................................... 11
PREVIOUS RESEARCH ................................................................................................ 33
CONTEXT ................................................................................................................... 36
What this thesis is not about
.......................................................................................................... 40
PART ONE – CINEMA IN CRISIS ................................................................................. 41
CHAPTER ONE – CINEMA’S IDENTITY CRISIS ............................................................. 42
CHAPTER TWO – A GLIMPSE OF THE WORLD BEYOND – The power of the moving image
.................................................................................................................................. 48
Summary
................................................................ ......................................................................... 48
Introduction
................................................................................................................................ .... 48
......................................................................................................................................................... 49
The Decisive Moment
..................................................................................................................... 52
Link between Film and non -v erbal consciousness, a “state of reverie” and the unconscious
.. 54
Cinema’s capacity to create Modern Myths
................................ ................................................. 55
Suspension of Disbelief
.................................................................................................................. 58
Sounds and images as rallying poi nts
........................................................................................... 59
Cinema as a New Form of Writing
................................ ................................................................ . 60
Visual Literacy
................................................................................................................................ 63
New Opportunities offered by the Internet
................................................................................... 64
Sensorial impact of communication technologies
........................................................................ 67
Visual Storytelling
........................................................................................................................... 71
First - person view a nd moving camera
.......................................................................................... 72
Visual Effects
.................................................................................................................................. 73
Aspirational stories
........................................................................................................................ 74
Iconic images
.................................................................................................................................. 74
xi v
xi v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 – Paleface vs. Redskin - Philip Rahv ................................................................ ...... 260
Table 2 – Paleface Auteur Films vs Redskin Auteur F ilms ............................................................... 263
Table 3 – Paleface and Redskin - Popul ar, Quali ty and Auteur cinema ............................................ 265
Table 4 – Difference between European cinema and Holl ywood - Thomas Elsaesser ...................... .317
Table 5 – Paleface and Redskin - Popular, Quality and Auteur cinema ............................................ 328
Table 6 – US population and filmgoing audience ............................................................................ 332
Table 7 – US cinema audience profile ............................................................................................ 333
Table 8 – Audience profile for different genres ................................................................ ............... 335
Table 9 – Audience profile of Popular, Quality tradition and Auteur films ......................................... 335
Table 10 – Truffaut - the difference between Quality t radition and auteur films ................................ 338
Table 11 – B rief summ ary of characteristics of European aute ur films ............................................ 343
Table 12 – Counter cinema - key characteristics (by Peter Wollen) ................................................. 344
Table 13 - The main European film genres ( “Encyclopaedia of Euro pean Cinema” …… .. ……………….351
Table 14 – Admissions Top 20 films in Big 5 Euro pean Territories ........................................... 465
Table 15 – Top 20 films in Big 5 European Territories .................................................................... 466
Table 16 – Feature film production in Big 5 European Territories ................................................... 466
Table 17 – Compa rative table - admissions for films from Bi g 5 European countries …… … ..………. 472
Table 18 – European Cinemas Network films ..................................................................... 474
Table 19 – François Truffaut - admissions per film .............................................................. 475
Table 20 – Jean - Luc Godard - admissions per film .............................................................. 476
Table 21 – Federico Fellini - admissions per film ................................................................ . 478
Table 22 – Ing mar Bergman - admis sions per film ............................................................. 480
Table 23 – Bernardo Bertolucci - admissions per film ......................................................... 482
Table 24 – Pier Paolo Pasolini - admissions per film ........................................................... 484
Table 25 – Luchino Visconti - adm issions per film .............................................................. 485
Table 26 – Pedro Almod ovar - admissions per film ............................................................. 487
Table 27 – P alme d’Or winners (1960 - 2019) ..................................................................... 489
Table 28 – Palme d’Or winners - Europe, USA, Rest of World ................................................ 492
Table 29 – Critics Week - admissions ............................................................................... 492
Table 30 – Un Certain Rega rd - admissions ....................................................................... 493
Table 31 – Director’s Fortni ght - Art Cinema award - admissions ............................................ 494
Table 32 – Locarno - Golden Leopard - admissions ............................................................. 495
Table 33 – Berli nale - Golden Bear .................................................................................. 496
Table 34 – Academy Awards - Best P icture - US admissions .................................................. 498
Table 35 – Acad emy A wards - Best Picture - 1960s ............................................................. 501
Table 36 – Academy Awards - Best Picture - 1970s ............................................................. 502
Table 37 – Academy Awards - Best Picture - 1980s ............................................................. 503
Table 38 – Academy Awards - Best Picture - 1990s ............................................................. 504
Table 39 – Academ y Awards - Best Picture - 2000s ............................................................. 505
Table 40 – Academy Awards - Best Picture - 2010s ............................................................. 506
Table 41 – Academy Awards - Best Picture - To p Film US Box Office - Reality/Fantasy ................ 508
Table 42 – US box office 2014 ....................................................................................... 511
Table 43 – Academy Award - Best Picture - cha racteristics associated to winning film .. ............... 513
Table 44 – Academy Award - Best Picture - se tting of film ..................................................... 513
Table 45 – Academy Award - Best Picture - setting of film ..................................................... 515
Table 46 – Comparative table - Main genres per country ................................................................ 575
xv
LIST OF CHARTS
Chart 1 – B ox Office History for Contemporary Fiction (199 5- 2019) .......................................... 18
Chart 2 – Box Office History for Superhero (1995-2019) ........................................................ 19
Chart 3 – Cross-bo rder sales of Italian, German and French fil ms ............................................. 26
Chart 4 – Admissions for Academy Awards Best Picture ......................................................... 28
Chart 5 – Rank in US box office for Academy Awards Best Pi cture ............................................ 28
Chart 6 – Academy Awards Best Picture - Real - world context vs Fantasy context .......................... 29
Ch art 7 – Top film at US box office - Real - world context vs Fantasy context ................................ . 29
Chart 8 – Growth rate of different media ................................................................ ........... 450
Chart 9 – Slow death of traditional media .......................................................................... 451
C hart 10 – The Netflix generation .................................................................................... 452
Chart 11 – Cinema admissions - UK ................................................................................ 458
Chart 12 – C inema Admissions - US ................................................................................ 459
Chart 13 – Annual ticket sales - US 1995 - 2018 .................................................................. 460
Chart 14 – Box Office History for Contemporary Fiction (1995-2019) ...................................... 461
Chart 15 – Box Of fice History for Fantasy (1995-2019) ........................................................ 461
Chart 16 – Box Office History for Kids Fiction (199 5- 2019) ................................................... 462
Chart 17 – Box Office History for Science Fiction (1995 - 2019) .............................................. 462
Chart 18 – Box Office History for Superhero (1995 - 2019) ..................................................... 463
Chart 19 – Birth Year of F ilm Festivals ............................................................................. 464
Chart 20 – French films - admi ssions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 film d ow n ........................... 467
Chart 21 – German films - admissions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 film down ......................... 468
Chart 22 – Italian films - admissions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 film down ............................ 4 68
Ch art 23 – Spanish films - admissions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 film down ......................... 469
Chart 24 – UK films (excluding inward investment films) - admissions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 film
down ................................................................................................................. 470
Chart 25 – US film s – admissions in the EU, ranked from Nº. 1 fil m down ............................... 471
Chart 26 – Palme d’Or winners - 1960 - 2019 ................................ ..................................... 491
Chart 27 – Berlinale – Golden Bear winner - worldwide admissions ........................................ 497
Chart 28 – Admissions for Academy Awards Best Picture ..................................................... 500
Chart 29 – Box office rev enues of Academy Award Best Picture winner and Top film at box office . 500
Chart 30 – Rank in US box office for Academy Awards Best Pic ture ........................................ 501
Chart 31 – Academy Awards Best Picture - Real- world context vs Fantasy context ..................... .510
Chart 32 – Top film at US box office - Real- world context vs Fantasy co ntext ............................. 511
Chart 33 – Television ratings of Acade my Awards ceremony ................................................. 516
Chart 34 – Average Da ily Media Consumption TV vs Internet ................................................. 520
Chart 35 – Netflix expands its global audience ................................................................... 521
Chart 36 – Netflix surpasses cable providers ..................................................................... 522
Chart 37 – Investment in Con tent .................................................................................... 522
Chart 38 – Netflix spending on con tent ............................................................................. 523
Chart 39 – Valuations of OTT player s ............................................................................... 523
Chart 40 – Global OTT players in English-speaking markets .................................................. 524
Chart 41 – Serialized -Drama Viewership rising in all m arkets ................................................. 525
Chart 42 – Millennials watching more document aries, talk shows and cultural pro grammes with a local
focus ................................................................................................................. 525
Chart 43 – Mo st popular Netflix content in the US ............................................................... 526
xv i
xv i
Chart 44 – Netflix - top shows 2017 ................................................................................. 527
Chart 45 – Netflix - top shows 2019 ................................................................................. 528
C hart 46 – Rising number of Pro - Am and Amat eur c ontent pr oducers ..................................... 531
Chart 47 – Millen n ials shifting to Pro - Am and Amateur content producers ................................ 532
Chart 48 – Traditional TV viewing vs Internet videos ............................................................ 532
Chart 49 – Global consumption of videos is rising ............................................................... 533
C hart 50 – Nonlinear video viewing is rising ....................................................................... 534
Chart 51 – OTT market dominated by five gl obal players ...................................................... 535
Chart 52 – Traditional TV v iewing is sliding ........................................................................ 535
Chart 53 – Rise in popularity of Instagram stories and Snapchat ............................................ 536
Chart 54 – Growth of YouTube (2007 - 2015) ................................................................ ...... 536
Chart 55 – Monthly users of s ocial media platforms (2018) .................................................. 537
Chart 56 – Risi ng importance of social media for viewing vi deos (2018) .................................. 537
Chart 57 – Advertising revenues of YouTube 2015-2018 ...................................................... 538
Chart 58 – Global recorded music revenues ...................................................................... 539
Cha rt 59 – Facebook revenues ....................................................................................... 540
Chart 60 – V ideo viewing - Netflix vs YouTube and ot h er platforms .......................................... 540
Chart 61 – Average genre profile - 22 world cinemas ........................................................... 546
Chart 62 – Average genre profile - 22 world cinemas - box of fice ............................................ 547
Chart 63 – US genre profile ........................................................................................... 548
Chart 64 – US genre profile compared wit h average for 22 world cinemas ............................... 549
Chart 65 – US genre for top 100, top 250, top 500 and top 1000 .......................................... 550
Chart 66 – US genre profile by decade ............................................................................. 551
Chart 67 – US genre profile by decade - downward trends .................................................... 552
Chart 68 – US genre profile by decade - Top 100 films - MO VIEmeter ..................................... 553
Chart 69 – US genre profile by decade - Top 100 films - Fantasy and SciFi - MOVIEmeter ............ 554
Chart 70 – US genre profile by decade - Top 100 films - smaller genres .................................. 555
Chart 71 – Fr ench films - main genres ............................................................................. 557
Chart 72 – French films - minor genres ............................................................................ 558
Chart 73 – French films - thriller genres ............................................................................ 558
Chart 74 – French films - minor genres 2 .......................................................................... 559
Chart 75 – French films - share of domestic market ............................................................ 559
C hart 76 – Films from each national ci nema with a US release (excluding US, UK and France) ..... 561
Chart 77 – Drama genre - % share within each national cinema ............................................ 562
Chart 78 – Drama genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison with world average 56 3
Chart 79 – Action genre - % share withi n eac h national cinema – comparison with world a verage . 564
Chart 80 – Adventure genre - % s hare within each national cinema – comparison ..................... 565
Chart 81 – Adventure genre - % share within each nat ional cinema – comparison ..................... 56 6
Chart 82 – SciFi genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison with world average ... 567
Chart 83 – Comedy genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison ....................... 568
Chart 84 – Romance genre - % share within each nati onal cinema – comparison ...................... 569
Chart 85 – Thriller genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison with world average 570
Chart 86 – Crime genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison with world average . 571
Chart 87 – Hor ror genre - % share within e ach national c inema – comparison with world average 572
Ch art 88 – Family film genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison .................... 573
Chart 89 – Animation genre - % share within each national cinema – comparison ..................... 574
1
FOREWOR D – DEFINITIONS AND KEY QUESTIONS
“ Re mo ved fr om the re al wor ld, is olat ed even fr om fe ll ow - vi ewe rs , th e spe ctat or fal ls to
dream and re verie in th e wom b - li ke dar k nes s of th e th eatr e ” 1 - Amo s Vo gel
“ Th e di mm ing of th e li ght s begi n s th e noc turna l vo y age in to the uncons cious ” 2 – Luis
Bu ñ uel
“ Cin ema today is better fit ted th an ei the r philosoph y or the nov el to co n ve y th e basic data
of con sc iou sne s s ” 3 – Je an Luc God ar d
“ I mak e fi lm s because I li ke to go i nto a noth er world. I li ke to get los t in an oth e r world.
Fi l m is a mag ic al me diu m th at allows you to dream in the dark ” 4 – David Lynch
“ Mov i es are the mos t pow erful em pat hy mach ine in all th e arts ” 5 – Ro ge r Eberts
The two ke y term s us ed in this th es is – ge nr e ci ne ma and aut e ur ci ne ma – are often us ed to
dist i ngui sh be tween Hol lywood and Eu ro pe an ci ne ma , in term s of th e di s tinct con ce pti o ns, styl es an d
tra dit ions of fi lmm aki ng.
Ge nre ci ne ma is ide nti fied fi rst and fo r emost with fi lms that hav e stron g n arrat ive st ruct u r es, in
par ti c ula r li near nar rat iv es , ch a rac ter s who hav e cl e a r l y perceptible go al s and tak e actions to attain those
goa ls, wi t h a cl e ar ch ara c ter arc/ ch a rac ter ev olut ion ov er th e cou rs e of th e fil m, a set - up to th e na rrat iv e
establishing th e k ey fr am ewor k of the st ory , se ve ral turni ng points, acts, and a pay - off / con clusion at th e
en d of th e fi lm, typi cal ly wi t h a clo sed end ing th at rou nds off th e points established in th e se t - up.
Fi l m s wi t h a stro ng narrat iv e stru c tur e hav e e s tabl ished st ra te gies of fi lmic nar rat ion in te rms of
th e typ es of sho ts and ed it, in clu ding pr i n ciples of fr am ing, cam er a set - ups, type s of ed it suc h as
con ti nui ty e diti n g, mat ch cu ts and jum p cu ts .
Wi th in th is tr adit ion of s trong nar rat ive st r u ct u r es, var ious genr es ex is t, such as com edy , th ri ller, ac t i on,
adv ent ure, drama, rom ance , horror etc ea ch wi t h it s associated se t of con ve nt io ns which hav e ev olv ed
over time . As su c h when viewe rs watch a ge nr e fi lm th ey eng ag e with th e stron g na rrat iv e struc tur e , cl e ar
fi lmic na rrati on and th e se t of ge nre co n ve nti on s. In so doing, vi ewe rs ar e also in ter acti ng wi t h t he ir
ex peri enc e of th e film ic med ium, fr om havin g se e n many o th er fi lms.
1
Vogel, 1976, Introduction
2
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.stonesoferasmus.com/2010/07/luis - Buñuel - on - film - and - subcon scious.html
3
“Le cin é ma et son double”,
Cahiers du cinéma
nº. 72, June 1957
4
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats - on/cinema/programs/p a st - programs/david - lynch -
between - two - worl ds
5 Ro ger Eber t' s rema rks as he was awa rded a st a r on the Ho llywood Wa lk of Fa me, Th ursday, June 23 , 20 05 . Retr ie ved on
29 /1 0/1 9 fro m ht tps: // ww w.r o gereb er t.c om /ro ger s -j ou rnal/ eber t s - wa lk - of - fa me - remarks
2
2
Au teur cin em a is mor e difficult to de f ine and th e ass ociated th eor ies hav e ev olv ed over ti m e.
In th is th esis it is argued that th ere are t wo dis tinct wav es of auteur theor y.
The firs t wave is lin ked to th e cla s sic co n ce pt io n of auteur th eor y - wher e i n the director is view ed
as th e pr imary cre a tiv e behind a fi lm. This vi ew is associ at ed to think er s in Fr ance su ch as An d r é Baz i n ,
Al exand re As t ru c and Fr an ç ois Tr uffau t, and in th e Uni ted St at es to th e film cr i ti c, An dre w Sar r is. Th is
fi rst wav e of auteur th eor y em e rged in th e lat e 19 40s in Fr an c e at a time when ci ne ma was th e most
powerf ul mass med iu m a nd was used to id en t i fy auteurs wor k ing wi t hin both mai ns tr eam cine ma , such
as Jo h n For d, Howard Hawks, Alf red Hitchcock etc an d in ind e pend ent ci ne ma, su ch as Robert Br es s on
and Ja cque s Tat i.
Eu rop ea n fi lm ma k er s during this period adv oc ated th e imp or tanc e of th e direc tor as th e ke y
cr e ativ e for ce an d tr ied to embrace both ar ti stic goal s and to re ach broad audiences. Euro pe an auteur
fi lms fr om th e 1 940s unt il th e 19 60s we re ir re ver e n t, roma ntic and ofte n ex pl ored th emes su ch as
tra nsgr ess ion of soc ial rul es , ero tic ism and we re li nke d to broader arti stic mo vem en ts of the ea rly avant -
gar de, s uc h as surr ealis m .
The se cond wav e of aut eur th eor y ga ine d for c e in the wake of the May 19 68 ev ent s an d was
highl y inf l ue nced by a post - Sa u ssu ria n para d i gm (Ai tken , 2001) . It also coi nc ide d with the rol lout of
t el ev isio n and a dr a stic fal l in fi lmg oin g habits. This se cond wav e is associ at ed to th e cre a tion of a
s epa ra te uni ver s e of “ auteur fi lms ”, con tr aste d to Hollywoo d c ommercial film s.
In the co n text of th e se c on d w ave of auteur th eor y, di r e ct or s suc h as Dav id Lync h or Ch ri s tophe r
Nol an, who m ay be con si der e d to be auteurs in the fi rst wave au teur th eor y, are no w se en as not st rictl y
spe aking wor king wi t hin th e re alm of “ auteur ci ne ma ”, but rat her wi t hin Hollywo od co mm er cia l ci ne ma.
In the co n text of th e seco nd wav e of auteur th eory , auteur cin em a i s typi cal ly ide nti fied as a cou n te rpoi nt
to ge nr e cine ma , of t en based on distancing me ch an isms , alternat i ve narrat iv e stru ct ur es and a mor e
auster e approac h.
Al tern at ive n arrat i ve st ruc tur e s inc lude non - li nea r na rr atives, stori es are less cha rac t er - dr i v e n
and m ay inc lud e ev ent s th at li e be y on d th e mai n ch a rac ter s c ont rol , th e ch ara c ter s are mor e difficult to
deci p her, they do no t nece ssar ily ha ve cl e arl y pe r c eptible go al s a nd do not ne cessa ril y tak e actio ns to
att ai n th ose goa ls.
Ther e is not ne ce s sa ril y a cl e ar ch ara c ter arc/ ch ara c ter ev olut ion ov e r th e cou rs e of th e fi lm.
Ther e is not ne cessa ril y a se t - up e s tabl ishing th e ke y fra mewor k of th e st ory . Ther e are not n eces s arily
tur ning poi nts, acts, or a pay - of f / co nc lusi on at th e en d of th e fi lm. The end i ng ma y be open or clo s ed
and ther e is no need for a “happy en ding” .
3
The film ic na rrat ion may dra w on th e sam e se t of tech niq ues as ge nre cin e ma, su ch as fr am ing
te chn ique s , co n ti nu i ty ed its, mat ch cu ts and ju mp cu t s but ther e is a distinct visu al styl e of mo st “ auteur
fi lms ” and “ genr e fi lms ”. In th e ca se of th e se con d wav e of Eu rop ea n auteur film s th e posit i on of th e
cam er a is ofte n mor e st at ic than re cen t Hollywood f il ms (t h is depen ds on the direct or) and th e pac e of
th e ed itin g may be sl ower wi th fe wer cu ts (t h is also depends on the dir ector).
Wi th in th is spe c i f ic trad ition of th e se cond wav e of aut eur cine ma , di r e ct or s t en d to avoi d th e
con ve nti ons of cla s sic ge nr e s suc h as com ed y, th riller , action and advent u re . Au t eur fi lms are mos t
fr equen tly cl a ssi fi ed as fal li n g within th e dra m a ge nre.
Si nc e th e 19 70s, Hol lyw ood ci ne ma has in cre asin gly foc use d on ge nr e film s wi t h st ron g fa nt asy
el emen ts/ se t t ing s, suc h as super he ro fi lms, whil e Eu rop ea n aut e ur ci ne ma is inc r ea sing ly li nke d to sl ow
ci ne ma in rea li stic set t i n gs.
Ge nre ci ne ma is often cl a imed to be prim arily a ime d at ent ert ainme nt, wher e as auteur ci ne ma
is cl ai med to be aime d at ar t. The for mer is pro moted by Holl ywood , whic h is es se n t ia lly dri ven pr imarily
by th e pr ofit mot ive and fo c use s on pr oduci ng ent ert ain m e nt to att ract audien ces and ge ne rate reve nue s.
Eu rop ea n auteur ci ne ma, whic h has a hi gh le vel of stat e fu nd ing , is dri v en to a mu ch lar ger ex t e nt by
cu ltu ral r em its and the obj ecti ve to ac h iev e cu ltu ra l and art ist ic goal s.
The dich otom y bet ween th e two con ce pti o ns of ci ne ma and th e res pe ctiv e fi lm ci rcu latio n ci r cui ts
is mo re ma rke d th an ev er .
In t his th esis it is ar g ue d th at th is dichot om y, whic h is int i mat el y lin ked to th e se cond wav e of
auteur th eor y, and wh ich affec ts fi lm ed u c atio n, fe st iv als, exhibition, cri ti ci sm , can be detr imental to th e
vi talit y of world fi lmm aki ng and that it is possible to mov e be y on d th is dic hotomy. A ke y is sue in th is
re gard is wh et her ge nre ci ne ma can also have artist ic v alue an d whether bridges ex ist be twe e n ge nre
ci nema and auteur cin em a.
In th e vi si on defended by cri ti cs suc h as Tr uffau t th is was cl e arl y possible, since they defended
th e ide a that a fi lmm ake r suc h as Hi tc hcock co u ld pr oduce ent ert ain m e nt th at was also a work of art.
By con tr as t, in th e se c on d wave of auteur th eor y th ere is a cl e ar sep arat ion between Hollywoo d genr e
ci ne ma and Eu rope a n auteur ci ne ma .
Defi ning term s suc h as “ art ” or “w or k of ar t” is ope n to mu lt ipl e int erp retat ions . In or de r to shed
li gh t on th is s ubj e ct th is th es is will foc us on th e set of ide a s associ at ed to “ poe ti c ci ne ma ” and in
par ti c ula r th e cla i ms th a t fi lms hav e th e capa c it y to en ga ge wi t h that whic h ha s be en described as th e
“ poe ti c fac ulty ” dr e ams, th e uncons cious an d a “state of reve ri e”, hence the ti tle:
The Dream Ma c hi ne
.
4
4
Te r m s such as poe try, “state of re ve rie ” or “th e unc ons cious ” are obviously com ple x to define
and can lea d to impre ci sio n. Ov e r th e cou rs e of th is th esis analy si s w il l be ma de of the defini t ions of
poe ti c ci ne ma and how they ha ve ev olv ed over ti me.
In par ti c ula r it wi ll be argu e d th at cin e ma has been id ent if ie d as bei ng a powerful tool to en gag e
wi th dreams, non -verbal con sc iou sne s s, a “state of re verie ” an d th e unc onscious and th at suc h
en ga gem ent may be ac hi eve d by both genr e fi lms and auteur film s, within the abo ve defini tions.
As such, a ge nr e fi lm wi t h a stro ng na rrat ive struc tur e may en ga ge with non -v e rbal
con sc iou sne s s, a “state of re verie ” and th e uncon sciou s and as su ch may be ar gu ed to hav e poetic
for ce.
This is sue is also re lat e d to th e ca pa c it y of cin e m a to cr e a te mod e rn my t hs. My t hs in ant iqu ity
had many of th e el emen ts that we can ide nti fy with genr e ci ne ma – cle ar nar r at ives, stron g ch ara c ter s.
T he y w ere often re c ou nt ed us ing lyr ic poetry but no neth el ess had cl e ar struc tur es th at au di e nces cou ld
en ga ge wi t h.
The s ubj e ct of myt h and it s l ink wi t h poe try has been an alysed by ma ny author s. On e in si ght on
th is is sue is pr o vi ded by Ed i th Wy ss in
The M yt h of Apo l lo and Mar sy as in th e Art of th e It a l ian
Re nai ss an c e
who stat es that :
“S inc e ant iqui ty, the my ths wer e known as carri er s of ancient w isdo m. Th e “ fab les ” we r e be lieved
to be endo w e d wi th hi dde n mea nin gs th at disc l o sed th emselv es only to th e th ou gh tfu l beholde r. The
belief wa s often voic e d th a t th e anci ent sages in vent ed the my ths to veil pur pose ly t hei r my sti ca l
teac hing s fr om the vulgar wh o mig ht de f i le and distor t them. Fro m such con viction s ar ose a long -
live d tr adit ion of exeg eses tha t cr eat ed a ri ch fa bri c of me ani n gs, al legories and all us ion s to wh i ch
th e my ths supp osedl y ref e rred . The belief in a previou s inner ke rnel of anci ent wis dom in duced
Boc caccio to wri te in his popu l ar ha n dboo k of myt holo gy th at “t he stu pi d only believe th at th e poet s
do not hide meani n g un der th e rin d of the fa bl es” (Wyss, 19 96 , p.13)
Sh e add th a t my t hs we re view ed as popul ar and ent er tain ing but con ta in ed wisdom whic h is why
Pico della Mi r and ola re ferre d to my t ho log y as “ th eolo gia poeti ca ”, like nin g the cl as si c st ori e s to sacre d
te aching s , w here in t hes e tea chin gs we r e often preserved in both fol k and popul ar con tex t s and ofte n
th roug h im ag es – paintings and sc ulpt ures .
Fr om th is pe rspective it is pe rfectly poss i ble th at bo th an auteur fi lm and a ge nr e film (i nclu si vel y
fan tasy fi lms, ho rror fi lms and sup e r hero fi lms) may ha ve poe ti c for ce. The is sue at st ak e is to u nders tand
how th is ac h iev ed. For ex ampl e, if we con si der th e id eas being de ve l oped in th e con tex t of cog ni tiv e fi lm
th eor y, one co r e ide a is th a t film s eng a ge wi t h vi ewe rs at an em pat het ic an d se nsor ial le vel an d th at
establishing em pa th y and id en t i fica ti on with th e ch arac t ers in th e fi lm wi ll ha ve a decisive in flu enc e on
th e fi lmic ex peri enc e.
5
This pro v id e s gr ound s for con si derin g th at genr e fi lms wi t h li ne ar na rrat ives and stron g
ch a rac ter s m ay ach ieve a powerf ul mu lti - sen soria l ex peri enc e for th e vi ewe r.
Hav i ng stated th e above so me of th e ke y questions to be answered within this th es is in clu de the
fol lowi ng. Som e of th e se question s will be answere d durin g develo pment of the th esis. Oth ers wi l l be
answe red in th e th eoreti cal f rame work provid ed at th e e nd of th e th esis.
-
How can we de fi ne a fi lm with poetic for c e ?
-
Is a film wi t h poetic for ce nece ssar ily an auteur fi lm?
-
Ar e term s suc h as “auteur cine ma ” and “ world cine ma ” al s o ge nres ?
-
Is one of th e ma in dis ting ui shing ch ara c ter i st ics between wh at is nor ma ll y vi ewe d as a genr e
fi lm vs an aut e ur fi lm a ques ti on of fi lmic na rrat ion?
-
If poe ti c for ce is re late d to fos teri n g a “jo ur ney in to a stat e of re verie /t he un co n sc iou s” can this
be de fi ne d in emp ir ica l , t estable term s?
-
Can a film with a stro ng lin ear na rrati ve, re late d to att aining a go al or so l v i n g a problem, fos t e r
a “jour n e y in to a stat e of re verie /th e unconscious”?
-
Can film s th at re sol ve aroun d reso l vi ng a cor e problem fac ing th e le ad ch ara c ter (s ) h ave poe ti c
for ce?
-
Can a fi lm aime d at a spe c i fic soc io - demographic audien c e, for ex ampl e ch il dre n, teen ager s or
peo pl e without hi gher ed ucat ion , or uni ver sity gr adu ate s, or over 40s et c all ha ve poe tic for ce,
and do th e el emen ts th a t end ow poe tic fo r c e var y f or diffe r ent soc io - demographic au di en c e s?
-
Can ge nr es th at appeal s to a broad audie nce such as com ed i es, action , adventure, th riller , hor ror
or sup erh e ro be con si der e d auteur fi lms or to hav e po etic for ce?
-
Can t he Hero’s Jo urne y struc ture als o be view e d as a “Shaman’s Journey”?
6
6
THESIS STRUCTURE
The th es i s is div i de d int o 4 par ts, com ple me nte d by an Ann ex wi th st at is t i cal data.
Pa r t One – Ci nem a in Cr is is
Par t O ne ex plai n s the imp ortan ce of th e subject mat te r address ed wi t hin th e thes is, i.e. th at th e
th eoreti cal and practical di c hot omy between auteur a nd ge nre ci ne ma has be e n a con tribu t i ng elem ent
in unde r mi n ing th e power of cine ma precise l y at a ti me when th e mov in g ima ge is mo r e omnipresent in
soc iet y th a n ev er.
1.
INTR OD UCTI ON
The Eu ro pe an and A me rican fi lm indu stri es have mov ed in opposi t e dir e ct i on s si nce th e 1970s ,
prim arily due to diffe rent ec ono mic fac to rs on ei the r si de of th e Atla nt ic but al s o as a re sult of the
diffe rences in the film th eory p ara di gm s dom inant in Eu rop e an d Am er ica an d di ff er ent inst itut ion al isat ion
stru ct ures. Th e thes is argu es th at it is possible to mo v e be y on d th is di ch otomy, inc lusi vely th roug h
ex plo rat io n of ne w theor etica l par adigms, suc h as cog ni tiv e fi lm th eory .
2. A GLIM PSE OF THE WORLD BEYOND - The power of the mov in g image
Mov i ng ima ges affect our cog ni tiv e pr ocesses in a differe n t mann er fr om the writ ten word,
enabling a di f ferent kin d of mu lti - sen soria l eng ag emen t and new possibilities of cre at in g diffe rent sta tes
of co n s cio us ne ss , he ighte ne d awarenes s of th e ex pe rien tial wor ld and ex peri enc es th a t r e s emble a
“waking dream”. This mak es th e mo vin g imag e particul arly powerf ul fo r cre a tin g mode rn my t hs.
3. IS THE CINEMA DEAD?
The mov ing ima ge is mor e powerf ul th an ever but th e at r i c al exhibition of fi lms is suf ferin g a
decl i ne in admissions, amon gst a wi der perc eption th a t ci ne ma has los t it s ce ntr a lity in mo de rn soc iet y.
TV se ri es and so cial med ia vi deos se em to have ga ine d re le van ce, wherea s both aut e ur an d ge nr e fi lms
ar e of t en view e d as be i ng for mul aic . The number of fi lm fe stiv als ha s gr ow n dra matically over th e la st
t en years cr e a tin g a pa rallel ci r cui t, prima rily fo r auteur fi lm s. At th e same ther e is a risk th at auteur
ci ne ma becomes “ghettoised”, unable to cro s s ove r in t o th e th eatr ical cir cui t , or ev en se cur e si gn if ica nt
te lev ision sc reen ing s. Ther e is a mar ke d tr end, ev en amon gst th e maj or film fe stiv als, to mov e away fr om
7
fi lms that enj oy st rong th eatr ica l su cce ss. At th e le vel of t he Best Picture Oscar , th ere has also been an
inc re asing divergen ce between th e top fi lms at th e box off i ce and th e fi lm s sele cted for th is awar d.
Pa r t Two – The oret ical Fr am ew or k
Par t Two establishes th e th eor etica l fr amew or k for analysin g th e dich otom y between auteur and
ge nre ci ne ma , whi le also ex plori ng th e de finition of poetic ci ne ma , th e rele van ce of co g ni tiv e fi lm theor y,
re vie w of th e id e as of Jo seph Campbell which ha ve had a pivot a l effe c t on co n tem po rar y Hollywoo d
ci ne ma, and analys i s of theor e tical foun dat ions for mov in g bey o nd th is “great di v i de ” .
4. WHAT IS POETIC CINEMA?
Und erst andin g th e mu ltip le me an ings of “ poe ti c cin e ma ” is cruc ia l for th is th esis, be cau se it is
li nke d to th e dif f ere n ce between aut eur ci ne ma and gen re ci ne ma. Som e com me n ta tor s, suc h as Truffa ut
and M aya De re n, hav e ide nti fi ed poetic ci ne ma with fi lms th at have alternat i ve narrat iv es, co n tr aste d to
th o s e with a cl a ssi c li near nar rat ive. This cr e ates a cl e ar di c hot omy be twe en auteur and ge nre ci ne ma
and provides supp ort for th e ide a th a t ge nr e ci ne ma is es se nti al l y less arti stic. However if we analys e
t heo rie s of th e poe ti c imag e and of poe tic ci ne ma and th e idea s ex pres sed by film ma ke rs th emse lves,
we can se e th at th er e may be “poeti c for c e ” wi t hin cla ssi c nar rat ive stru ctu res . This is a co r e dim ens ion
of th e t hes is.
5. COGNITIVE FILM THEORY – Film as a prosthetic experience
Cog nit iv e fi lm theor y is a si g ni fi cant ne w curr en t in fi lm analys is th a t establishes a br i dge with
phenome nological fi lm analysis th at had a ma jo r inf lu en c e on th e so - ca l l ed “ film poe ts ” wor ki ng unt il th e
ea rly 19 70s and also on mo de rni st wr iters su ch as Ja me s Jo yce . It mo v es beyond th e ps ychoan a l ytic
se m i otic pa radigm of th e 19 70s hi gh th eory and provides th e ba sis for mov in g beyond th e dich otomy
between genr e and au teur ci ne ma . It also pote ntia lly pro vides a br idg e, th at will be ex p lor ed in th is th esis,
to th eor ies bas e d on co m pa rat iv e myt ho log y and st udie s of th e uncons cious , as de v eloped by th eorists
suc h as Jo seph Campbell, Car l Ju n g and Gi lbert Dur an d.
6. JOURNEY INTO THE DARK FOREST – Rev isiting Joseph Campbell
The id e a th at li ne ar nar rat ives can’t be poetic has a lon g li nea ge. H ow ev er Jo seph Campbell
ex plo rat io n s of co m pa rat iv e myt holo g y sug gests th at my t hs can ha ve a poetic dime n s i on and may hav e
14
14
Several recent movements - such as the “films du milieu” in France - have howe ver drawn on
both tendencies. The films du milieu movement has nonetheless encoun tered difficulties in France since
there is a growing di chotomy between French “commercial films”, on the one hand, often dominated by
a TV aesthetic, and French auteur films, on the other, often with an austere aesthe tic.
In other parts of the world, such as Latin America, there has sometimes been a greater f reedom
in exploring links between genre and auteur approaches. Fo r example, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaro n
who wo n the Academy Award for Best Director in 2019 ha s directed auteur - type films such as
Roma
(2018)
and
Y tu mamá tambien!
(2001) (which include s road movie genre elements) as well as big-
budget genre films such as
Gravity (2013)
and
Harry Potter and the Pris oner of Azkaban (2004)
.
In Scandinavia successf ul films and TV series have been produced in recent years that explore
the crime drama genre, mixed with auteur elements.
Developments in the field cognitive science, such as the work of António Damasio and
neuro psychologist Richard Davidson, and applicat ion of these idea s to cognitive film theory has
introduced a new twist to these ideas. For e xample , cognitive film theory focuses on the importa nce of
empathy and multi -sensorial engagement in the cinema, whi ch is often overl ooked by traditional
approaches that see film as a system of signs, and tend to concentrate on the importance of film form.
The im port anc e of emo tio n and em pa th y wi t hin fi lmic com m uni c at ion ine v itably rai ses th e
ques ti on of genr es. Ge nres may be div i de d int o prim ary genr es th at are li n ke d to em ot ions - dra m a,
com ed y, rom ance, th riller , action , adventure and horror - and spe ci fic ge nr es li nke d to th e re spe ctiv e
se ttings /h is tor ic a l con tex t s, suc h as We s ter n, Wa r , Gan gst e r , Fi lm Noir, Sc i - Fi , Fan tas y.
If we con si der that on e of the cor e dime n s i ons of dra m a is to en gag e wi th audien c e’s emo ti on s,
and th at the ve ry word “a e sth e ti c” is al s o li nke d to feel ing , th en wor king within a genr e is no t n eces sar ily
ant ith e tical to a fi lm hav ing artistic qual i ty. Discus sion of th es e is sues , often fier c e, is lin ked to th e gene ral
preva i l ing cl i mate of cri si s – cl i mat e , ec on omi ca l and polit ica l – wherei n som e con si der th at th e ve ry
fut ure of hum a nity is at r isk, exte rna lly , due to ma ss ex t i nct ion, and int ern ally, due to th e ri sing
devel opment of com put e ri sed think ing, bureaucracy and the d ev el op m e nt of artificial int el lige nce which
has le d us to question what it me an s to be hum an.
In th e postmode r n er a of in tert extual i ty it so meti mes se ems th a t noth in g new c an be sai d any
mor e and that we hav e los t fai th in both arti sts and sc ient i sts.
Th e bo ld darin g voi ces of th e cinema’s pas t eit her don’t e xist or ha ve been mu ted. In th e con tex t
of Eu ro pe an ci ne ma , th er e se em to be fewer direct or s who can produce fi lms wi th a stron g arti s tic
15
dime nsion and a powerf ul au di en c e appeal, as Fe llin i, Bergman , Buñ uel, Goda rd and other s di d in th e
past.
Both Eu rop ea n ci ne ma an d Hollywood have become in sti tut ion al ise d and of te n s eem for mul aic .
Eu rop ea n ci ne ma is dedicated to eit her pr oducing “com mer cial” film s with a TV aesthe tic th at ca n no t be
ex por ted , or “a rt” film s, capable of winning prizes at fi lm fe stiv als, but wi th li ttl e audien ce en g ag emen t
in theatr es. Ho llywood is de di c ated to prod ucing “entert ainm en t ” c apabl e of ge nera ti ng box offic e
re venue s, but is los ing audience s, esp ecia l ly am ong s t youn g peop le.
St re ami ng serv ices suc h as Ne tfli x are con si der e d by some to of fer ho pe , by pro ducing ed gy TV
se r i es, but even th ese ed g y se ri es often se em to be for mul aic. In th e mai ns tr ea m c in ema se gme n t, th e
box office sh are of co n t emp ora ry fi c t io n ha s sl umpe d fr o m 60% of th e to tal box offic e in 19 95, to ar oun d
30 % in 20 19. By con tr ast other genr es ha ve ri se n , in par ti c ul ar the sup er he ro genr e whic h in 2019
re pre sent ed 24 % of all tick et s so l d in th e US mar ket.
Ch art 1 Bo x Of fic e Hi stor y fo r Co n t em p ora ry Fic tion (1 995 - 20 19 )
So urce : Re tr ie ved on 29 /10/ 19 from ht tps: / /ww w.the - numbe rs . com/ ma rke t/ cre ativ e - types
16
16
Ch art 2 Bo x Of f ic e His to ry fo r Su perh e ro (1 995 - 2019 )
So urc e: Re tr i eved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m h ttp s:// www.the - nu mbers .com/market/crea t ive - types
( For fur the r inf orm ati on see An nex 2)
This phenome non spar k e d a ma jo r d eba t e in la te 2019, th at began wi t h Mar ti n Sc or s ese’s
c om m en t in an int ervi ew wi th Em pir e mag azi ne prio r to the rele ase of
The Ir ishm a n (2019 )
, when as k e d
about th e fi lms of th e Mar v el Ci ne ma tic Uni v er se:
“I don’t se e th em. I tr ied, you know? Bu t th at’s no t cinem a…Hon estly , th e clo se s t I can th ink of
th em, as we l l ma de as th e y ar e, wit h actors doing th e bes t th ey can under th e circu mstance s , is
th eme par ks. It isn ’t th e cinem a of hu man bei ng s tr ying to con vey em otional, psy chol ogical
exp eriences to ano ther hu man bei ng .” 7
Duri ng th e 20 19 Lumière fi lm fest iv al, Fr anc is For d Copp ola backed up th is ide a, st atin g:
“W hen Mar ti n Sc or sese says t hat the Mar vel pi ctur es ar e not cinem a, he’s rig ht because we exp ect
to lear n som e th ing fr om cinem a, we expect to gai n som ethin g, som e enlig htenm ent , som e
kno w l edge , so m e ins pir ati on …I don ’t kn ow tha t any one ge ts any thing out of seeing th e sam e movie
over and over ag ain. Mar tin wa s kind wh e n he sai d it’ s not cinem a. He didn’t say it’s despicabl e ,
wh i ch I just say it is. ” 8
7 Re tr i eved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. ind i ew ire .co m/2 01 9/10 /ma r ti n - sco rse s e - ma rve l - mo vie s - not - cin e ma - theme -
pa rks - 12 0217 8747 /
8 Re tr i eved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. th egu ard i an.co m/fil m/2 019/oct /2 1/fr an cis - fo rd - coppola - sco rse s e - was - be ing -
kind - ma rvel - movi es - are -d espicable
17
UK di r ector Ke n Loa ch ec hoed th ese se ntime nts , when int ervi e we d by Sk y : ““I fi nd th em boring.
They’re m ade as com mod i tie s … li ke ham bu rg ers … It’s a bout mak in g a com m od it y which wi ll ma k e
profit for a bi g cor po r at ion – they’re a cy n ic al ex ercis e. T hey ’re a ma rke t ex ercis e and it has noth ing to
do wi t h the art of ci nema.” 9
The Lum ière fi lm f e s tival’s presi de n t, Be r tran d Tav erni e r sa i d t ha t he broa d l y agreed wi t h these
fr ust ration s but provided a broader his tori cal con tex t and note d th a t so me su perh ero fi lm s have cr e ativ e
int er es t :
This is a ve ry imp or t an t issu e and re la tes to a tensi on tha t has alway s exis ted. You can fi nd th e
same kin d of fi ght in t he 19 40s be tween serious fi lms lik e
Gr ape s of Wra th (1940)
vs ligh t mu sical s
starring Be tty Gr a bl e. In Fr ance we al ways had th e debate betw een people wh o wa nte d to mak e
mea nin gf ul films th at had somethi ng to say , and oth e r s pr im arily aime d at enter t ain ment . But in th e
past , it wa s eas ier for the tw o kinds of cine ma to co - exist and now wi th th e fac t th at fi lms cos t so
mu ch , it’s mor e difficult to ge t access to screens . May be th e Mar vel fi lms ar e oc cupying so mu ch
s pace th e y ar e pr event ing oth e r fi lms to be re le ase d( …) Ev en in th e Ma rv el fi lms, “Bl ac k Pan t her”
wa s i nter est ing and “S pi der man 2” wa s brilli ant. 10
Hol lyw ood dir e c tor Ja mes Gun n (
Gua rdia ns of th e Gal axy
) al so su gges ted th a t ther e is a hi sto rical
dime nsio n to th is debate, th at ech oes t he cri ti ci sm of gang ster fi lms decades ago:
Man y of our gra n dfa the rs th ought al l gan g ste r movi e s we r e the same, ofte n call ing th em
“de spi ca ble ”. Som e of our gr eat gr an dfa the r s t hou gh t the same of west er ns, and be lieved the fi lm s
of John Ford, Sam Peckinpah , and Ser gi o Leone wer e all exa ctly the same. I reme mb er a gr eat
un cle to wh om I wa s ra vin g abou t St a r War s. He res po nd ed by say i n g, “I saw th at wh e n it wa s call ed
20 01, and, bo y, wa s it bor i n g!” Sup erhe ro es ar e simp l y today ’ s gan g ste r s /c owb oy s/o ute r space
adventu rers. Som e super hero fi lms ar e awful, some are b eau tiful. Lik e we ste r ns and gang ste r
movi e s (and before th at, jus t MOV IES ), not ever yo n e wi l l be able to appre c iate th em, even som e
ge ni use s. And that’s okay. 11
This qu es tio n re flec ts dif f e rent gene r ation al vi ews an d differe n t con ce pti o ns of ci n em a.
At th e other end of th e spe c t rum fro m super hero film s, some of th e mo st acclaimed auteur fi lms
hav e mi ni mal th eatr ica l suc c e ss an d ci r cul a te pr imarily in film fe stiv als and inc rea sin gly in con t em po rar y
a rt muse ums . Paul Sc h ra der has note d in re latio n to what he ca l ls “slow cin e ma” th a t suc h fi lms “are
rar el y sh own in th eate rs. Thei r re ach ex ten ds to fi lm sc hools, ci ne ma th eq ue s , and art mu seum s.”
(S chrader, 20 18, p. 10 ) .
9 Re tr i eved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /ww w.th egu ar dian.co m/film /201 9 /o ct/2 2/super her o - film s - are - cyn i cal - exercise - to -
ma ke - profit s - fo r - corpora tion s - ken -
loach?fbclid = IwA R 0CH6Oo57 pMX ss r oImH6 R Y8 d B9c q A3 m f 9 qpx UfokOgJ 5 Q E m y1j5n L RS 5_E
10 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /va r iet y. com/ 2 019/ f ilm/ g lob al/ ber t rand - tav ernier - coppola - sco rse s e - ca y atte - cinemas -
brig ht - fut ure - 12 0336 88 85/
11 Retr ie ved on 2 9/ 10 /19 fro m
https ://www.in stagram.co m/p/B32ck7 XA5FP/?ut m_sourc e=ig_e mbed&u t m_ca mp ai gn= d lfix
18
18
Ci n em a appears to be inc reasin gl y po laris ed between block bu s t er fi lms, packed with spe c ial
ef fect s, fas t paced ed it ing , an d ve rtig i n ou s ca m er a mo vem en ts, at one end , th at mon opo lise th e box
office, an d slow au te ur film s in re al wor l d set t i n gs, sho wn primarily in film fe stiv als at th e ot h er.
This de v elop m en t is al s o rela te d in part to th e i ncre asing popula rity of te lev ision se ries wi t h hi gh
prod uction val u es and alte r nat i ve vi ewin g ci rcu i ts for vi deos , su ch as Y ou T ub e.
In order to stan d out fr om th is co m pet iti on, fi lms have to be cl e ar ly distinct fr om com p et ing
offers. Th e polar opposites of bl ock bu ster fi lms in fa nt asy set tings an d slow au teur film s in r ea l world
se ttings both de m ar cate th eir posit ion fr om te l ev is i on fi c t io n.
The ke y argu ment in th is th esi s is th at th e cr i ti ca l discus si on about film tend s to re vol ve aroun d
a simpl ified di ch o to my which overlooks th e cap ac it y of ma ny fi lms to ha ve poe ti c f orce. Fo r ex ampl e, in
re latio n to film s in fan ta sy set t i n gs, t he ca pa c it y fo r fi lms to cr e ate “movie mag i c” has insp ire d fi lmm ake rs
e ve r si nce th e med iu m was inv ent ed, obviou s ex ampl es in clu di n g Ge org e Mél iè s and Je an Co c te a u .
It is cl ear th at at lea st so me of th e cu rr en t blockbusters, which ta p int o myt hic tr adi ti ons, hav e
at le ast th e pote ntial to cr e ate “moments of ae s thet i c arr e s t ” and tr ans port spe c t at ors int o a “dream
space”. Ot her s ho we ver are pur ely for mul aic.
This ques ti on is also li nke d to th e dist i nction between “erudite” ar t fo rms and “popular” art
for m s, whereas it ca n be argued th at th is dis ti nc tio n re fl ects th e soc ial h ie rar c h y, in which ther e is a
sma l l eli te capable of gr ea ter aesthetic sen si bi l ity th a n th e maj ori ty of th e popul atio n.
W hat is particul arly rele van t in th is reg ard is th at cin em a was embraced from th e out se t as a
univ ersal art for m th a t is accessible to ever yo ne. In ge ne ral th e movin g imag e has pla yed a ke y rol e in
democ ratising access to ar t. Fo r exa m p l e, it has been a k ey contributing force to th e id e a, de fe nde d by
postmode rnism , th a t we are mov in g be y on d the dichot om y between high and lo w art.
In th e ea rly years of ci ne ma th e mediu m was embraced as a ke y mot o r of social ch a nge and
cu ltu ra l re vol u t i on. In today’s post -u top ia n er a, ther e ofte n se ems to be res i g n at ion that th e mas se s a re
unable to appreciat e ar t, inc lud ing au te ur ci ne ma and that we mu st wai t for som e fu tu re re vol u t ion, of
ed uca tio n and st anda rds , for auteur ci ne ma to fi nally be embraced by th e gen eral pub l ic. This go e s
against the ide a defende d by fi lm poets such as Co c teau who saw the ci ne ma as an inst rum ent fo r
ex ten din g the re ach of po etry, whic h he described as “beneficial poison” adding th at pi ctures, sta rs ,
decor s help sug ar th e pi l l and ens u r e th at it is abs or bed int o th eir system.” "The soul is inv aded " , he
says , "wi th words and obj e cts which ju s t because th ey don't presen t a win ge d appearance imp el it to
plunge deep int o i tself .” (Fr aigneau, 19 72, p. 64 )
19
Eu rop e had a ge ne rati on of fi lmm ake rs wh o s aw themse lves as fi lm poets , suc h as Co ct eau ,
Fe llin i, Tar kovsl y, Buñu el, Pasolini an d many oth er s who be liev ed th at th eir fi lm poetry co u ld ch a nge the
wor l d. For ex ampl e, when Buñ uel fi lmed th e sl icin g of a woman’s ey e in
Le Ch ie n An dal ou (1 9 29 )
his
un d er lyi n g ide a was to open pe opl e ’s ey es to th e wondrou s wor l d of poe t ry , to ch a nge th eir vi ew of the
wor l d. This uto p ian vi sio n has to a cer ta in ex t e nt been los t in con t em pora r y Eu ro pe an ci ne ma .
This vi sio n of th e potenti al of usin g fi lm poetry to achiev e soc ial ch an ge none th eless con t in ues
to be stron g in ce r tain pa r ts of th e wor ld, one of th e mos t notable ex ampl e s be in g Latin Am eric a. Fo r
ex ampl e th e th ree Mex ic an di r ectors, kn ow n as th e “Tres Am ig os” - th e direct or s Gui lle rmo del Tor o,
Af ons o Cu aro n and Aleja ndr o G. Iñár rit u – ha ve directed fi lms that in vo lve both a uteur and genr e
el emen ts.
Ther e is cu rr en tl y a mov em en t, wi th one of it s ma in foc use s in Fr an ce , to re view the cr i ti cal
con sen su s th at has domin ated fi lm th eory and fi lm cu ra ti ng over re ce nt de c ades. On e ex amp l e is th e
wor k of Be rtrand Tav erni e r and Th ie rr y F ré ma u x at th e Ins titut Lum iè re. Taver nier ’s doc u me n tar y project ,
My Jo u r ney th roug h French Ci ne ma (2016 )
, ai m s to rehabilitate man y Fr ench dir ectors who we re
se v e rely cr i ti ci sed by le adin g fi lm cr i ti cs in th e 19 60s and 19 70s, and who wor ked pr ecisely in us ing film
as a me diu m that can have a stron g popul ar appeal an d a p oe ti c /artis t ic dime n s ion.
Wh er eas th ere hav e alw ays been mu lti pl e tr end s wi thin ci n ema , and some fi lms th at ha ve a
mor e “s e rious” ag e nda, while ot her s prima r ily aim to “entert ain”, th e di c hotom y between ge nre ci ne ma
and auteur ci ne ma starte d to becom e pa rti cular ly ma rke d in th e 19 70s , du ring th e pe riod of hi gh cr i ti cal
th eory . Th is di ch otomy con ti nues to mar k the ci ne ma de b ate tod ay.
This th esis does not argue th at all fi lms shou l d t ry to achiev e lar ge audiences - on th e con tr ar y.
One of th e cor e objec ti ves e mbr ac ed by con tem po rar y arti sts in th e 19 60s was th e ne ed to mo ve
beyond th e art mu seum and eng ag e with people in o th er loc at ions, inc lud ing th e st re et. Th e mu se um
pla ys a key role in preserv i n g and e x h ibiting art, but some ar ti s ts fea r that it pos es the ri sk of be com i ng
a maus ol eum , cr e at in g a spac e that only a sm all se ctio n of th e gene ral pu bl ic will vi sit.
The ve ry word “ art ” ha s ne gati ve co n no tat io ns for man y pe ople. Adj ec tiv es su ch as “ ar ty ” and
ev en “ arti stic ” ca n be off - puttin g to som e. Th e cin em a has both bene fited and su ffer ed fr om th e li nk
between film and art. Re cogn is ing ci ne ma as th e seve nth art ri g h tly unde r lines its im port an c e as one of
th e great co n tem p ora ry art fo rm s. Bu t term s su ch as “ ar t fi lm ” or “arthouse” ca n cr e ate a gh ett o- like
si t uat io n , wh i c h puts som e audie nces off se ei ng suc h fi lms .
20
20
The tend ency to cr e a te an arthouse cir cu it and a “m a in stre am ” cir cui t int ensi fied fr om th e 19 70s
onwards an d ha s no w cr e at ed tw o ci r cui ts with a di s tinc t modus operandi – the co m me rc i al ci rc uit and
th e fe stiv al ci r cui t.
It is obviously ve ry positive to ha ve a fes tiv al cir cui t , but th is pos es th e question of t he ca pa c it y
for ci ne ma to eng age with audie nc e s and ch an ge soc iet y.
Be f ore th e mas s marke t roll out of telev ision , cine ma w as th e dominant for m of ent ert ain m e nt
and both mai ns trea m fi lms and “ ar ti stic ” fi lms enj oyed wi de audience s and had a powerful im pac t on
soc iet y. As a con se q ue nce of th e rol lou t of tele vision , and the con s equ e nces of ch a nge s ass oc i at e d to
th e digi tal age, cine ma ha s an inc rea si ng ly margi na l ised rol e, posing th e dan ger that any film which isn ’t
highl y depen dent on spe c i al ef fect s an d fa nt asy th eme s wi ll be con d emn ed to an art house gh ett o where
its im pac t on socie ty is mu ted.
The int imat e li nk be twe e n th e mov in g ima ge and th e wor ld of dreams, no n -verbal co n sc iou sne s s
a “state of reve rie ” and th e unc onsci ous was one of th e princi pal ch a rac ter i st ic s no ted by com m en tat or s
fol lowi ng th e in ven tion of cin em a in 189 5.
The capa c it y fo r th e ci ne ma to fun c t i on as a “dream machi ne ”, cr e at in g an alte r e d state of
con sc iou sne s s am ongst spe ctat ors and opening th eir ey es to new hithe r to unavailable se nso ri al
ex peri enc es ig nit ed the world’ s im agin atio n.
The type of “d re am s ” produced by th e cine ma inc lud ed th e cre a tio n of fan tas y wor l ds by
fi lmm ak ers s uc h as Ge org e Mé li ès , ep i c dra m as , roma nce s and ev en documentar i es to re m ote pa rts of
th e world that pe ople had ne ver seen before. Th e ca pac it y for fi lm imag es and mo n tage to cr e ate dream -
li ke se quen c es ins pi re d film ma k e r s suc h as Lui s Bu ñuel and M ay a Der en.
The digi t al revo l u t i on ha s int ensi fied th e power and cir cul a ti on of so un d and im ages . Bu t wher e as
th e mov ing im age i s omn ip r esent in mo de rn soc iet y, th e term “ ci ne ma ” ha s been red uce d to an
inc re as i ng l y na rrow spe ctru m of al l audiovisual pr oduct io n a nd no w assumes a re lativ el y ma rgi na l rol e
in socie ty.
Robert Sk lar in his book,
Mov i e - Mad e Am eric a
(S klar, 19 75) argued t hat th e movie s played a
deci s ive rol e in defining mod ern A me ric a, but th a t can no long er be sai d about cin em a pe r se , ev en
th o u gh mov i ng im ag es con ti nue to pl ay an im port ant soc ial rol e.
In th e con tex t of cu rr en t fi lm pro duction th ere are many film direct or s who hav e al s o be en
ide nti fied as auteurs and who hav e wor ked in e s tablish e d ge nr es suc h as sc i - fi , super hero, thri ller and
war . Ex amples in clu de Chri sto phe r Nol an, Cl i nt Eas tw oo d, Da vid Lynch, Ja mes Cam ero n, Dar ren
Ar onof sky an d Da vid Finch er.
21
If we l ook at som e of Eu r ope’s hi ghes t accl aimed directo rs f rom t he “golden age” of Eu rop ea n
art ci ne ma, th e y al s o cr o sse d an au te ur and gen r e approach an d wor ked in ge nr es suc h as sci - fi , fi lm
noi r, th riller and war.
Tar kovsk y direct e d fi lms in th e sci - fi ge nr e suc h as
Sol a ris (1972 )
and
St a lker (1 9 79 )
. God a rd
e xplo r ed auteur and ge nre e lem ent s, suc h as mu sic al , fi lm noir, and th r ille r, in f il ms su ch as
Pierrot le
Fou (1 9 65 )
(whi ch he dubbed the fi rst fi lm noir in col our ) .
Ther e is also a lon g li st of con tem p orary con ti nen ta l Eu rope a n direc tors hav e also combin ed
au teur an d ge nre el em en ts , suc h as Ga sp ar Noé and Paul Verh oeven.
In Fr an ce , th e “ fi lms du mil ie u ” ha ve also cro sse d aut eur an d ge nr e el emen ts , inc lud ing fi lms
suc h as Ju lia Duc our nau’ s vam pir e film ,
Ra w (2016 ) .
The ca pacity for mov in g im ag es to se rv e as a dream ma c hi ne seems to have shif ted to the
stre amin g platforms such as Ne tflix , which are produ ci ng film s suc h as Cu aro n’ s
Rom a
or Sco rse se ’s
The Ir ishm an
wi t h th e cle ar goal of wi n ning Aca demy Awar d s. The maj or st ud ios are unwi lli ng to fi nanc e
th es e pro je cts. Ne tf lix is als o pr oducing se ries th a t att ract cr e a tors and audie nc es be cause th ey of f e r a
broader can vas th a n th e 90 - mi nut e fi lm fo rma t.
The Inter net is also another so ur ce of v i brant fi lmm aking tal en t, and a ud ienc es hav e sh ift ed fro m
tra dit i onal TV to Int er net view i ng. Th e “dream mac hi ne ” is perh a p s alive an d ki ck in g, but no w li vi n g on
oth er pl atforms th an trad itiona l ci ne ma scre e n s. Ther e are noneth el ess re aso ns for co n ce rn.
In th e con tex t of this th esis I ai m to ex plor e the fol lowi ng ide as :
1) The re is an effective dichotomy between “ci nem a d’auteur” and genre cinema , at a business,
institu tional and theoretical level – i.e. in terms of film circulation circuits, public policy for the
sector and theoretical mo dels.
2) This dichotomy has intensifi ed si nce the 1960s and is detrimental to filmic creation because it
tends to dampen filmmaking endea vours that occupy a middle - ground, mixing auteur and genre
elements and which have produced some of the most powerful film s.
3) In terms of film circulation ci rcuit s, until the 1960s films of all kinds, w hether mor e genre -
orientated or with a stronger artistic dimension circulated in the commercial circuit and the films
that won top prizes in film festivals and award ceremonies such as the Academy Awards were
al so to p-selling films at the box office.
4) Europ ean auteur films enjoyed significant domestic success a nd also cross-border success and
were the so urce of major internationa l coproductions and pan - European companies such as
22
22
R ome - Paris Films formed by France’s Geor ges Beauregard and Italy’s Carlo Po nti, who se
productions included Godard’s
Le Mépris (1963)
. I nternational sales of Euro pean films had their
highest point in the 1960s, fell during the 1980s an d fell further from the re: Declining Sa les for
Italian, G erman and French Films in Neighbouring market s.
Ch art 3 Cr oss - bor der sal e s of It ali a n, Germ a n a nd Fren ch fi lm s
So urce : Sea n Pager: “B eyon d Cu ltu re vs. Com m erce ” (2010 )
( Se e Annex 2 for fur t he r inf orma t i on )
5) From the 1970s onwards there has been a grow ing t endency towards clea rly separated
circul ation circuits for auteur films and genre films, with the art house cir cuit and mainstream
circuit. This has been reinforced by new film distribution models based on wide relea ses on a
large number of screens, b acked by blitzkrieg marke ting campaigns for g enr e films. As the home
video ma rket developed, the ar t house circuit dwindled. This trend has massive increased in the
digital environment. To compensate this loss of access to screens the film festival circuit has
expanded dramaticall y since the year 2000, through the creation of more festivals and new
sect ions in existing festivals such as the Berlinale. This has created two dominant circulation
circuits – commercial cinemas and film festivals, wherein the for mer is dominated by genre
films and the latte r by auteur films.
0
20 0 00 0 00
40 0 00 0 00
60 0 00 0 00
80 0 00 0 00
195 0 196 0 197 0 198 0 199 0 200 0
Box Offic e Admissions
It aly
Ge rm any
France
23
6) Leading film festivals such as Berl in, Cannes , etc . increasingly allocate their top awards to films
that will have major circulation in film festivals, but l imited success in the commercial ci rcuit .
7) In the Academy Aw ards, there has been a g rowing divergence between the top award winners
an d the best-selling films at the box office. Whereas in the 1960s the Academy Award winners
for Best Picture were also the top films in the box office this is very rarely the case no w adays.
This can be d emon strated using the following charts (that are also included in Annex 2 with
further information). The admissions for the Best Picture winner have fallen significantly since
2003 [ the year when
The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King (2003)
won Bes t Pi cture ].
Ch art 4 Admi ssi ons fo r Ac ademy Awards B es t Pic t ure
So urce : Aca d emy Awa rds, boxo fficemo jo
The ranking in the US box office has significantly fallen (i.e. the nu merical position has
increased, from being in the top 10 to below the top 100).
( Se e Annex 2 for further information )
0,
3500 0000,
7000 0000,
1050 00000,
1400 00000,
1978 19811984 19871990 19931996 19992002 20052008 20112014 2017
Oscar Best Pictur e - admissions
30
30
31) This thesis is in no way about superhero films or defence of such film s, but it does try to explore
the intellectual roots beneath the t heore tical divide between auteur cinema and genr e cinema
and provide the grounds for moving beyond this dichotomy at a theoretical level.
TI MELIN E OF THE MOVIN G IMA GE
The cu rren t dich otomy between ge nre and auteur ci ne ma, at the le ve l of fi lm cir cul a ti o n,
in st itut ional stru ct ures and th eoreti cal mode ls is int im at e l y li nke d to th e cu rren t stat e of t ec hn olog y and
th e st r u ct u r e of th e in dust ry . Th i s can be il lust ra t e d using th e fo l lowi ng broad time line :
1891-1915 Ci n em a began with indi vid u al ki ne to sco pe s (1 8 9 1) and th e first public scre ening
was in 18 95. Ear l y fi lms were sho wn in ci rcu s te nts , ni ck el odeon s (e s p ecia lly fr om 19 05 to 1915) and
ki ne tos co pe s. The film s were in iti all y si ngl e reel sh ows (i.e. short film s) an d inc lud ed bot h fi cti on,
docume n tar y a nd ne ws an d also lo c al “actuality” fi lms. N ational fi lm in dust ries began to de v elop, not
jus t in th e US A, also in It a ly , Fr an c e, Denma rk an d Rus sia.
1915-1929 Com me ncing wi t h
Bi r th of a Nati on
(1915 ) film s were inc re as i ng l y di s tributed
as fe at u r e len gth fi lms , often co m ple me nt ed by short er film s and n ew s reel s. They were ess ent ia lly sile nt
fi lms un t il th e fi rst sou nd fe atur e,
The Ja zz Si ng er
(1927 ). Li ght weig ht ca m er as co u ld be used enabling
si g nifi can t visu al ex peri m en tat ion .
1930-1950s Fi lm e s tablish e d its el f as th e dominant popula r en ter tain men t m ed iu m. Sou nd
fi lm e nabl ed Ho llywood to re infor ce it s dominat i on over the world fi lm in dust ry . Cam er a and soun d
equ ip ment was mu ch he avi er, limi tin g visu al ex peri men ta ti on . Hol lywood ci ne ma was co n st rai ne d by th e
H ays Cod e . Eu rop ea n ci ne ma in th e 19 30s and war years was subject to stron g propa ganda re mit s.
Af ter th e en d of th e Seco n d Wor ld War , a gr eat er spi r it of free dom was unle ashed , which in th e e arly
post - war years was es pec ial ly ma rke d in It aly and Sc an di nav ia . Lightweight cam er a s and le ss ce ns o rs hi p
m ea n t th at a ne w perio d of Eu rop ea n ci ne ma becam e poss i ble. In th e 1950s te lev ision began it s rol lout
in the US and UK , re duci n g ci ne ma audien c es in th ose cou ntr ie s , whil e fi lmg oing re main ed popula r in
con ti ne ntal Eu rop e .
31
1960s – mid 1970s Ne w Wa v e c ine ma s ex plod ed th roug hout Eu ro pe and in other par ts of
th e world, notably in Latin Am eric a. Takin g th eir basic inspi ratio n fr om It ali an ne o - rea li sm, th e Ne w Wa ve
ex pande d th e ho rizo n of ci ne ma. The fact th at th e te lev is ion rol lout was lat er in con ti nen ta l Eu ro pe me ant
th at both com me rc ial fi lms and “arthous e” fi lms cou ld enj oy ma j or box- office suc cess – a cl a ssi c ex ampl e
being Pasolini ’ s
Deca mer on (1 971)
whic h had ove r 10 m illion admis sions in It aly al o n e. The Am e ri can
Maj o rs were inv est ing in Eu rope an fi l ms an d helpe d th em ci rcu l ate ar oun d Eu rope . Eu rope a n co -
prod uctions attained a pe ak in th e mi d 19 60s with almost 50 % of fi lms in Eu rope being cop rod uc ed
(Dal e, 19 97). In th e s ec on d hal f of th e 19 60s th e US stu dio sys t e m co ll a pse d, th e Hays Co de was
abandon ed an d th e New Hollywo od was us he red in by film s suc h as
The
Gr adua t e (1 967)
,
Eas y
Ri der
(1969 )
and
Bonn ie
and Cly de (1967 )
. In th e ea rly 19 70s th e top Am eric an fi lms we r e hi ghly in flu enc ed
by Eu rope an fi lmm aki ng tr ad iti ons , cla ssi c ex ampl es inc lude th e firs t t wo
Godf athe r
fi lms.
Mid -1970s – 1990s Eu rope a n and Am eric an fi lms began to tra ce opposite path s . Eu rop e’s
public fun ding sys tem s ramp ed up th eir activi t ies th roug hout t he 19 60s and th e dominan t 19 70s high
c ri tic al th eor y le d to a ma jo r sh i f t towa rd s “ aut eur ci ne ma ”. Th e rol lout of tele vis ion mea nt th a t many
ge nres , suc h as com ed y, dra m a, cr i me et c, shif ted to tele vis ion dra m a and Euro pe an ci ne ma inc re asing ly
foc use d on a ute ur film s (Dal e, 19 97). By con tr ast Ho lly wood began it s sh ift to war ds fi lm s in fa nt a sy
se ttings wi t h a stron g de p e ndence on spe cia l ef fect s. Th is began with fi lms suc h as
St a r War s (19 77 -)
and
Cl os e En c ounters of th e Thir d Ki nd (1 977)
and pr ogress ively i nc re ased fr om th e lat e 19 70s onwards.
At th e sa me ti me the hom e vi deo mar ke t ex pl ode d, fi rst with VHS and then DVD which cr e ated roo m fo r
ind ep enden t fi lmm akers in clu din g many Eu ro pe an pr oducers, such as Di no de Laur e n ti i s, who sh ift ed
th eir foc us away fr o m thei r hom e cou n tr ies and began to pr oduce ed gy En gl ish lan gua ge fi lms ai me d at
th e i nter nati ona l marke t. Pay TV operators suc h as HB O and Sh owt ime pr ovided another wi n dow for
fe atur e film s and also in cr ea sing ly in vest ed in TV seri es with hi gh pr oduct ion va lu es, cl as si c ex ampl es
inc lud ing
The Sop r anos (1 999)
. Thes e se ries be c ame as im por ta nt, or ev en mor e im port ant , for payT V
ch a nne ls.
2000 on war ds With th e in cre asin g powe r of CGI spe cia l ef fe c t s an d demand for super hero
fr anch ises, Ho llywood ci n em a is i nc re asing ly de p endent on fant asy film se tti ngs. Th e DVD mar ke t be gan
to col l a pse at th e end of the fi rst decade, fi rst in ren tal and t he n in sal es. As spend ing shif ted to st rea ming
pla tf o rms suc h as Ne tflix , th ey branded th emse lves on ed g y TV dr a m a, com p le me nte d by fi lms . The
col l a pse of hom e vi deo and the co n ti nued ri se of TV dr a m a me ant t hat th e Hollywood stu dios be gan to
32
32
se e their rev en ues decl inin g, whic h mot iv ated the Fox/ Disne y merg er and th e la unc h of th e Disney Pl us
stre amin g pl atform. In Eu rop e , th e ma in br oadcasters stru gg led to ma i nt ain t he ir reve nue s and audience
sha res in a mu lt i- ch a nne l en viro nm ent , wi t h inevitable ca s ua lt ie s. In som e mar ke ts th e mai n cas ua l ti es
hav e be en publ i c broadcasters, but in ma ny ca s es th ey hav e fo un d it ea sie r to adapt du e to public fin din g
and it has be en priv ate broadcasters th at have suf fered th e big ge st reve nue squee ze. Broa dcaste r s are
inc re asin gly focu se d on inv estin g in film s and seri es th at ha ve a stron g domes t ic potenti al, above all, and
int er na t i ona l potenti al as a bonus. Th is has le d to rein for ce d em p has is on a sma ll nu m ber of fe at u r e
fi l ms ai me d at th e com me rc ial exhibition ci r cui t, above all co m ed ies . In th e auteur ci ne ma segme nt th er e
has been an ex plo sio n of film fest iv als an d th e dich otom y between th e two segm ents is mor e mar ke d
th an ev er . Th er e a re no neth el ess som e ex cep t i on s, suc h as th e fi lms du mil ie u in Fr ance , and cri me
dra ma fi lm s and seri es in Sc a ndi na via .
33
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
This PhD proposal is in teg rate d wi thin my br oad e r re se arch int o th e f ac t ors th a t determine th e
audien c e an d cr it ic al foo tpri nt of fi lms.
The in iti al PhD p rop os al was pr esented in Ju l y 20 11, ent itl ed:
Ce ll ulo id Foot pri nts : How
sto r y tell ing te chn iqu es inf luen c e th e imp ac t of nati ona l ci ne ma s . Inc l uding an in - depth cas e - stu dy on
Portugu ese cin em a
.
The fi na l te x t in cl ude s ex t e nsiv e rese arc h in order to de fi ne th e fa ct ors to be tak en into
con sid er ati o n to un derstand the par adigm of th e movin g imag e in th e digi t al en vi ron men t and fa ct ors
unde rpinn ing audien c e en gag emen t.
The id ea s ex plore d within th is te x t hav e al s o had a di r e ct inf luen ce on th e cr e a tive op ti ons I ha ve
tak en in the fi lm s an d video s that I hav e dir e ct e d.
Oth e r rese arch con du cte d by me , suc h as my book
The Mov i e Gam e
(Dal e, 19 97), my strat egy
re port for th e Portu gue se Mi ni s try of Cu ltu re and my artic le s f or
Var i ety
hav e als o in f luenc ed th e
de ve lop men t of th is th esis.
In par ti c ula r th e lar ge bo dy of arti c l es I hav e wr itt e n for
Var i ety
si n ce st arti n g th is th esis ha ve
been ex t r emel y im port ant fo r de v elop i ng many of the id e as develop ed herei n.
In addi t i on to ex ten siv e rese arc h wi thin th e fram ework of th e ini tia l proposal , I have been teachi ng
th eo re tic al - pr actical discipline s in the Uni versit y of Minh o , us ing an approac h th at draws upon th e ide as
devel oped in th is te xt and which re aff ir m th e idea of le ar ni ng by doi n g a nd th e dis tinctive ch a rac ter is tic s
of vi sual co m muni c at ion vi s -à- vis te x t -based c ommunic ation.
Si nc e I be gan th is th esis rese arc h in 20 11, I hav e prod uced and di r e ct e d a lar ge number of fi lms
dedic at ed to ex plo rin g tang i bl e and i ntan g ible cu ltu ral he rita ge and th e “sense of place” of di ffer e n t
dest inations. Th e s e fi lms hav e ac h iev e d considerabl e audience eng ag emen t, primarily in Portugal, with
over 10 mi l lio n vi ews ove r the las t 2 years.
The wor k as s o ci a te d with th is PhD is only part of my bro ade r re se arc h, wh i c h now span s th re e
d ec ade s, an d wh ich can be brief ly sum m a ris ed as fol low s:
34
34
1) Poetic cinema. During my master’s degree studies at the Annenberg School of Communications,
University of P ennsylvan ia, I produced extensive research into poetic cinema, supervised by Amos
Vogel founder of the New York Film Festival and Cinema 16 and author of “Film as a Subversive Art”
(Vogel, 1976) The exploration of how film can be used as a poetic medium has framed both my own
research into this field a nd my own filmm aki ng activity ever since. My scholarship for studying in the
United States ended before terminating the thesis, but some of the ideas previously developed have
been incorporated herein.
2) Académie Carat. In 1991 I had a 10- month scholarship in Par is from th is foundation which
introduc ed me to top French film and TV professionals and the chance to travel the world, which led
to my book
Europa, Europa – Developing the European Film Industry
(Dale, 1992). Thi s book, with
preface by UK producer Da vid P uttnam, pu blished by the Me dia Business Sch ool and the Academie
Carat, analyses the relativ e strengths of the Euro pean and American film industries and the factors
that explain why the Hollywood Majors are so successful, in particular in terms of the centr alised
scr ipt development and distribu tion capabilities, and the role of the “creative producer” in nurturing
film projects.
3)
Awaiting the Phoenix
(1994). This article, published by BBVA, analyses in greater depth the audience
drop for European films as a consequence of the roll - out of televis ion, in particular from the 1960s
onwards and the pos sibility of reversing the decline in audience engagement for European films.
4)
The Movie Game
(1997). This 350 - page book, w ith preface by UK pro ducer and writer, Terr y Ilott,
p rovides an in - depth analysis of t he production models used in US, UK and continen tal European
Cinema, and provides strategy recommendations for audience engagement for European films,
focusing in particular on the need for stronger distribut ion structures, stronger sales agents, and for
E uropean producers to develop self-publishing strategies. References in Google Scholar: 133.
5) Film journalism for
Variety
(over 380 articles since 1997) and annual reports on Portugal for the
Variety Internatio nal F ilm Guide
between the mid 1990s and mi d 200 0s. These artic les have enabled
me to interview leading producers and directors working in America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and
analyse new trends such as emerging cinem as (e.g. in Northern Africa and Centra l Ame rica), gro wth
of the visual effects in dustry (especially in France and the UK), the impact of tax incentive schemes
(especially in France, the UK, Eastern Europe and analysis of new schemes in Portugal etc); growt h
of digital media (e.g. web series), stra t egies of television broadcasters (incl uding a profile of TF1) and
latest trends in documentary fi l mmaking.
35
6) Report for the Inter -Ministerial Commission for the Audiovisual Sector (CIMA) (1997). I wrote a key
sect ion on the film industry in this repor t, wh ich was on e of the factors that led to rest ructuring of
the Portuguese film institute as IC AM – Institute for Cinema , Audiovisual and Multimedia, with
additional funding for the sector.
7) Strategy consulting fo r the Portuguese film institute, ICAM,(1997 -2000 ) as advis er to the President,
José Co sta Ramos. Identification of strategies of how to inc rease the involvement of distributors in
Portuguese films, use of digital technologies to provide new opportunities for a new generation of
Portuguese filmmaker s, an d launch of a new film fund, that was entit led Conteúdos S.A. The latter
initiative was abo rted by the Minister, but the strategic thinking subsequently led to the creation of
the film fund FICA, an initiative tha t had mixed success and was later susp ended .
8) Strategy consulting fo r RTP and the holdi ng company Portugal Global (2000-2002) focusing on
development of RTP’s Internet sites and launch of an educational TV channel.
9) Strategy consultancy re port for Tobis Port uguesa (2004) on the likely impacts of digi tal techno logies
(which subsequently l ed to closure of the film laboratory).
10) Production of several reports for the Think Tank on European Film and Film Policy (mid 2000s), that
was chaired by Henning Camre, focusi ng on film distribution and the impact of n ew technol ogies.
11) Production of a strat egy r eport on Portuguese cinema (2009) for the then Minister of Culture, Jo sé
António Pinto Ribeiro, including recommendations such as introduction of film tax incentives,
coo peration with Portuguese film schools and r einforced development support.
12) Strateg y adv ice in the context of meetings of Portuguese fil m schoo ls. Between 2014-2018 I
coordinated annual meetings of Portuguese film schools during the Fantasporto film festival. I also
took part in the Meeting of P ortug uese film schools organised by the Por tugue se Film Academy in
December 2017 and was nominat ed as one of the members of the Secretariat of a potential future
Federation of Portuguese film schools. The issues we hav e discussed include the creation of a
Feder ation, higher public support for film schools, cooperation protocols between schools and a
promotional and distribution platform for student films.
13) Translation for leading cultura l art institutions in Portugal, in cluding the Serralves Museum, Centro
C ultur al Vila Flor, Centro Cultural de Belém , Jos é de Guimarães International Centre for the Arts ,
Ministry of Culture, Institute of Cinema and Audiovisua l, Office for the Media (GMCS), Media
Regulatory Authority (ERC), including direct collaboration with c urato rs such as Nuno F ar ia, Miguel
von Hafe Pere z, Ricardo Nicolau and many others.
36
36
14) Translation for projects related to Portuguese heritage, including t exts related to Expo 98 in Lisbon,
in 1998, Guimarães European Capital of Culture in 2012, texts for Po rto C ity Council related to Porto
as a Worl d Her itage site, tr anslation of the application docum ents for the Por tuguese cork oak forests
(“Montado) as a World Heritage site, and the application of Bom Jesus de Braga as a World Heritage
site. My involvement in these projects related to Portuguese he ritag e have also contributed to my
perspectives developed in this thesis.
15) Work for the European Commission (2014-2018) as expert evaluator and reviewer for projects
applying f or funding and funded projects in the conte xt of Horizon 2020. The work itself is conf idential
but issues addressed include new produc tion technologies such as High Frame Rates, High Dynamic
Range, new film lighting systems, new systems for drones, new dis tribution strategies and new
computer assis ted production tools.
In th e con tex t of t hi s broa d e r re sea rc h, one of th e key topi cs th at in ter e s ts me is th e power of
th e film me diu m and how to ex plore it, th e ne w para d i gm of th e mo vin g imag e in th e di gi t al e nv iro nment ,
what audiences ar e look ing for , how fi lmm akers use th e aest hetic and po eti c dime n sion of film to eng ag e
wi th audien ces, wh at determ ines which fi lms build stron g wor d of mout h, and in the cu rr en t co n tex t of
soc ial med ia why ce r ta in fi lms are sh a red by user s over ot he rs.
Ov e r th e la st se ve n ye ars I hav e ex plo red many of th es e is s ue s in my own re se arch and my
te aching activi t ie s at th e Uni versit y of Mi nh o.
In th e fu ture , after com p let in g th is PhD I als o aim to develop fe atur e film pr ojects, an d th e
th eoreti cal fr amewo rk provided with in th is practis e -base d re se arch wi ll be used for th is purpos e.
CONTEXT
In 19 97 I pu blished my book
The Mo v ie Game : The Fi lm Bu si ness in Brit ain, Eu rope and Am eric a
(C a s sell ) that provided an in - de p th analysis of the wor kings of the fi lm in dust ry .
One of th e mai n iss ues th at con ce rne d me in t hat work was to ex plain why th e Euro pe an fi lm
ind ust r y had fal len so far be hi n d th e Amer ica n film indu stry , and at a broader leve l why US -base d con t en t
com p ani es se emed to be poised to dominat e the heral ded Inf or mati on Ag e.
My pr evious analys i s focu sed pr im ar ily on su pp ly - si de is sues rela te d to th e absence of maj or
fi lm and con ten t distributors in Eu rope , th e lac k of re se arch and de velopmen t ex pen dit ure , th e fac t th a t
prod ucer s ma de th eir re ve n ue s prima rily at th e st age of put ti n g tog ether th e product ion b udge t ra th er
37
th an subsequent com me rc ia lis a ti on, th e l ack of cre a tiv e produce r s, th e fai ling s of th e s ubsidy sys t e ms,
amon g st oth e r is sues .
Ther e was a cl e ar problem id e ntifie d in my book, as sum maris ed in the re view made of it in
The
Ec ono mi s t
:
The ma jo rity of Eu ro pea n fi lms hav e vi rt u all y zero box - offic e appeal,” says Mr Dale bluntly. Wher eas
a ty pical Ho ll yw ood fi lm is even tually see n, one wa y or ano ther, by 220m peopl e, a Eu rope an fi lm
is lu cky to be seen by 1% of th at nu mbe r. Ove r 30 0 Eu rope an fi lms a ye ar , ro ug hl y one - and -a- hal f
time s Hol l y w ood 's tot a l pr oduc tion, di sapp ear virtually un wat che d. “N o oth e r par t of th e wo rl d
pr oduces so man y fi lm s wh i ch are im med iat ely fo rg otten ,” he say s. It is a ce lluloid version of
Eu ro pe' s win e lake s and butte r mo u n tains. 14
Si nc e I wrote the book th ere hav e been sign if ican t ch an ge s in th e Eu rope a n fi lm in du st ry
inc lud i ng widespr ead adoption of tax inc ent ive s th at hav e at tracted Hol lywoo d pro ductions and mor e
prod uction of “comme rcia l fi lms ” wi t h st r on g sup port fr om bro ad c aste rs th at ha ve attrac t ed dom e s t ic
audien c es. How ever at a broader leve l, th e problem of we ak audie nc e eng ag emen t ide nti fi ed in my book
con ti nues to ex ist .
In par ti c ul ar th e dich otomy be twe en com m erc ia l and au t eur f il ms has be e n fur the r rein for ced,
ef fect iv e ly cr e at in g a gh ett o fr om wh i c h fi lms with great er arti s tic am bitio n fi nd it diffi c ult to es cape .
For “auteur film s” ther e is th e ch an ce to sho w suc h film s in the e xpandin g fi lm fe stiv al ci r cui t,
whic h provi des an opportun ity to scre en fi lms tha t ca n no t a cc es s th e theatr ic al cin em a ma rke t, but it’ s
diffi cult to ac h iev e cros s over hits .
In te rms of a udienc e eng agem ent th e si tuat io n is rad ica lly diffe rent fr om the so -c all e d “golden
age” of Eu rop ea n ci ne ma. The art v s. com m erc e debat e has ev olv ed o ver th e pas t tw o de c ades inc ludin g
th e product ion of fi lms th a t combined ge nr e and au teur elem ent s, and th e ev olut ion of TV seri es, whic h
som e direct or s se e as a mor e fe rtil e cr e ativ e gro und th an ci ne ma at pr esent.
The Inte rne t and soc ial me d ia re vol uti on has also r evo lut ionis ed th e si t uat io n , be c ause th ere is
now roo m for a wide panopl y of artistic approaches, inc lud ing auteur el emen ts, ge nr e el emen ts an d
anyt h i ng el se beyond and in -be twe e n.
In th is co n text , th er e is a ne e d for a new under stan ding of “l i te rac y” be c ause there ha s be en a
maj or shif t fr om the prin t age to th e digital ag e , in which au di ov isual com muni c at ion is an inc re asin gly
ce ntr al par t of mo de rn com mu ni c atio n .
In th e new im age - depen dent lan ds cape th ere is an inc rea sing gul f be twe e n hi gh -e nd con t en t,
suc h as high -budget film s and TV seri es, com m erc ia l s et c, and low - end co n ten t, ran ging fr om soap
14
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.economist.com/business/1 9 97/03/20/home - alone - in - europe
38
38
operas to amateur product ions. Mi d - ran ge con ten t is lo sin g v i a bili ty. This poses a maj or ch a ll en ge to
Eu rop ea n co n t ent pr oduction, because th e mom ent um of im a ge cr e a tion is in cre asin gly dom i nat ed by
pla yers based in North Am er ica , both in te rms of pl atforms suc h as Netfli x, Amazon , iT une s et c , and in
te rms of con ten t cr ea tor s.
The objective of this th esis is to a ddres s the pe rceived dichotomy betwe en auteur ci ne ma and
ge n re ci ne ma , and at a wi de r le v el between “artistic” and com me rc ial approach es to audiov isual
prod uction.
It is ar g ued he rei n th a t th e key to addressing th is is sue is associated wi t h the pote ntial poeti c
dime nsion of film and au diovisual me d ia a nd it s ability to eng ag e with th e hum an mind.
By it s very natu re film e nabl e s us to go be y on d our no rma l hum a n facu ltie s of sight and heari ng.
This cap ac it y ex cite d fi lmm ake rs as soo n as ci ne ma was in ven ted an d in today’s digi t al ag e in which
th ere is re l atively in ex pensi ve acc es s to film ma k i ng and post - pr oduc ti on equ ip ment , which is co n st an tl y
ev olv ing , it ex c i tes many hun d reds of mil li on people aroun d th e wor l d.
The ex c i te ment of fi lmm aki ng that ex ud es fro m fi l ms suc h as Dzig a Vertov’s
Man wi th a Mo vi e
Cam er a ( 19 29 )
or Ja mes McB r i de’s fi lm
Dav id Holzm an’ s Di ary (1967 )
is al s o evi de nt in th e wor k s of
many YouTube r s, suc h as De vin Gr ah am or Case y Neit stat .
Im agin g te chn olog y ha s mas s ive ex pande d hum an visu al ex pe ri enc e, rang ing fro m th e te les cope
to th e m ic ros cope . Th is has pr o vi ded sc ient i sts with new too ls to ex plo re the uni verse and arti sts hav e
ne w opp ortunities to se e th e wor ld in a ne w li ght and open people’s ey es to ne w re aliti es .
Im agin g techn olog y e nables fi lmm ake rs to ex plore th is poetic vein , a nd it is th is dime n sion which
con st itu tes a ce ntr a l el emen t of th is thesis .
A fi lm cam er a can se e th ing s that we can ’t nor mal ly se e . This in clu des te chn iqu es suc h as
mac ro -p ho tog raph y and ni ght photograph y, but a lso ex ten ds to th e whole wor ld of vi sual ef fect s th at can
cr e ate i mag es wh i c h hav e th eir own re ality and yet were never re cor ded in a rea l - wor l d se tti n g. Fi lm can
also mani pul ate ti me, ef for tles sly jum p fr om vi ewpoi nt to another, cr e a te dream l ike sequ en ces th at tap
int o our no n -verbal con sc iou sne s s, a “stat e of re verie ” an d th e unco nscio us.
Maya De ren li k e ned fi lm im ages to "f ragm e n ts of a perma ne n t incorruptible me mor y". 15 This
poe ti c fac ulty of th e mov ing imag e ex ci te d th e ea rly fi lmm akers and for med part of a wider av a n t - gar de
mov em en t that was c ommitted to awak e ning a new con sc iou sne s s in the ma ss es.
15 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww. scre en ing the pa st. co m/ 2015 / 01/ the - time - of - scu l ptu r e - film - phot ogra phy - an d -
au guste - rod in/
39
The Fr ench Nouve lle Vagu e refl e c t e d th is his tori cal mo v emen t. Howeve r, in th e int er im ye ars a
ne w approach to ci ne m a has de v elop ed, par tl y shap e d by f ilm t heory and fi lm stu dies, in whic h th er e
co nt inu es to be an in ter e st in ex plori ng th e ex peri m e nt al dime n s i on of fi lm , but it ha s becom e
com m onp la ce to affirm th at su ch ex plora ti on is rest rict ed to a ce rt ain ty pe of fi l m, under th e umbrella
te rm of “aute ur ci nema”, which te nds to ha ve a low le ve l of a udienc e en gag emen t. This developmen t
has co i nc ide d with th e ide a th at film s hav e to ch oo se be twe en one of tw o approac hes. They sho uld ei the r
be “commercial fi lms” or “auteu r f i lms”, and if th ey are th e lat ter th ey sh ould us e narrat ive con ve nti o ns
th at d if f er fr om cl a s sic nar r ativ e struc tur es. Im pli citl y th e sug gest i on is that a com me rc ial fi lm can no t
hav e a poetic dimension and th a t th is fac ulty is re st ri c t ed to a small gr o up of film s th at ha ve sep arate
con ve n tio ns , and ul timate ly are limi ted to a rest rict e d audience. This c onstitut e s a sea ch a nge in th e way
th at fi lm is se e n com pa re d to the ea rly decades of ci ne ma .
For ex ampl e, a fi lmm aker su ch as Geo rge Mé l iès who cre a te d fan tasy worlds in fi lms su ch as
Voya ge to th e Moon (1902 )
we re cl e ar ly worki n g wi t hi n a po etic vein . H owever, North Am er ica n
fi lmm ak ers suc h as Ja mes Cam er on ma k in g a film with a fan ta sy set t i n g , su c h as
Av atar (2 0 09 )
, are no t
vi ewed as “auteurs” or “ar t is t s ” by ma ny co m me nta to r s.
One way to app roac h th ese is su es is to ex plo re th e w ri tin gs of Jo sep h Cam pb ell, whose idea on
th e hero my th , or mo n omy th, hav e had a ma jo r ef fe ct on Ho llywood sc riptwr iting , fr om
St a r War s
onwards. Campbell’s idea s ar e of te n seen as be in g well - wor n and perh a p s wor n out . But hi s writing s
are ofte n si m pl ist ic all y ide nti fied as co rr espon di n g to com me rc ia l nar r ativ e approach e s rat her th an poe tic
or arti s tic approach e s.
If we an al ys e Campbell’s writing s in depth, in par ticula r his 4- vol ume
The Mas ks of Go d
his ide as
pr ov i de a mod e l for under stan ding th e poe ti c dime n si on of art, whic h he li nks to aspe cts of sh ama nis m,
whic h de m onstrate th at th e pote ntial to achiev e poe ti c re son ance in a work of art is no t dep e ndent on
non - li nea r nar rat ive st r u c tur e s. His wr itings su ggest th at a hi gh le vel of audien c e eng ag em ent of an
arti stic wor k , an d its el ev at ion to a my t hic st atus, doe s no t im ply th at a wor k lack s a poetic dim ension
and m ay im ply th e ex act opposite.
By ex plori ng th ese ide as, inc ludi ng in - depth analysis of th e writing s of Cam pbell , fi lmm akers who
vi ewed th ems el ve s as fi lm poets and other th eor ists in th is fiel d , I pr opose a ge ne ral th eory for an
unde rstan ding of fi lmic com m uni c at ion th at goe s beyond th e dic hot omy between ar t vs co mm erce and
I hop e wi l l play a po sitive con tr ibution to de ba te on th ese is sues .
46
46
The se parat e cou rs es ch a rt ed by Eu rop e an and Am eric an ci ne ma are we l l kn ow n. Th is th esis
foc use s on th e th eoreti cal unde rpinn in gs of thes e t wo dir e ct i ons, which re flec t differe n t wor l d vi ews .
The i de as as s oc i ated to th es e dis tinct vi ews can be p rese n te d as dic hotomies, but it’s imp ort ant
to bear in mind th at dich otomies often co n ce a l mo r e th an th ey re veal.
Theo r is t s hav e foc use d on th e po ten tia l pe rils of th e mo v ing im ag e be cause of what Guy Debord
cal l ed th e
Soc ie ty of th e Spe ct a cle
(Debord, 1984 ). Fr om th is vi ewpoi nt, ci nema can pote ntially ens lave
spe ctat ors si n c e powerf ul “i n- your - fac e ” fi lmm aking can dam pen pe ople’s int e l le ctu al and anal ytical
cap ac it ie s and ushe r in the dang e rs of populi s m , co nsume ri sm an d ge ne ral n um bi ng of th e mi nd .
Oth e rs e mbr a ce th e power of th e mo vin g imag e pr ecisely be cause it can “transport” vi ewers to
anot h e r sta te of con sc iou sne s s, por trayed as ei the r a mor e in te nse awarenes s of th e con sc iou s wor ld,
fr om a phe nomenol o gica l pe rspective, or a g atewa y to th e dre am wor ld and non -verbal con sc iou sn ess ,
a “state of re verie ” and th e uncons cious .
Thes e com p et ing vi ews are lin ked to the dich otomy between the “rational pa th” and th e “poetic
path ” as me nti one d abo v e . Thes e tw o tr adi t i ons al s o fin d par al le ls in th e Apol lo nian a nd Di onys ian
tra dit ions ide nti fie d by Niet zsche and th e diur n al an d no ctu rna l, or sol ar and lu na r trad itions ide nti fied
by G ilbe rt Dur and in his
An th ropo lo g i ca l St ruc tur e s of th e Im agin ary
(Du rand, 20 16, 12 th ed it ion) . They
can a ls o be relat e d to the ancie nt myt h of Apol lo vs Ma r sy sas , as discuss e d be l ow.
Thes e two tra dit ions lie at the he art of mu ch con tem p ora ry de bat e about th e natu re of lang uag e,
hum an co n sc iou sne s s and co g ni tion . F or ex ampl e, re cen t de ve l opmen ts in the ge ne r al st udy of hum an
cog n it ion and by cog ni tiv e fi lm th e ory hav e focu se d on th e im port anc e of co g ni tio n ba sed on em otio nal
unde rstan ding , rat her th an purely rati onal in ter pret ati on of inf orm ati on.
Cog nit iv e fi lm theor y defends th e ide a th at we don’t sol ely e ng age with re cor ded and ed it ed
sou nd and im ag e at an int el le c t ual le vel. Fi lms eng ag e audien c e s at a mu lti - sen sori al le vel, as argued by
Luis Roc ha An tune s in
The Mu ltis en sor y Fi l m Ex pe ri e nce – The Ar t(s) of Sl ow Ci nema
(An tunes, 20 16)
and by Jo n Boo r stin in
The Hollywood Eye : Wh at M ak es Mo v i es Wo rk
(Boo rsti n, 1980) (r e - issu ed as
Mak in g Mov i es Wor k
).
An tune s st ates th at th e fa c t th at film s eng ag e with our se nso ri motor sy s t e m m ea n s th at th ey
can no t be analys e d so lel y as “texts” whic h ar e “dec oded” by th e in te ll ect . At th is le vel he ch alleng es th e
psychoan alyt ic - se m i otic par ad igm which trie s to cre a te equ iva len ces between written te xts and oth er
for ms of com muni c at ion .
Se mi oti ci ans and ot her th eoris ts ha ve analys ed whether fi lm is a “lang uage” and wheth e r
th eo ri es de v elop e d by lang uag e stu dies can al s o be appl ie d to film . Formal ist and neo - for ma list fi lm
47
th eory has trie d to ide nti fy what som e term the “grammar” of the sho t an d th e ed it , and film stu dents
le arn to id en t i fy an d name th e diff er ent type s of sho ts – fr om ex trem e lon g sh ot to ex trem e cl os e - up an d
typ es of ed it, fr om co n ti nu i ty ed it to ju mp cu t. Thes e approac hes can cl e arl y be illu min atin g but th e ba sic
ide a of cog ni tiv e fi lm theor y is th at they offer an inc ompl ete unde r stand ing of cin ema . Mu l ti - se nsor y fi lm
th eory , phenome nolo gi cal approach e s and na rr atio na l th eor y based on em otio nal eng agem ent of f e r
alte rnative theor etica l mod els as wi ll be ex plo re d he rei n.
48
48
CHAPTE R TWO – A GLIMPSE OF THE WORLD BEYOND – The power of the moving imag e
Summary
M ovi ng imag es af f ect ou r co g ni t iv e pr ocesse s in a dif f er ent way fr om th e wr itt e n word, e nabl ing
a differe n t ki nd of mu lti - sen sori al en ga gem ent and new possibilities of cre a tin g di f f e r ent st ates of
con sc iou sne s s, he ighte ne d awarenes s of th e ex pe ri e nti al wor l d and ex peri enc es th at resemble a “waking
dream ” or “ sta te of reveri e”. Thi s ma kes th e mov in g im age par ti c ul arly ef fect ive in cr e atin g mo de rn
myt hs.
Introduction
Ther e is som e t hin g mag ic al a bout th e fi lm cam er a or photo gr a phic cam er a in term s of its
cap ac it y to re co rd a speci fi c mom e nt in ti me and sp ac e , whic h can th en be share d with ot hers.
The im age that we see is root ed in so me sen se of rea li t y , in as muc h th a t a fi lm im age, in its
mat er ial it y, ha s a li vi n g re ality . This is th e rat i on ale u nde rpinni ng Godard’s oft re peat ed s ta teme nt th at
“cinema is tr uth 24 fr am es pe r second,” to whic h he added “and ever y cu t is a l ie.” 19 However,
phan tasmagor i c al the fi lm im age may be , it is always im pre gnat e d wi t h a cer ta in tr uth or re ali ty, as a
mat e ria li se d th ing. Eve n fo r an ima ted , co m puterise d or vi rtu al re ality im ag es ther e is al w ays a mat er ial
dime nsion, an el em ent of “truth” to suc h im ag es.
At th e sam e time , th e im age project s us outwards int o th e unkn ow n. Cer tain ima ges obviously
achiev e th is ef fec t mor e th a n other s , but in al l ca ses we wi l l tr y to “i nt erpret” th e im age i.e. attach
me ani ng and try to con st ruc t a nar rat ive for th e im age. This is con ve yed by th e popular ex pres sion ,
“every pi ct u re te lls a stor y ”.
The po wer of th e im age to both c onve y a se nse of re ali t y a nd to trans por t the vi ew er to an other
re ali ty , and it s ability to co n ve y a sen se of nar rat ive is es sent ia l for under stan ding ho w fi lm ic
com m uni c at ion operat e s.
One app roach to under stan ding fi lm nar rat ive is lin ked to th e te rms
s yuzhe t
and
fabula
i.e. th e
subject ma tt er (c onte nt, st ory or “
fabula
”) an d th e mann er in w hich it is tol d (form , plot or “
syu z h e t
”) 20 .
19
Re trieved on 29/10/19 from https://filmistruth.com/faq.ht m
20
Ian Christie provides a useful definition of these terms in his essay “Formalism and Neo - Formalism” (Christie, 1998)
“Fabula, in the Formalist sense , is an im aginary sequence o f events narrated by the syuzhet, which provides the actual
narrative patte rn of the work of “story - as - told”. Thus, in literature, Cervantes’ and Sterne’s numerous digressions, abrupt
49
St ud ies of film ic nar rat ive hav e ofte n fo c use d on el em ent s suc h as mon tage , n arrat i ve struc tur e ,
ch a rac ter arc et c in ord er to ex plain
syu z h e t
. However, it ma y be argu e d th at th e for m an d co n ten t of th e
ind ivid u al im ag e als o co n ve ys a sen se of nar rat ive in it s own ri ght , re ga rdle ss of th e overall plot.
This may be grap hica lly re pr es ent ed as fol lows :
Figu re 1 – Tran s po r tat ion fro m mat eri a l reality to un kn own worl d
Wh en we see the imag e it ha s a m ater i al re ali ty (“s e ei ng is believing”) and yet also ha s th e power
to tr ans port us towa rd s an unknow n or “foreign world”.
I us e th e wor d “f oreign” he re for a re ason , b eca us e it can be li nke d to a term u se d lat er in th is
th esis of th e “forest” whose et ymo l ogical root is li nke d to th e Indo - Eu ro pe an root
dhwer -
, which me an s
outside, an d is als o th e orig i n of th e wor d “door”.
As Al exa nde r Porte o u s notes in “The For es t in F ol klo re and M y thology”:
Alth o ugh th e wo rds “ for est ” and “ for estry ” are now ge ne r a lly und e r stood to be con nect ed wi th
tr e es, yet th e for me r does not nec es sari ly mea n wo od ed gr ou nd or nat ural wo od la nd, but has been
con sidered to ha ve been derived fro m th e Lat in for is, mea nin g “ ou t - of - doors,” and th us th e
un enclos ed ope n lan d. (Porteous, 19 28 , p. 34 )
The im age tr ans port s us beyond th e th resh old, to war ds an “out- of - doors” sp ace, a re alm of
alte ri ty. Th is tra nsp orta tion towa rd s a “forest” may be towar ds a “dark forest”, ass ocia ted with th e darker
si des of ou r uncons cious , or to a mag ic al “golden forest”.
For ex ampl e, in the originall y ce ns or ed fl igh t se quen ce in Disney’s 19 37 animated fi lm
Sn ow
Wh it e
21 , th e prota gonist fl ee s in to what is fi rst a dar k for e st, w hi ch is th en tr an sf orm ed i nto a mag ic al
“go lde n forest”. A si m i lar trans forma ti on occurs in Ja mes C a meron’s 20 09 3D fi lm
Av ata r.
shifts forward and backward in time , repetit i ons, and withholding of inf ormation are all devices which constitute the syuzhet
or plot; and the Form alists regarded the relationship between the syuzhet and fabula, rathe r than one or the other, as the
essence of literary art” (Hill 1998, p.59).
21
Retri e ved on 29/10/19 from https: //youtu.be/Z4zQ1txgD94
Mat erial reality
Unknown / Fore i gn
Wo r l d
50
50
Obviously ce r ta in im ag es trans port us in a mor e powerf ul way than other s. Th er e may also be
con no tati ve el em en ts associ at ed wi th cer ta in ima ges which me an th at th ey are fa r mo r e effe ctiv e fo r
som e vi ewers th an for ot her s . Th is capa c it y to co n ve y mea ni ng and st ory vi a im ages is di s tinct fro m th e
way that wr itten te xt con ve ys nar rat ive.
The me an s by which word -bas e d co m muni c ation co n ve ys mea ni ng was one of th e ma i n themes
ex plo re d by Ma rs ha ll McLuhan in
Th e G utenbe r g Gal axy
(McLuhan, 19 62) . McLuhan hi ghli ghts th e fac t
th at prin t med ia is pr imarily based on decodi n g notat iona l lan gu age, which is signi fican tly diffe rent fr om
co mm un i ca t ion in the age prior to prin t med ia, in which th e spo ken wor d and huma n re pr esentati on
pla ye d a co r e rol e. For ex ampl e, he asks whether “th e int er ior isat io n of media suc h as
le tte rs
alte r th e
rat io amon g our se nses and ch an ge me ntal processe s?” (M c Lu han, 19 62, p.24 ) . McLuhan em ph asi ses
th e previ ous im port anc e of th e spo k en wor d: “In An tiqu it y a nd th e Mi dd le Ag es re adin g wa s ne cessa rily
re ading aloud” (McLuh an , 19 62, p.8 2 ) . He adds that th e print age sepa r at ed poe try fr om mu sic and
perfo r m ance, wh ich we r e previou s l y int imat el y lin ked .
Fol lowing t his li ne of re aso n, McLuhan emp ha sis es th e im port anc e of oral cu ltu re in An tiqu ity
and say s th at th is unde rli es Aqu inas ’ ex plan atio n of why Soc ra t es, Ch ris t a nd Py thagoras avoi ded the
publication of th ei r te a ch in g s. He sa ys th at th es e ide as unde rpinn ed hi s own mot iv ati on to wr ite
The
Gutenberg Gal axy
:
It wa s learn ing fro m Chay tor ho w litera ry conven t i ons ar e affec ted by th e or al , wr i tte n, or th e pr inte d
f or ms, tha t suggested to me the nee d for The Gu tenb err g G alaxy . Med ieva l lan g u age and liter at ure
we r e som ewhat in th e st at e of th e pr e s ent mo vi e or th e TV sho w in th at, in Chaytor ’s wo rds , it
“Pr od uce d little fo rm a l crit ici s m in our se nse of th e term . If an aut hor wis h ed to kno w wh e the r hi s
wo rk wa s goo d or bad, he t ri ed it on an audien ce ; if it wa s approve d, he wa s soon foll o w ed by
imit a tor s. Bu t authors wer e not const r ain ed by mode ls or systems…the audie nce wa nt ed a story
wi th ple nty of acti on an d move m en t , th e story as a ru le, sho wed no gre at co mm a n d of cha r ac ter
d ra wi ng; this wa s lef t to the recit er fo r po rt raya l by cha nge of voice an d ge stur e”. (Mc L uh an, 19 62,
p.8 7)
McLuhan emp has i ses th e rol e of the “Au ct or” in An tiqu it y which is lin ked to th e root of th e wor ds
auteur, au thor and authority. Th e pow er of th e
auc tor
is in tim at el y li nk ed to th e spok en wor d – he who
has the fi nal author it y to spea k .
T he wor d
auctor
is al s o lin ked to th e mod ern word – actor – i .e . th e power to spe ak unde rpins
action .
Au ctor
and
Au ctor it as
, ar e Latin te rm s re lat ed to th e “power of c om ma nd” an d ar e li nke d to th e
En gl ish te rm “authority”. This power of com ma nd i nc lude s th e aut h o ri ty/m aster y of th e spok en wor d.
“Auctor” is al s o lin ked to words su ch as “oral”, “audition” and “auction”. Ther e ar e al s o etym olog i c al
li nks to words su c h as “august ”, “auge”, “augment”.
Au ctor
broadly cor r es pon ds to th e mod e rn word
“author”, as ori ginator or cre a to r. A uc tor is also us ed to re fer to God as th e ulti mate Cre at or or Au thor .
51
In th is re ga rd it is si g ni fican t th a t recor ded so un d and im ages can b rin g us cl os er to th e orator,
th an ca n th e wr itt en word.
Pl ato ci t ed Soc ra t es who st ated that th e mas te rs of th e writt en word may be ca ll ed po ets, or ator s
or leg isl ators , but mas te rs of spok en argu ment s are “wort hy of a highe r name, be f itting th e seri ous
purs uit of th ei r life . Wi s e, I may not ca l l th e m; for th at is a gr eat name which be lon g s to God alone, - lo ver s
of wi s dom or philosoph ers is th ei r mode st and be fitt ing t itle.” (P ha ed rus).
McLuhan diffe rentiates between t he tra dit ion of spe aking in max i ms, or ap hor isms as opposed
to us e of meth od. He quo te s Aqu inas : “T he sen ses delight in th ings duly p ropo rti oned as in som e t hin g
akin to th em, for th e sen se too , is a ki nd of rea son as is ev ery cog ni tiv e po wer” (McLuhan, 1962, p.1 0 7 ).
He al s o emp hasi ses the or al tr adition in th e sch olasti c world in whic h th e ma in de f ence of a th esis was
oral rat her th a n via a writ t e n te xt and qu otes Fr ancis Bacon who con si der e d th at writing in aphori s ms is
“preferable to th e Cice r onian me tho d of ex plic it sp elli ng out of inf orma ti on in the for m of con ti nuo us
prose” (McLuhan, 19 62, p.1 0 2 ). McLuhan says th at ch il dre n co n ti nue to be attrac ted to ora l
com m uni c at ion rath er th an te xt -bas ed com mu ni c at ion : “The tr adit ional lor e of sc hool ch ild re n points to
th e gap between th e scri ba l and typo gr ap hic man” (McLuh an , 19 62, p.90)
In
Und e rs t an di n g Me d ia
(McLu han , 19 94) wh i c h inc lud es hi s f amou s st atemen t
T he Me diu m is
th e Me ssa g e
, M c Luhan for es aw that wh at he cal ls th e “al l- at - onc e ness” of elec t ron ic me dia wo uld mov e
soc iet y away fr om a pr int -based cu ltu re ba c k tow ar ds a cu ltu re th at wou l d once again be cl os er to or al
cu ltu re , re vivin g som e of th e aspects of prim i tiv e socie ty, but at a global leve l – thereby cre a tin g what he
cal l s th e “global village”.
For th e purposes of th is th esis, th ese i de as are re leva nt to th e ex t e nt th a t th e com bi n a tio n of
sou nd and im ages en gag es wi th th e se nses in a distinct ma nn er to tex t -based com muni c at ion . The power
of th e im age to con ve y a se nse of re ali t y is dist i nct fr om th e w ay that wr i t t e n te xt con ve ys me ani n g.
52
52
The Decisive Moment
In
The Deci siv e Mo me nt
(include d in Car ti er Bress on, 20 04) Fren c h phot o gr aphe r, He nr i Ca r tier
Br esson ex pres sed th e id ea that a si n g l e mom ent ca n ca pt ur e th e ess e n c e of th e ide nti ty of a perso n or
pla ce. He bor r o wed th e ex pres si on fr om Car din al Re tz who sai d th a t “The r e is no th ing in th is world
wi thout a de c i s ive mom ent ” 22 .
Car ti er Bress on analysed th e ind i vid ual ima ge and its potential in clu si on wi t hin a pictu re story ,
noti ng “S om etimes ther e is one uniq ue pictu re wh ose com po si ti on posses s e s suc h vi gour and rich nes s,
and w ho s e con t en t so rad iates outward fr om it , that th is s ing le pictu re is a wh ole story in it se lf . But this
rar el y happens.” (C a r tier Bress on, 20 04, p.2 3 ).
Tar kovsk y advocated a si m i l ar ide a: "T h e imag e is not a c ert ai n me ani ng, ex pres sed by th e
direct or , but an ent ir e world re flec ted as in a drop of water " (Ta rko vs ky, 19 89, p.1 1 0). "W e ca n not
com p reh e nd th e total i ty of the univ erse, but th e poe tic im age is abl e to ex pres s th a t tota lit y" (Tark ovsk y ,
19 89, p.10 6).
Kuro sawa expressed the same point saying, "Th e s pirit of the age, the lifestyle of the people…
can emerge from a single old food bowl" (Kurosawa, 1983. P. 110).
Dziga Vertov also emphasised how an image can convey a wid er mea ning: "The artist should be
able to show forth all the beauty and uniquenes s of individuality - while at the same time disclosing the
general, characteristic features of a people, of an era, or life that lies within." (Vertov, 1985, p. 244).
Car ti e r Bress on emp hasi ses th e el usiv e na ture of capt ur ing th e deci s ive mom ent : “The
pr of e ss ion de p ends so mu ch upon th e re lat io ns the phot o gr aphe r establishes wi t h th e people he ’s
phot ogr aph ing, th a t a fals e re lat io ns hip , a wrong wor d or att itude, can ru in ev er yt hing. Wh en the subj e ct
is in any way u nea s y, th e personal ity goes away where th e c amera can ’t re ach it” (C artier Br esson, 2004,
p. 2 8). He con ti nues : “To me phot ogr aph y is th e simu l tane ous re cog nit ion, in a fr acti on of a se cond , of
th e si g ni fican ce of an ev ent as well as of a prec i se orga nis a t ion of fo rms whic h give th at ev ent its p ro p er
ex pres sion ” (C a r tier Br e ss on , 20 04, p. 42 ).
Th e a rtist/poet, through his or her sensibility and sensitivity, may be able to capture the essence
of the identity of a per son or place, which others may miss.
Mary Trainor - Brigham in her book
Deep Cine ma
(Trainor - Brigham, 2008) suggests that this was
the case for Maya Deren when shooting her documentary
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
(1954)
:
22 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /stu di ofyn n. com /jo urn a l/ dec isi v e - mo ment - un de rst and in g - convergence
53
Deren herself claims that it was precisely her intuitive and respectful stance as an artist, vs. the
mor e intellectual, analytical posture of anthropologi sts, that gained her entrée into the deeper
dimensions of the Haitian Voudon community. She had a “delibera te discretion, a strong distaste
for aggressive inq uiry, staring or prying.” Rather than systema tizing and categorising her findings
objectively, as would a social scientist, Deren “could permit the culture and myth to emerge
gradually on its own terms and in its own for m (Trainor - Brigham, 2008, p.11).
T his c ap acity to se e iden tit y th at others may mis s, an d th en be abl e to share it wi t h oth e rs is
als o ide nti fied by Jo seph Campbell, who sug gests th at it is th e power of th e “poets” th at enables us to
con nec t to th e mu ltip le leve ls: mi cro cos m, me so cos m, mac r ocosm and in f init e.
Campbell links this powe r to the power of the “shaman”, as described later in this thesis, who
may share his/her vision with others even if others are unable to see it.
Tar kovsk y ex pr es se s this ide a in his fi lm
St a lker
in whic h th e ma in ch ara c ter le ads others to th e
“room” of en li g ht enment but th ey ar e unable to gr as p th e wisdom t hat it hold s: “Wh at's mos t awful is
th at no one needs it. No one needs that roo m. An d all my ef for ts are ju st in vai n” 23 .
23 Retr ie ved on 29 /10 /1 9 fro m ht tps: // th e atre no tes. b l ogspo t. com/ 200 7/ 09/ tar k ovs ky s - st alk er - poet - in - dest itute.h tml
54
54
Link between Film and non -verbal co nsciousness, a “state of reverie” and the unc ons cious
The power of th e fi lm im age to tra nspo rt th e view e r to a “f oreign/ u nk nown wor l d” ex ci t e d
fi lmm akers fro m th e ve ry birth of cin em a.
“Escaping fro m re ali ty ” is often ci te d as one of th e rea son s for wat ch in g a fi lm. But th is does not
me an th at all films ne c es sar ily inv olve a fant asy dimens ion. Inde e d a fi lm can he ig hten our sen se of
re ali ty and ability to see th ings th at ofte n go unp erce ived.
None thel ess, fr om th e ve r y fi rst fr am e of a fi lm we are trans por te d fr om our nor mal state of
mi nd, th at is ne ce s sar y for int era c t ing with th e ou ter world, to wa rds an al most dream - like st ate, or tra nce.
Am os Vogel in hi s book
Fi l m as a subversive art
de s cribes th is as fo llo ws:
Re mo ve d fro m the rea l wo rl d, iso lated even fr om fe llow - viewers, th e spe ctator fall s to dream and
rev eri e in th e wo mb - lik e dar k n ess of th e th eatre . Flooded by im age s , his un c on sc ious is freed fro m
cus tomar y con strain ts an d hi s ra ti onal fac ultie s are in hibit ed . St ep he nson and Debrix point out th at
ex ce pt for seeing and hear in g, body and ot her sense s are at rest in th e cinem a, th us all ow ing
i mag i nati on , stimu l a ted by th e fi lmma ke r's emo tionall y cha r g ed, expre ss l y - selected mat er ia l, to ex ert
deeper and mor e las ti ng influen ce. Maue rh ofer ref ers to t he vi ewer 's volun tar y pass ivi ty and
un crit ica l r ec eptiv ity; and Kr ac aue r emp h asi z e s the dialectica l wa v er ing be tween self - absorpti on
(leadi ng th e vie wer away fr om th e im age, int o pe rso nal ass ociations tr igger ed by it ) an d se lf -
aban donment (th e move m en t tow ard t he image ) . Perhaps th e st at e of th e view er (as Ma uer hof er,
th e psy cho logist, and Bret on , th e su r realist, both agree) is clo se s t to th at be tween wa kin g and
sleep i n g, in whi ch he aban dons th e ra tio nal ity of daily li fe wh i le not yet com pletely sur renderi ng to
his un consc iou s (Vog e l , 19 76, introdu ctio n) .
Buñ uel ec ho ed thes e ide as: "A mo n g all me a ns of hum a n ex pres sion , [cinema’s] way of
fun cti oni ng is most re min iscen t of th e work of th e mind during sl eep . ” 24 He adde d - "A fi lm is like an
inv olun t ar y imi ta tio n of a dream…In th e si lenc e and darkness of the th eatr e it is olates hi m fro m what we
mi ght cal l hi s no rmal ps ychic habitat. For th es e re aso ns it can stim ulate him mor e ef fect ivel y th an any
other fo r m of h uman ex pres s i on…i t can al s o mo r e ef fe ctiv el y st ult if y him. ” 25
This ques ti on is obviously int im at ely lin k e d to determining wheth e r “a film ” can be co n si der e d
an art for m. The s ubj e ct al s o lay at th e hea rt of the writ i ng s of th e “Young Turk s” of th e No uve l le Vagu e
who so ug ht to lay th e gr ounds for defending cine ma as an art for m, at th e sam e leve l as other ar ts,
rat her th an a “minor art in ten de d for mi no rs” to paraphr a se Se rg e Gainsbourg’s description of popula r
mu sic 26 .
The fall in to semi - darknes s, fol low ed by imm er sio n int o th e perform ance (in th e cas e of c ine ma
a pre - re cor ded and ed ited “performanc e) al s o ex ists in th e other performing ar ts, su ch as th eatr e , musi c
24 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. s tones of e ras mus .c om/2 01 0 /0 7 /lu is - Bu ñuel - on - fil m - and - su bc on sci ou s.h tml
25 Fro m Bu ñuel ’s essay “C inem a is an instrument of Poetry”. Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m
ht tps: / /f il mscho ol rej ec ts .c om/f i lmma k ing - tips - luis - bu n uel/
26 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. you t ube . com/wa tch ? v=sE s 8 - 8O o56s
55
and ballet. It is imp orta nt to remember th is pe r fo r m ance - re late d di me n s ion of fi lm, as one of th e re ason s
why we watc h a fi lm – which is di stin c t fr om te xt -based co m mun ic at ion , as ex plain ed by Mc Luhan.
But th e ch a rac t eri st ic th at di s tinguishes c ine ma fro m li ve performin g arts is its dim ens ion of
re c or ded ima ges , mon ta ge , mu lti pl e pe rspectives et c , th a t e nabl e s it t o dra w cl os e to th e dream
e xpe ri en ce and wh i c h has be e n de s cribed as “pros t he ti c memo rie s ” (Landsberg, 20 04). This
ch a rac ter i st ic ha s been hi ghli ghte d in particul ar by film ma ke rs int e r es t e d in ex plori ng the unc ons cious ,
suc h as Buñ uel, Coc te au and M aya Deren.
Ch ris Marker’s short f il m,
La Jet ée (1 962)
, ex plo res parallels wi t h Plato’s al l e gory of th e Ca ve.
Oth e r film s th at do th is ex plic it ly inc lude
The Mat ri x (1 999)
and
The Tr uman Sh ow (1 9 98 )
. Man y film s
inc lud e a struc tur e th at ch al len ges the ch a rac ter s’ previou s pe rception of th e wor l d and ex t r act s th em
fr om a ca v e of ign ora nc e in to a ne w li ght. Pl ato’s Al legor y of The Ca v e h as been used fo r mil len nia as a
basic in tro duc tio n to th e stu dy of philosoph y , i.e. th roug h phil osophy we wi ll reach a new unde rstan ding
of th e wor ld, and has also been used as an allegory to ex plain pr o ce s ses of ini t i atio n into ne w kn o wle d ge
– ran gin g fro m eso teri c to mu nda ne fiel ds of kn o wle d ge. But a film is alm os t a re verse proce s s of th e
allegory of the ca ve . Th e vi ewe r live s in his daytime univer se of quo ti dia n re ason ing , and th roug h th e
fi lmic ex per ie nce its e lf, and th e st ory depicte d on th e sc r e en, he departs fr om th at “di ur n al world”,
tow ar ds a “noc turnal wor ld” or “l unar wor l d” of dream s and non -verbal co n scio u sne s s , a “s tate of
re verie ” and th e unc ons ci o us . Ther efore inst ead of departing fr om d arkn es s int o the li ght , as in the cav e
allegory , th e spe ctat or departs fr om li ght int o dar k nes s , but in the mi ds t of th e dar k nes s , m ay fi nd
il lum inat ion/i nsp ira t ion .
This re t urn to th e cav e inv olve s a primev al e lem en t, as sug geste d by We r ner Herzo g in hi s
fas ci na ti ng doc u me n tar y,
Cav e of Fo r g ott en Dream s (2 01 0)
.
In th e analys is of Jo sep h Cam pbell , to be di s c uss e d lat er in th is th es is, th is mo vem en t ca n be
com p are d to th e mov e fr om th e “ar i d wasteland” of et e rnal day/ sum m e r to th e “da r k for est” of et e rn al
night/ w inter , but in th is jou rne y th roug h th e unco nsc iou s/d ar k for est, th e hero/ pr otago nis t enc ount e rs
hope not ju s t for hi mself /her self but also fo r th e w orl d.
Inste ad of le av i ng th e cav e and en ter ing the li ght . The sp e ctat or en ter s a “cave” and wat ches a
pr otagonist wh o in many cas e s de p a r ts fr om th e kn o w n wor ld and ent er s a “dar k forest”.
Cinema’s capacity to create Modern Myths
This ide a th at ci ne ma ha s th e po wer to cr e a t e mod e rn my t hs, fas cin ated many pe opl e, in cl udi n g
p olit ical fig ures suc h as Le ni n , wh o, ac c or di ng to Lunacharsky’s recol lect ion of thei r con ve rsa ti on , stat ed:
62
62
The ca p acity to “write” wit h imag es , fas ci na t e d ea rly f il m m aker s. One of th e ea rly ex am ples was
th e film th eor ists working in Rus sia, many li nke d to th e world’s first fi lm sch ool – VGIK , set up in Mo sc o w
in 1919.
Dizg a Vertov de m onstrate d th is fas c i nati on wi th t he film ca m era , in h is fam ous 1929 fi lm
Man
wi th a Mo vi e Cam er a
, and in his writ in gs, com p ile d in th e book
Ki no Eye
(Ve rtov, 19 85). . On e of th e key
th ing s that fas c i nate d Ve rtov was pr ecisely th e ca pac it y to com m uni c at e without the ne ed fo r words, and
in a ma nn er th at cou ld access th e worlds of re ali t y an d fant asy in a mann er th a t ha d previou sly been
impossible.
Fi l m cap t ur ed th e ima gin atio n of fi lmm akers arou nd th e wor ld, whether Ch a plin in Hol lywood,
Abel Gan ce in Fr ance or Le ni Rief enst ahl in Nazi Ge rma ny. P erh aps ir onic all y th is sam e sen se of
en th us ia sm is se nsed today am ong st “YouTubers” aroun d th e wor ld who sudd e n l y hav e the power to
sho ot and share phot os an d vi deos us ing digital te chn olog y th ey car r y wi t h them on a dai l y bas i s .
In th e ea rly decades of t he tw enti et h cen tu ry th is new for m of “w r i t in g” div i de d opinions and
wi th in both li tera r y, arti s tic and ed uca ted ci r cl es it was unc lear how suc h wr iti ng sh ould be vi e we d.
One aspe c t of Alexandre’s Astruc’s th eor y of th e Cam er a - St ylo was th e ide nti fic ation of the
“aute ur ” or au thor who originat es t he mo vin g im ag es, th us se r vi ng as a ke y te xt for aut eur th eory , which
has div ided opinio n s ev er since. As truc stat es that : “a Desca rtes of today would already have shu t hims elf
up in his bed room wi t h a 16 m m c am era and som e fi lm, and wou l d be wr iting hi s ph il osop hy on fi lm: for
his
Dis cou rs de la Met hód e
would today be of suc h a kind th at only th e ci ne ma cou ld ex pres s it
satisfactorily.” (As truc , 1948, ar ti cle)
Tr u f faut , in his se min al 19 53 te xt, “A ce r ta in te nde nc y of Fr ench cin em a” built on th ese ide as.
O nc e ag ai n, on e of th e mai n co nc lusi ons dra wn fr om th is te xt has been defence for th e aut e ur th eor y
and the ide a th at the director is th e key cr e at ive for ce in any fi lm. But eq ua lly impo rtan t is Truffaut’s
foc us on this ne w f orm of wr iting, which is not fully unde r stood by “men of le t ters ” :
Au renc he and Bos t ar e basic ally me n of lett ers, an d my crit icism of th em here is th at they loo k dow n
on the cinema be cause th ey un der val ue it. They appr oach scripts the wa y peopl e do wh en t hey th ink
th ey can re ha bili tat e a delinquent by fi n din g hi m or her a job; th ey alway s believe th ey have done
'al l th ey can ' for a scri pt by embell ishi ng it wi th subtletie s, wi th the art of n uan ce that is the tenu ous
meri t of th e mode r n no v e l. On e of th e ma jor fail ings of th ose wh o attemp t to ex plain wh a t th e cin ema
is about is th at th ey believe they ar e doing it a se rvice by usi ng litera ry ja rgon . (Truffaut, 19 54,
ar tic le)
It is ev en pos s i ble to embr ac e th is idea of a ne w for m of wr iting w itho u t ne ce ssar i ly adopting th e
ide a th a t th e d irec tor is th e ke y cr e at ive for ce in any fi lm . Fo r ex amp l e, one cou ld assume th at fi lmm aking
63
is a co l l ec tiv e end ea vou r, i.e. a fo r m of co ll ec ti ve “writing”, but which is dis tinct fr om co m mun ic at ion
based on t he wr it ten word, wh i c h is the cl as si c for m of “authorship”.
Tr u f faut argued against the ide a that th e scri ptwrit e r s were th e aut h ors of a fi lm, and e mph a sis ed
th e rol e of th e direct or. B ut th ese ide as cou ld be pushed mu ch fur t h e r. In th e cas e of th e writ t en wo rd,
it is far mor e obv iou s th at th ere is a singl e author wh o prod uces th e “tex t”. In th e cas e of a co m pil ati o n
of tex ts th ere are mu lti pl e auth ors, but ea ch author is responsible for his porti on of the tex t.
Howeve r, in th is ne w for m of “writing” - writi ng wi t h s oun d and im ag e – th er e are ve ry va lid
argum e nts fo r cla i min g th at th e authorship is share d, in a mann er th a t is inconceivable wi t h th e wr itten
wor d.
The re sult ing “te xt” or fi lm, is a sha re d cr ea tiv e wor k , th a t is written in a ma nn er which is
com pl etely d iffe rent fro m wo r d -based texts .
T he rol e of a di r e ct or as a ce ntr a l coo r di na tor may stil l be vi ta l for pr oduction of the fi nal tex t,
but th er e are cl e ar gro unds for sha red authorship at multi pl e le vels, starti ng wi th th e fac t that a fi lm is
typi c ally a fu si on of mu si c and pe rformance and th eref ore i ne vi tabl y inv olves mu lti pl e cr e at ive inp ut s th a t
is simpl y not the ca se in te xts ba sed on th e wr itten wor d. This ne w fo rm of wr iti n g al s o rai se s que stions
on how suc h ex pert ise can be ta ug ht an d al so ev aluat ed.
In th e cas e of fi lm ed ucat ion th i s has ty pica lly me a nt a f ar gr eat er emp hasi s on pra ctical
unde rstan ding of th e med iu m, rath er th an pu rely ac ademic kn ow le dge of th e fiel d. For ex ampl e, a
tra dit ional PhD is es se n t ia lly a wor d -based te xt, but if po ssess io n of a PhD is de fi ne d as th e prin cip al pr e -
re quisi t e for bei ng able to te ach fi lm , th is con st rai ns te aching about this for m of writ ing us ing sou nd an d
im ag e, to pe ople who h ave produced wor d -bas e d te x ts which may we ll hav e mis sed som e cr i ti ca l
dime n sions of th e orig i nal “wr i ting”.
Visual Literacy
Theo r is t s hav e anal y se d th e ex ten t to which we can ide nti fy vi sual co m mun ic at io n as a la ng u ag e,
wi th its own gramma r. Th i s req uire s analys is of how singl e shot s – whether fi xed or mov in g im ag es –
achie ve th ei r c omm un ication pow er, wh i c h is one of th e building bl ock s of t his vi sual lan gu age, and th en
how mon ta ge th en shap e s th e fi nal mea nin g co nv eye d by th ese elem ent s. Ult imate ly t his is rela te d to
ques ti on s of “literacy” and “reading” and “writing” vi a vi sua l co mm uni cati on .
It has be com e com mo npl a c e to tal k about digi t al li terac y, which is re late d to th e ca pa c it y to use
digi tal tool s . But th er e is a dist i nct form of li terac y re la te d to sou nd and im ages . Mo de rn vi ewe rs act ual ly
hav e a hi gh le ve l of li terac y in te rm s of be i ng able to “read” sou nd an d imag es , in te rms of unde rstan ding
64
64
th e vi sua l and aural code s unde rp innin g photo s , fi lms, mu si c , sou nd or vi deos . Ho wever, fe w peopl e
hav e a con sc io u s under stan ding of th ese cod e s or can verbal is e th em, and in thi s sen se th e le ve l of
li terac y has si g ni fica nt li m i tati on s – ou r awarenes s of th e world is im pa c ted by sou nd and im age but
mos t pe ople do n ’t hav e the capa c it y to fi lter th is im pact or unde rstan d ho w it is ex ercis ing it s in flu enc e.
In te rms of being ab le to “ write” wi t h sou nd and im ag es, our leve l of pr oficien cy is fa irly low ,
es pec ial ly when it co m es to vi deo. Al thou gh mo st pe ople ca n di stin gu ish between an amat e ur or
profe ss io nal vid e o, for ex ampl e, fe w people kn ow how to pro duce profe ssional vi deos a nd th er efo re th ei r
com m uni c at ion capa c it y is lim ite d in th is vi ta l fi el d of mod ern com m uni c at ion .
In th e cas e of fi xed ima ges , mos t peo pl e ca n ta ke at le ast a r easonable phot o a nd share it wi t h
fam ilie s and fr ie n ds . Th i s is typi cal ly achiev e d in st i n c tive l y, wi th out und er stan ding of any vi su al co de s ,
but th e basic lit er acy req uire m e nts of be in g abl e to “write” us ing fi xed ima ges is sati sf i ed. One of th e
is sues at st ak e is how to lea rn to be a “good writer ” us ing soun d and im ages . Th e r e are no ea sy
guar ant ee s to ac h i e v e th is.
Gi ven th at western soc i e tie s hav e achiev e d vi rtu ally 100% leve ls of te xt -based li terac y, th e vas t
maj ori ty of people can rea d and wr ite. Only a small number of pe ople are what we might cal l “great
wr iters” but many peo pl e ha ve a high l ev e l of wr i ting pr oficiency in term s of te xt -bas ed com muni c at io n.
W hen it com es to audiovisual lit erac y, the si t uat io n is ve ry dif f e r e n t . It is fa ir to say th at the maj ori ty of
peo pl e with academic qual ifications , whether at an unde r gr adua t e, maste r ’s or d octor al leve l, are unable
to “write” wi t h so und an d imag e. E ve n in the fi eld of vi sua l stud ies it is pe rfectly possible to hav e a PhD
wi thout necess ar ily being able to “write” ef fect iv el y or el eg an tly us ing th ese med ia.
The sk illse t ass oc iated wi t h so und - an d -i mag e li tera cy is di s tinct fr om te xt -ba sed l it erac y and
ne ed s to be analys ed usin g a diffe rent approac h.
New Opportunities offered by the Internet
In th e mid st of ta lk about th e demi se of ci ne ma it is ea sy to overlook th e en th us ias m th at th is
ne w me d ium g ene rat ed when it was inv ent ed at th e en d of th e nine teenth ce nt u ry and also th e
en th usia sm that it is cu rr en tl y cre a tin g as a re s ul t of democratis ation of fi lm m aki n g te chn iqu es and th e
possibility th at anyon e can dist ri bute thei r fi lms to a worldwi de au die nce vi a th e Int erne t.
Wh il e ce r ta in ar e as hav e become mor e inst i tut ional ised and for mul aic , for th e re aso ns ex plain e d
above, th e Inter net off ers an out l et for orig i nal, ed gy fi lms. Newcome rs to th e business suc h as Netf lix
hav e als o foc use d on new or ig i n a l co n ten t be cause th ey hav e fou nd that audi enc es li k e it an d also
because th ey hav e som eti mes enc ount ered obstacles in ac c e s sing con ten t fr om the incu mben t pla yers.
65
This si t ua tio n has ce r ta in parallels wi t h the mu sic business in the 19 60s when they t ook c hanc es
on new tal ents and in th e 19 70s when pun k bands and gar age ba nds ca r ved out a ne w marke t in
defianc e of th e su per roc k ban ds in stal led at th e time .
Fr an k Zap pa re calls th is advent u ring spi rit whic h has par allels wi t h the Int erne t world in
par ticul ar:
“The y re all y we r en 't th at gr eat th ose y ear s but on e th ing th at did ha p pen dur i n g th e 19 60s wa s
some mus ic of an un usua l or ex perime nta l nat ure did ge t rec orde d it did ge t rel e ase d. Now look at
wh o th e ex ecutiv es wer e in those co mp anies at thos e ti me s. No t hip you ng gu ys . Thes e we r e cig ar -
cho m pi ng old gu ys wh o looked at th e pr oduct th at came an d said “I don't know. Wh o kn ows wh a t
it is . Rec ord it stick it out . We we re bette r off with th os e gu ys th an we ar e now wit h th e suppose dl y
hip you ng execu tive s you know wh o ar e maki ng th e decision s of wh a t peopl e sho ul d se e and hea r
in th e mar k et pla ce. Th e you ng guy s ar e mor e con servative an d mor e dangerous to th e ar t for m th an
th e old gu ys wi th th e cigars ever we r e (…) The day you ge t rid of th at att itude an d ge t b ack to wh o
kno w s? Ta ke a ch ance, let the en trepre neuria l spirit wo rk even if you don't like or un der stand wh a t
th e re co rd is. Th e perso n wh o is in the ex ecut ive chair may not be the fi n a l arbit e r of tast e of th e
ent ire popul ation you know.” 30
The sp ir it of ex cite men t gene rate d by the mo vin g ima ge s in th e ea r ly years of ci ne ma is evi de nt
in the fi lms of Lumière and Mél iè s and is pa rti cular ly we l l ca pt u r ed by Dzig a Ve rto v in
Man wi th a Mo vi e
Cam er a
whic h show s the ex cite men t and inn ovat i on of both th e fi lmm aker and the audien c e, who en ter
th e cin em a as if en ter ing a pal ace of dre ams.
This ex cite men t wi th fi lmm aki n g is als o foun d in th e Nouve lle Vagu e fi lms and in a fi lm su ch as
Ji m Mc Bride’s
Dav id Holzma n’s Di ary
. The same ex cite men t is ev ide nt in ma ny Yo uT ubers, and in
ge neral pe ople enj oy sh ari ng stil l photo s and vi deos onl i n e, in pa rti cula r via platforms suc h as YouTube
and Instag ram.
A film ma ke r li k e Cas ey Ne istat epi tomi ses th at en th us ias m and ca pt ur es it in a vi deo su ch as
Do what you can ’t
31 . Th is ph ras e was also th e sl oga n adopted by Sam su ng , and he w as be i ng pa id as
th eir b rand ambassador.
The sam e con ce pt was us ed in Sa msung’s Os c ar com me rc ial 32 and in Samsung’s pr omotional
vi deo 33 . It also insp ire d the Me xic a n vi deo:
Cu an do te digan que no puede s, haz lo!
34 .
Ci nema imm edi ately ca u ght pe ople’s i ma g inat ion precise ly fo r th is re ason – because fi lms give
peo pl e th e ch a nce to se e (and he ar) thing s th at wo uld other wi se be unavailabl e and du e to th e se nsori al
dime nsion of film give th e im pre ssi on o f “do in g th ings” th at people otherwise c ou l dn’t do.
30
Retrieved on 29/10/19 fro m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M_91_HWK8o&feature=youtu.be
31
Retrieved on 29/10/19 fro m https://www.yo utube.com/watch?v=jG7dSXcfVqE&feature=yout u.be
32
Retrieved on 29/10/19 fro m https://www.youtube. c om/watch?v=uX5m tNHRjA0&feature=youtu.be
33
Retrieved on 29 /10/19 from https://youtu.be/L3N1jeBp7H8
34
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://youtu.be/hIiYoE3CU_s
66
66
One of th e mai n cr i ti cis ms of th e fi lm ex peri en c e is th at cr ea tes fak e sen sat ion s which ca n
dist an ce peo pl e fr om th e re al wor ld, but th e li ne of rea sonin g defende d by Hanawa y - Oakle y (2 017) that
com p a res cine m a to th e blind ma n’ s stic k, sug gest s th e op posit e i de a. This is a ll th e mor e im port ant
gi ven th e de cisive im pa c t of th e inv e ntion of re c or ded sound and ima ges , th at be gan in th e nine teenth
ce ntu ry , and wh i c h has now been democratis e d as a re sult of th e di g it al revo luti on.
This inv e n tion is havin g as pr of oun d con se que nce s on soc iet y as th e inv ent ion of th e printing
press and ev en th e in ven tion of writin g it self , which I will co n sid er before co n ti nui ng th e discussion on
how cin em a was perceived fol low in g its inv ent ion.
Disc uss ion of the cri ti ci sm of ci ne ma as a fo rm of fak e ex pe rience wi ll be address e d la te r in this
th esis, in w hi ch I wi ll re fer to the foun dat ions for th is que stion provided by Pl ato. But at th is stag e i t’s
int er es t i n g to re cal l wh at Pl a to ha d to say about th e original inv entio n of wr iti ng and how it ch a nge d
hu man ex peri enc e. He says in the
Phaed rus
:
At th e Egy pti an city of Naucr at i s, ther e wa s a fam ou s old god, wh o se nam e wa s Th euth; th e bird
wh i ch is ca lled th e Ibis is sacred to hi m, a nd he wa s th e inv entor of ma n y ar ts, such as ar i th me t ic
and calc ulation an d ge ome t r y and astronomy and dra ug h ts and dice, bu t h is grea t discovery wa s
th e use of let ters . Now in th ose days th e god Thamus wa s th e kin g of th e wh o le coun t r y of Eg ypt ;
an d he dw elt in that grea t city of Upp er Eg ypt wh i ch th e He lle ne s call Eg yp t ia n The bes, an d the go d
hims el f is call ed by th e m Am mon. To him came Th euth and sho wed his inv entio ns, de siring th at
th e oth e r Eg ypt ia ns mig ht be all ow ed to have th e benefit of th em; he enu me ra t ed th e m , and Th am us
enq uired about their se veral uses , and pr ais ed so me of th em and censu red others, as he approved
or dis appr oved of th em. It wo ul d take a lo ng time to repe at all th at Th am us said to Th euth in prais e
or blame of th e various ar t s. But wh e n th ey cam e to letter s, This , sai d Theu th, wi ll ma ke th e
Eg ypt ia ns wi se r and gi ve them better memor i es; it is a specifi c bot h for the memo r y and for th e wi t.
Tha mus repl i ed : O mo s t inge n i o us Th euth, th e par e n t or inven tor of an ar t is not alway s th e bes t
jud ge of the uti li ty or in utilit y of his ow n i nvent ion s to the users of them .
An d in th is inst ance, you wh o are th e fat her of let ter s, fr om a pat ernal love of you r ow n ch ildren
have be en led to att ribute to th em a qua lity wh i ch th ey ca nnot have ; for th i s di s cover y of you rs wil l
crea te for ge tful ne ss i n th e learn ers' souls, because th ey wil l not use th eir memor i es; th ey wil l trus t
to th e exter n al wri tt en charac t e rs and not re me mb er of th emselve s. The specific wh ich you ha ve
discovered is an aid not to me mo ry , b ut to re min isc e nce , and you gi ve you r disci ples not tr uth, but
only the semb lan ce of tr uth; they wi ll be hear er s of man y t hing s and wil l have lear ned nothi ng ; th ey
wi ll appear to be om n i scient and wi l l ge nera ll y know not hi ng; th ey wi l l be tire s ome com pan y, havi n g
th e show of wi sd om wi th ou t th e rea lity . (Plato,
Phaedrus
, onli ne te xt )
In re lat io n to re c or ded ima ges th er e ar e ce r ta in par allels th at may be drawn in te rms of th e ris k s
of “f or getfulness in th e l e arner’s s oul s ”, in de ed So cra t es co n t inues by com par i ng th e wr i tte n word to th e
im ag es produ ce d by a pai nter: “i f you want to kn ow anythin g and put a question to one of th em , th e
spe aker al w ays gi ve s on e unvar ying answer.” (Plato ,
Phaed rus
, on line tex t) .
Howeve r given that th e re cor ded imag e is cl o se r to direct sen sory ex peri enc e th an wr i tin g th e
re v erse co n cl us ion , usin g the b li nd ma n’ s st ick meta phor ca n also be dra wn .
67
Soc ra t es defended the power of th e sp oken wor d rat her th an th e wr itt e n wor d, as Ma r sh all
McLuhan note s in
The G utenbe r g Ga la xy
. To be re c og nis e d as an “Au ctor” or a fig u r e of au thori ty in
soc iet y, su ch as a doctor in a uni v ersity, depends on the spok en wor d rath er th an th e drier “written
word”:
McLuhan re fers to th e te rm “
auctor
” quoti ng Huizing a, before adding hi s own obse rv atio n s:
In th e Mi ddle Ag e s every one lik ed to base a se rio us argument on a text , so as to gi ve it a fou nd ati o n ”.
But the “tex t” wa s fe lt to be th e im med iat e voice of an
auctor
, an d wa s authorita tive in an oral wa y.
We shall see tha t wit h th e advent of pr intin g the f ee ling of aut hor ity is co mp letely co nfus ed by th e
int erming ling of th e old or al and th e ne w vi sual or ganisat ion of kno w l ed ge . (McLuhan, 1962 , p. 104)
Sensorial impact of communication technologies
McLuhan de v oted mu ch of hi s writing to th e th e me of u nde rstand ing ho w co m muni c at ion
te chniqu es and te ch no l ogie s can shape soc i e ty. Fi rs t ly he analys e s ho w th e in v ent ion of wr iting and th e
alphabet rad ica lly tra nsfor me d cu ltu re s , cr e a tin g th e s cri ba l ma n or al phabe t ic man, and then how th e
inv entio n of th e pr int in g pr ess cr e ated what he ca ll s th e “typog rap hic m a n”. One of McLuhan’s mai n
int er es t s is how techn olog y ex te nd s and alters th e se nses . He be gi n s by foc usi ng on the imp act of th e
inv entio n of th e al phabet. Re fe rr ing to th e ide as of Car othe r s he st ates t hat:
Hi s gr eat cont ribut ion ha s bee n to point to th e breaking apart of th e mag i ca l wo rl d of the ear and
th e ne ut ral wo rl d of th e eye, and to the em erge nce of th e detr i balized indiv idu al fr om th is spl it. It
foll o w s, of course , th at litera te man , wh e n we me e t hi m in th e Gr eek wo rl d, is a spli t man , a
schi zoph r en ic, as al l liter ate men hav e be en since the inv entio n of th e ph o neti c al pha bet . Mere
wr i ti ng , how e ver , ha s not th e pecul iar pow er of th e pho netic te chnol ogy to detribalize man . Give n
th e pho neti c alpha bet w ith its abstr action of me ani n g fr om soun d a nd th e tr ansl ation of soun d in to
a visual code, and men wer e at grip s wi th an e xp erienc e th at transf orm ed th em . No pic tograph ic or
ideog ramm ic or hi erog l yp hic mod e of wr i ti ng has th e de tribalizing pow e r of th e pho ne tic alphab et.
No other kind of wr it ing sa ve th e pho neti c has ever transl ated ma n out of th e pos sessi ve wo rl d of
tot al in terde pende nce and inter r el a tio n that is th e auditory net wo rk. Fr om th at ma gi cal res on ati ng
wo rl d of simulta neous rel ati on s th at is th e oral and ac oustic space ther e is only one ro ute to th e
fr eedo m and indep enden ce of detribalized man . That ro ut e is vi a th e pho neti c alphab et, wh i ch land s
men at once in varying deg r ees of dualistic schizophrenia. (McL uh an, 19 62, p.22).
This is di r e ct ly lin ked to th e ide a of th e two tra dit ions of th e rati onal path and th e poetic path
defende d in this th esis.
McLuhan em ph as is ed th e re luc tanc e during An tiqu it y to re linqu i sh the power of oral cu ltu re :
“Socrates sto od on th e border between th at o ral wor ld an d th e vi sua l and li tera te cu ltu re . But he w rote
noth in g. The Mid dle Ag es reg arde d Pla to as th e me re scribe or amanuensis of So c rat es . An d Aqu inas
con sid er e d that ne it her So c rat es nor Ou r Lord co m mi t te d th ei r tea ching to writing because th e ki nd of
int er pla y of mi nd s th at is in te achi ng is no t possi ble by me ans of wr iting” (McLuhan, 19 62, p .23).
68
68
McLuhan em ph asi ses how fi rst w ri ting and th en in ven tio n of th e pr inting pr ess cr e ated th e new
typo g raphic ma n wh i c h for med th e basis for eme rgen ce of a po werfu l mid dl e cl as s, which ev olv ed fr om
th e scribe cl ass a nd used th e dis course of Re ason to le vera ge it s power.
He ar gu e s th at the inv e n tion of re cor ded sound and ima ge, li nke d to el ect rom ag n e tic for m s of
c om m unication, co in c ide d with th e mov em ent s of Rom an ti cis m th at ch all en ged th is world vi ew ba sed
on th e pow er of Re ason :
“W hat began as a "R omant i c re ac ti on" tow ards or ganic wh o len e ss may or may no t have hast en ed
th e disc overy of ele ctromagn etic wa ves . But certa inly th e ele ctro - mag neti c discoveries hav e
rec re ated th e si mu l ta neous "field" in all human af fai rs so th at th e human fami ly now exis ts un der
con dition s of a "global village." We live in a sing l e cons tricte d space res on ant with tr i b al drums. So
th at co nce rn wit h th e "pr imi tive" today is as banal as ni net ee n t h - ce ntury con cern wi th "pr ogres s,"
and as ir relev an t to our pr oblem s” (Mc L uhan, 19 62, p.31).
McLuhan sta tes th a t al th ough th e ne w el ect rom agne tic med ia hav e th e possibility of re cov erin g
for th e We st ern world “a unity of s e nsibility and of th o ught an d fe elin g we hav e no mor e be e n pr epared
to accep t the tribal co n seq ue nce s of suc h unity th an we were re ady for th e fr agme n t atio n of th e huma n
psyche by print cu l ture.” (McLuhan, 19 62, p.63). He th en su gg es ts th at th e Gr eeks we re alienated fr om
prim i ti ve ar t but th at th e el ec tron ic age has now rein ven t e d th is li nk “after int er ior izi n g th e uni fied fi eld
of el ec tr ic all - at - on ceness” (McLuhan, 19 62, p.63). McLuhan adds th at oral sp eec h uses al l our se nses
at onc e an d th at el ect ron ic co m mun ic at io n can re co ve r th is al l - at - once ness. B ut cau tio n s th at Hollywo od
te n ds to turn th e spe c t ac le of th e ex tern al world in to a con su mer com mod i ty or packa ge, jus t as
typo g raphy te nds to alter lan gu age “f rom a me a ns of pe rcep tion and ex plora ti on to a portabl e
com m od it y” (McLuhan, 19 62, p.1 6 1).
Elizabeth Eis ens te in in he r two - vol um e work,
The Pr inting Press as an Ag ent of Ch ange
, re - is sued
wi th a ne w e ss ay as
The printing revo lut i on in ea rly mo de rn Eu rop e
(E i sen stein, 2005) , f urthe red
McLuhan’s analysis of th e impa ct of t he print revo lut ion in th e fi ftee nth - ce n tu ry.
One of th e init i al con se qu en ce s of th e print re vol uti on was to alte r th e re latio n s hip b ased on
scribal cu ltu re betwe en th e small li tera te el ite, wh ose cult u re and th ou ght s we re recor ded in wr i ting , and
th e vas t ma j ori ty of th e peo ple of We st ern Eu rope , whose world - vi ew rem ained within th e re alm of
unwr itte n “popu l ar culture.”
Ov e r time th e pr int cu ltu re disse m inate d kn o wle d ge, and con se que ntl y power, bey o nd th e sm a ll
li terat e el it e, ini tia lly towar ds th e midd l e cla sse s. Li terac y , i.e. re adin g an d writ ing, made poss ible by th e
mor e wi despread ci r cul a ti on of pr inted doc u me n ts provided new powe r to th e ri sing mi d dle cla sse s .
Ei sens te i n sug gests th at both th e lay ar i st ocrats and com mon ers share d a distast e for Lat in
ped a n tr y, and th at th e gr ow ing midd le cl a s ses us ed pr int cu ltu re to rein for ce thei r position in soc i e ty.
69
Sh e noneth el ess emp ha s ises cau tio n in in ter preti n g th ese broad tren ds. In particula r sh e cha ll en ge s th e
ide a that print med ia le d to a mi gra ti on away fr om i ma g es tow ar ds wor ds:
If we ac cep t th e idea of a move m en t fr om im age to wo rd , fur t h er more, we wi l l be som ewhat at a
loss to ac count fo r th e wor k of Nor t her n ar tists, such as Durer or Cranach or Holb e in, wh o we r e
affili ated wi th Pro testant ism and yet ow ed mu ch to pr in t. As Durer' s car eer may suggest, th e new
ar ts of prin ting and en gravin g, far fr om red uci ng the imp ortan ce of im ag es, increa sed oppo rtuniti e s
for im age ma ke rs and he lpe d to la unch ar t hi st or y down it s present pat h. (Eise nstein, 2005 , p.4 0).
Sh e con tinue s :
th e anci ent memor y image s re ente r e d th e im aginat ion of Prote stan t childr en, ulti mat ely supplyi ng
Jung and hi s fo ll ower s wit h evide n c e th at sug gested th e hy pot h e si s of a coll ective un cons ciou s.
Su re ly th e new vogue fo r im age - pack e d em blem book s wa s no less a produc t of si xteenth - ce n tu r y
pr i nt cultu re tha n wa s th e im age less "Ramist" text book .
Further m or e , in certa in fi elds of lear ning, su c h as archit e c ture, ge ome t r y, or ge o gr ap hy, and man y
of th e life sc iences as well, pr i n t cu lture wa s not me re ly in co mp atibl e wit h the for m ula offer e d above ;
it actually incr eased the fu nct ion s pe rform ed by im ages wh i le re duc ing th o se pe rform ed by wo rds .
Man y fun dame ntal text s of Ptole my, Vit ru vi us, Gale n, and other ancients had lost their ill ustr at i o n s
in th e cou rse of bei ng cop ied for ce nturi es and reg ai ned t he m onl y af ter sc ript wa s re pla ce d by pr in t.
To thin k in term s of a move m e nt go i ng fro m ima g e to wo rd point s technic al lit erat u re in th e wr on g
direction. It wa s no t th e "pr i n te d wo rd " but th e "pr i nt ed ima ge " wh i ch acte d as a "savior for Wes t e rn
science" in Geor ge Sar ton 's vie w …After th e advent of pr i n ting , visual aid s mu ltip lie d ; sign s and
symbols we r e cod if ied; different kind s of iconogr aph ic and non phon et ic comm u n icat ion we r e ra pidl y
developed (E isenst ein, 2 00 5, p.42).
Ei sens te i n unde rli nes th e fac t tha t th e im pac t of th e in ven tion of th e pr inting press on soc ial
ch a nge h ad t en de d to be under esti mated .
Mar x men tio ne d the imp orta nc e of th e printin g press, in a le tte r to Frie dri c h En gel s in which he
sai d th a t “the di s c ov eries of gun p owd er, th e com pa ss, an d th e printin g press” were the “necessary
prec onditions of bourgeois de v el op ment” 35 . Howeve r he did not ex pand on th is is sue.
En gel s wrote a poe m, “On th e Inv e ntio n of Printin g” 36 in 1840. He be gi ns by em ph asi s ing t he im port anc e
of th e in ven tion of wr iting :
“W ere you no t a God , you wh o once fou nd
Bod y for Th ou g ht, for Wo rd,
Fix in g in sign s the lif e of speech th at wo ul d
Hav e oth e r wise f lo wn off, by no ties bound ?
Wi thou t you , Time had go n e,
St ill s elf - co nsu m in g, sink ing, dying, down,
Bur ied fo rev er in obl iv io n. ”
He con cl ud es:
35 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fr om htt ps:/ / www. lap ham squ ar ter ly .or g/ tim e /mi sce ll an y/kar l - ma rx - clock - and - mill
36 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. ma rx ists . org /ar ch ive /ma r x/wor ks/ 1 84 0/ 04/p r in ti n g .ht m
70
70
th e wh ol e Ear th gi ves thank s to Gu tenb erg .
For such beneficence , a modes t prize!
Hai l to th e on e wh o bro ke th e in sens ate pow er
Of batteri ng viole nce ; ra ise d th e mig ht of Re as on,
The stren gth of soul, hig h o'er th e wo rl d to fl y !
This utop ian val ue of th e printin g press, to whic h writ ers su ch as Mc Luh an pr o vid e ce r ta in
cav ea t s, were rep e at ed in th e ea rly years afte r th e inv entio n of ci ne ma and have now be e n amplifie d in
th e di gi tal er a.
S tephe n Apk o n addr e sses th ese is sues in
The Ag e of th e Im age
(Ap kon, 20 14) whic h inc ludes
a preface by Ma r ti n Sc ors ese . Th e latt er writ e s about th e “strange antagoni sm between li terat ure and
fi lm” (A p kon, 20 14, xii) whic h is li nke d to th e te nsi on between th e pr i nt cu ltu re and vi sual cu ltu re .
“Movies we r e dis m isse d and vili fied within the wor l d of high cu ltu re – th eatr e an d th e nov el were super ior
art for ms , wh ile ci ne ma was a to y, a diver sion th at “left noth in g to th e im ag inat ion” It was “f r ivol ous”
whil e al l th e ot her arts were “serious” – in fa c t it wa s n’t an art at all because it was “c ol laborative”. The
im ag e was ep he m e ral but th e wor d was forev er.” (A p kon, 20 14, xi i) .
Sc ors e se unde r lines th e im port anc e of fi lmm ake rs su ch as Bergman , Pasolin i, An to ni oni and
r ec ogn isi n g Hol l ywoo d mas te rs suc h as Jo hn F ord and Al fre d Hitchcock in cr e atin g a ne w le git imacy for
ci ne ma : “W e ta ke th is for gr ante d no w, but hal f a ce ntu ry ag o it was brand ne w – not to me nti on extr emel y
th rea tening to th e people who di d n ’t ge t it . ” (Ap kon , 2014, xiii) .
Gi ven th e omn i present na ture of mo vin g imag es in today’s world, of te n shot by no np rofes siona ls
w ith mobil e phon es me ans that the “nee d for vis ual li terac y ha s on l y become mor e urge nt. In fac t it has
become nece ssar y” .
Peter Wo l len al r e ady mad e th is point in 19 69 in “Signs and Me aning in th e Ci ne ma” wher e he
wr ote:
“w e al l believe that th e ma ss me di a play a cru cial ro le in our society. We all b eli eve tha t it is impo r ta nt
to un der stand th e opera tion of visual image s . Al l of th ese thi ngs h ave be en rei tera t ed time and ti me
agai n ( …) At th e ro ot of th e tr ouble , I th ink, is the strang e di spr o portion th at th ere is betw een the
ar ts throug hou t th e edu ca tion syst e m . Literat ure has an ove rwhel ming pr eponde rance. Painting is
quite str ong. Mus ic is w ea k. Cinema is almost no n - ex isten t. Mor eo ve r, litera ry critici sm as we ll as
being pr i vil eged is also paroc hial . Ver y fe w liter ary crit ics see the pr oblem of “l i t er ari n e s s” as part
of th e broader probl em of “ar t - nes s” or con ceiv e of nov el s and poems as bei n g of th e same or der
as sculptu res or symp honi es. ” (Woll en, 20 13 , pp 20 0 - 201)
Of co u rs e th is outlook dat e s back to Pl ato’s
The Republic
, as has be en me nti one d a nd wi l l be
discuss e d la te r he rei n.
The ed u c atio n sys tem is the lar gest sing le for ce in te rm s of determining cu ltu ral he ge mony of
ide as an d is hi ghl y focu se d on the power of the nu m be r and th e wor d, to th e de t r im e n t of th e im ag e .
71
Ev en “med i a li terac y” co u rses focu s prim arily on in fo rmati on - re late d is sues rat her th an vi sual
li tera cy.
Visual Sto rytelling
Be yond ques ti on s of lig h t ing, co m po si ti on, ty pe s of mon tage cu ts et c , ther e is a bas ic que stion
of th e vi sual st yle of th e fi lm an d th e ex t e nt to which th e fi lm ca n co m muni c at e wi t hout th e need for
dia logue, vo ice ove r or tex t. For ex ampl e , Go da r d em p has ised the adm iration fe lt by many auteu rs of th e
power of si lent ci ne ma to com mu ni c at e wi t hou t th e need for dia l o gue . He sai d th at actress An n a Ka rina
“is li k e one of th e gr eat actres s es fr om the si lent cine ma er a, th a t is to say so me on e wh o kn ow s h ow to
spe ak wi t hout us under stand ing, and ye t we under stan d ev er ythi ng” 37 .
Man y cu rr en t for m s of au diovisual co m mun ic a ti on actual ly depend on te x t -based devices. Fo r
ex ampl e, TV ne w s bulletins ar e es se ntia lly stru ctur ed ar oun d th e voi ceo ve r and th e im ages are used to
il lust rate th e tex t, which has been described as wal l pap ering . In ce r ta in cas e s th ere may be an inn er
te n si on be twe e n th e te xt and th e im ag e s and oth er sou nds. Soa p operas, te lenov ela s an d th e maj o rity
of sit - com s are prima ril y dialogu e - drive n . The y are sho t with mu lti - ca m er a with high - ke y li ght ing and
typi cal ly highl y stan dardi sed shot s, a ki n d of simpl ifie d vers ion of th e Hol lywood ca n on (s ee Bordwel l and
Tho mso n, 20 08). Th es e for ms of dia logue - driven fi cti on fin d it ve ry di ffic ult to tr avel beyond th ei r lin guis tic
zon es.
Am eric an d ial og u e- dri v e n fi cti on is pe rhaps better abl e to tr ave l th an th at in other lang uag es, but
ev en th en th e sh ows that tend to tra vel in v olve st r on g el emen ts of vi sual dr a m a or vi sual hum ou r, which
co mp le men ts th e co r e dia l ogue.
The capa c it y to con ve y th e nar rati ve wi t h out th e need for di a l ogu e is one of th e mai n
ch a rac ter i st ic s of th e ci ne mat ic spirit and is co n ve y ed th roug h th e Hollywoo d adage: “show don’t tell”.
This is a ch al len ge wh en it com es to scre enwri ting, si nce w ri ters often tend to foc us on th e dialogu e
rat her th an th e vi sua l action, an d pe ople rea ding scri pts als o of te n lat ch onto t he dia l ogu e rat her th an
th e re st.
Fi l m se qu e nces wh i c h are often ci te d as gr eat ex ampl es of vi sual story tell ing in clu de
Psycho ’s
(1 960)
s ho we r s ce ne ,
The Go df athe r ’s
b aptism se qu e nce, th e opening sc e n e to
Ci ty of God (2 0 02 )
or
Dres sed to Kill ’s (1980 )
m us eu m sc ene . TV seri es of te n ci te d as great ex ampl es of vi sua l sto ry t e lling
te chniqu es inc lude
Br e ak i ng B ad
and
Gam e of Thron e s
. Man y short vid e os th at ar e vi ral hi ts on You Tube
or Vimeo are ex cel le nt exa m p l es of vi sua l story tell ing. Vid eos that com e to mi nd in c lud e Mat ty Brown ’s
37
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzR_t9kxgmE
78
78
Figu re 7 – Ben etto n Un Ha te ca mpa ign 48
An othe r se t of imag es are re lat e d to a di f ferent type of jo ur n e y, es capi ng fr om th e ho rror of war ,
con fl ict , disaste r or em erg enci es , often fe at uri ng ch ild re n to rein for ce th e power of th is mo m ent , which
can be si mpl ifie d fo r t he purpos es of th is argum e nt as “P arad i s e Lost”.
Figu re 8 – Viet na m – Napalm bo mbin g 49
48
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://images3.naharnet.com/images/20128/w460.jpg?13 2 1461479
49 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /2. bp .b log spo t. com / - cEvCQjlESQA/T -
bs TEyaTi I/AAA AAAAAAR E/9vj ao8P2iQs /s16 0 0 /Na p alm +gi rl+ - +P ulit ze r+P rize+ - +Kim + Phu c.p ng
79
Figu re 9 – Syr i a – bo y in am bul anc e 50
In fi cti on fi lms we a ls o fi nd si m i l ar imag es , su ch as th e girl in a red co at in
Schindler’s List
(1993 )
:
Figu re 1 0 – Girl in re d co at in Sc hin dler ’s Li s t 51
A mor e int ense for m of Pa radise Los t is wh e r e we se e death in th e midd le of l ife’s jou r n e y,
con t ras ted wi t h the appare nt oblivion, or ca l lo usn es s of others. Th e imp ac t is gr eat er when ch il dre n or
youn g peo pl e app ear in th e ima ge.
50 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /me dia 4.s - nb c news .co m /i/news cms/201 6 _3 3 /1 1517 21/omra n- daqneesh - syr ia n -
boy - res cued - tod ay - 16 08 18 -tease_5 e4 7 3 f a6ca869 12 cc7ef9596844cb6c a.j p g
51 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m h ttp://i. huf fpost.co m/gen/ 1021359/ima ges/ o - SCHI NDL ERS - LI ST - RED - COA T - GIRL -
fac ebo ok.jp g
80
80
Figu re 11 – Girl at US borde r 52
Figu re12 – Syr i an mi gr a nt bo y drowned 53
52
Re trieved on 29/10/19 from https://imgix.bustle.com/uploads/getty/2018/6/16/9a58e0a6 - e4ce -4 c8e - bc5d -
fad5 3af213d9 - getty - 973077510.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=crop&crop=fa ces&fm=jpg
53 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 19 fro m ht tp : // s ta t ic.in dep enden t.co.uk /s3fs -
public/ styles/s t or y_mediu m/public / th u mb n ails /image/2015 /09/02/1 3/syria n- mig ran t - boy - turk ey.jpg
81
Figu re 13 – Ly nc hing mo b 54
54 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /c d n- images - 1. me dium.com/max/1 200/0*4RR y 9AEz 3 4wti NCk.
82
82
At th e o th er end of th e sp ectru m we can fi nd lan dscape imag es th at co n ve y th e ide a of “par ad is e
found”, su ch as photos by An sel Ada ms
Figu re 14 An se l Adams – Sn aki ng rive r aga ins t mo un tain s 55
Figu re 15 Seb ast iã o Sal gad o – The Gen esis Pro ject 56
55 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. ar chi ves .g ov/ f ile s/ pres s/ pre s s - kits/picturin g - th e- cen t ury - pho to s/teton s - snak e -
riv er.jpg
56 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m
ht tps: / /s3 .a ma zo naws . com/ bwco l or/ art i cle_ph o tos/ la rge/ 1 8 4 /1 %29_Mac aro n i_P en g u in s_on_Z a vo do vski_I sland__Th e_
Sandw ich _ I sl ands__20 0 9 .jpg?13818 7805 0
83
Br azilian phot ograph er, S ebastião Sal ga do pr oduces lan ds c ap e photos both wi t h and wi thout
presen ce of hum ans or animals . The hum an/an im al presen ce often int ensi fi es th e hum ani sed dim ens ion
of th e picture an d its re spe c t i ve im pac t .
The human pr esence withi n the lan ds cape can al s o p rodu ce im ag es of a diffe r e n t type of “Paradise Lost”
or appare nt Infe rno:
Figu re 16 – Se b ast iã o Salg ad o – Gold Min e 57
Conclusion
St il l an d mov in g im ag es en ga ge wi t h our co g ni tiv e processe s in a differe nt ma nn er fro m ei the r
th e sp ok e n wor d or the writ ten wor d, and the ir inc re asing ci r cul at i on is fu nd amen tall y ch ang in g soc iet y.
One of th e key dime nsi ons of th e power of th e imag e is to en gag e wi t h vi ewe rs at a mu lti - se nsori al le vel
and wi t h no n -verbal con sc iou sne s s, a “state of re v erie ” an d th e unco nscio us. Th is theme wi ll be fur the r
analys e d below,
57 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /i .pi n img .c om/or ig ina l s/7e /f c/9 6 /7e fc9 612 22 5f3 bf7 1 c02e1d7369f9d4f.jp g
84
84
CHAPTER THREE – IS THE CINEMA DEAD?
Summary
The mov ing imag e is more pow e rf ul th an ev er but theatr ic al e x h ibition of fi lms is suf ferin g a
decl i ne in admissions, amon gst a wi der perc ep tion th at ci ne ma has los t it s ce n tr al ity in mode rn soc iet y.
TV se ri es and so cial med ia vi deos se em t o hav e gain ed re l ev a nc e, wh e r eas both auteur and ge nr e film s
are ofte n view ed as being for mul aic . The number of film fe st iv als ha s gr ow n dramaticall y ov e r t he las t
te n ye ar s cr e atin g a par allel ci rc uit , prima rily fo r auteur fi lm s. At th e same ther e is a ri sk th at aut e ur
ci nem a becomes “ghettoised”, unable to cro s s over int o th e th eatr ic al ci r cui t, or ev en secur e sign i f ic ant
te lev ision sc reen ing s. Ther e is a m ar ked tr end , even amongst th e ma jo r film fe stiv als, to mov e away fr om
fi lms that enj oy st rong th eatr ic al suc cess. At th e le ve l of th e Best Picture Oscar , th ere has also been an
inc re asing divergen ce between th e top fi lms at th e box off i ce and th e fi lm s sel ec ted for th is awar d.
Introduction
The digi t al era of f e rs ex citi ng new opportu nities fo r film make r s and is als o ch a nging th e pa radigm
for unde rstan ding mov in g im ages .
Wh en th e fi lm cam er a was in ven ted in 18 95, th e te rm “cinema” was ap plied to all for m s of
mov in g im ag es.
Ci nema began as si ng le tak es, without any ed itin g. In te rms of vi ewin g, ea rly film s were pr imaril y
v ie wed indi vid u al ly, on devices suc h as the Ki nes to sco pe and Mu to sco pe , which predate d the firs t public
th eatr ical scre enin g in 1895. Th e developme nt of fi lm proj ec to rs e nabl e d film s to be seen in th eatres ,
but th e wor d “cinema” was a g ene ric term - not re st ricte d to th eatr ica l film s.
The ea rli est film s we r e all sho rts. The Ed i so n Tr u s t ev en tried to im pos e the sho rt fi lm fo rma t in
th e US , wh i ch th e Ho llywood stud ios suc c e e de d in ci r cum ve nti ng , est a blishing th e th eatr ica l fe atur e film
as th e gold sta nda rd of ci ne ma.
Howeve r, the te rm ci ne ma con ti nued to be applied to other for m a ts , in clu ding short fi lms,
docume n tar i es, an i mat i on, and ex per imen ta l film s.
Duri ng th e first hal f of the twe ntiet h ce nt u ry th e term s “cine ma” and “moving ima ge s ” es se ntia lly
re f erre d to th ese ca t egor i es .
Wi th th e in ven tion of tele vision , whose co m me rc ial rol l - out began in th e pos t - war er a, a new
cat egor y of mov ing imag es was established, but was in it ial ly dis tingui shed fr om cin em a pr i m arily on th e
basis of wh et her fi lm or vi d eo wa s used to re cor d th e mov in g ima ges . Mov i ng ima g es recor ded on fi lm
85
con ti nued to fal l under th e term “cinema”, wher e as mo vin g imag es re co r ded usin g vi deo, in clu ding li ve
tra ns mi s sio ns, we re re fe rred to as vi deo, telev ision or som eti m e s th e mor e gene ri c te rm, audiovisual .
Te l e vision fict io n was ini tia lly divide d between soa p operas and seri e s shot on vid eo, us ing mu lti -
cam er a sy s t e ms, and so me hi ghe r -budg eted se ri es , sh ot on a si n gl e cam er a, and typi cal ly sho t on fi lm.
The mai n cat ego r ie s of tele vis ion pr oduction, seen as a dist inct cat ego ry fr om th e world of
ci ne ma inc luded sp orts , li ve en ter ta in me nt, gam e sh ows, ta lk show s, ne ws, soa p o pe r as an d si t - com s.
The w orld of vi deo also inc lud e d wedding vi deos and hom e vi deos .
This panor ama began to ch ang e fr o m th e 19 70s on wards, as a resu lt of th e adv e nt of hom e
vi deo an d pay TV , inc lud ing th e poss i bility of com me rc ial isi n g ot her type s of vi d eo, in addi t ion to cine ma
prod uctions, p rodu cin g mo re hi ghe r -budgeted se ri es on platforms suc h as MT V, and the mas s iv e g row t h
of mu sic vi deos broa d c ast vi a ch a nne ls suc h as MTV .
This int rodu ced mor e grey areas be tween th e wor l ds of ci n em a, tele vision and vi deo.
But th e rea l sea c hang e ha s resu lte d fr om th e cu rr en t di gi t al env iron m ent , which me ans th at th e
par ad i gm for und ers tan ding th e wor l d of mo vin g imag es is no w rad ica lly di f ferent fr om th e “a nalogue”
er a.
Ev en with the advent of te lev ision , th e ci ne m a con ti nued to be viewe d as th e “pr e m i um ” fo r m of
mov in g im ag es, occupying a pi votal posit i on in th e val ue ch a in of vi su al com mun ic at io n s.
But in th e digital wo rld cine ma no long er assume s th e ce ntr al ity th at it once occupie d, and
fe atur e fi lms hav e almos t ga ine d a “vin t age ” or “r etr o” fe el, as if they belonged to a past er a.
For ex ampl e, th e US sum m e r box office in 2 01 9 had a $4.5 bi lli o n gr os s and th e low e st leve l of
admis s ions si nce 1992 58 . Ac cor din g to analys is by
Indi e w i r e
, ov e r 80 % of the gro ss cam e fr om fr an c h ise
and se quels , and 50 % of t he total gr os s derived fr om film s pro duced by Disn ey, inc lud ing the top tw o
titl es ,
The
Av enge rs (2 012 )
an d
The Li on Ki ng (2019).
The mai n aren a for hi gh - en d fi lm and TV con ten t is now stre amin g se r v ices. Fol lowi n g Disn ey
$71.3 billion acqui si tion of Fox, inc lud ing its 30 % stak e in st ream ing se rv ice Hulu, th e new Disn ey/Fox
con g lom er at e wi l l attemp t to dominat e the stre amin g bu siness, in co m pet it io n with Netf lix, Ama zon and
other players.
The fact ors under lying th e new par ad i gm for ci ne ma i nclude th e fo llow ing:
58
Retrieved on 29/10/19 fro m https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/summer - box - office - wrap - disney - the - lion - king - once -
upon -a- time - in - hollywood - 1202167015/#!
86
86
1) The digital revolution is powered by new forms of vi ewing moving im ages that are more intera ctive
than the one - to - many model underpinning traditional cinema and television. These new forms of
interactive view ing include browsing for v ideos on the I nternet, watching video games, enhanced
videos, virtual real ity, immersive viewi ng ex periences and augmented reality. Even the traditional
television experience has become more interactive through viewer participatio n mechanisms.
2) The collapse of the video rental business reflected the fact that customers began to access films
onl ine, including through video piracy. Whereas DVDs primarily offered feature films, online viewing
offers a huge range of other content, in pa rticular series and docume ntaries. Memor ies of the video
rental phenomenon are part of the “retro” or “vintage” fee l of contemporary cinema.
3) Online viewing of filmed entertainment co ntent has been accompanied by a significant rise in viewing
of content oth er than feature films and reduced viewin g of the latter.
4) The shift to streaming services, such as Ne tflix, Amazon and Hu lu, has eroded traditional television
services and cinema. Consumers are progressively switching from traditional television to streaming
platforms. A Deloitte su rvey found tha t whereas in 2011, 18 - 24 - year - old Americans viewed about 24
hours a week of trad itional television—broadca st or cable TV, whether live or time -shifted with a DVR
- by 2016, the number had dropped to 15 hours a week. Younger people are now spe nding more
tim e watching streaming video than TV
59
.
5) BCG’s 2016 report
The F uture of Television: The Impact of OTT on Video Production Around the
World
60
highlighted that over - the - top (OTT) video platforms are making increasing inro ads into
viewing habits (s ee below) and creating opportunities for new content creators, including p ro - am and
amateur pr oducers.
6) The initial growth of OTT video platforms has increased demand for short- form content but long - form
content has begun to outstr ip the former,
61
however mo bile platforms , that are increasingly used to
watch video content, tend to pri vilege short- for m content.
7) Due to these changes, traditional cinema, based on long - form content, is losing its appeal amongst
younger audiences, especia lly in the key 16 - 24 year old group, and its demographic is shifting
towards older audiences, which ma ke s it likely that the erosion of cinema audiences will further
increase over time.
59
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what -s- the - future - of - television
60 Retr ie ve d on 29 /1 0/19 fro m ht tps: // ww w.b cg. com /p ubl ic at io ns/2 0 16/m ed ia - entertainment - tech nolo g y - digi tal - fut ure -
telev ision - im pact -ott- vi deo - pr o ductio n.as px
61
idem
87
8) Hollywood cinema, which continues to dominate box offices around the w orld has shifted towards
s pecific genres over recent years, such as the sci- fi, fantasy, superhero a nd k ids animation ge nres,
which are highly dependent on visual effects (VFX).
9) One of the revenue savio urs of the Hollywood studios has been 3D films, which further intensifies
this dependence on VFX. Many other previously core genres, such as contemporary and historical
fiction, romance, crime and even musicals, have migrated to television fiction, which means that
audiences looking for these genres seek out television fiction rather than theatric al films.
10) Television series are now seen by many directors, scre enwriters and ac tors as more stimulating than
cinema, offering a broader canvas upo n which to explore character and tell stories. Hit series such
as
Bre aking Bad
arguably create a bigger cultu ral impact than superhero sequels. This tendency has
been dr iven by higher budgets, higher pro duction values and began with pay TV operators such as
HBO and Showtime and has been further leveraged by streaming operators such as Netflix.
11) There has been a si gnificant increase in the volume of documentary film production, which has been
leveraged and stimulated by operators such as Netflix, further intensifying the impression that
theatrical cinema is no longer necessari ly the premium outlet for challenging film production.
12) Distribution of moving images via the Internet, i nclud ing platfor ms such as YouTube, Vimeo and
Facebook not only has the advantage of being a more interactive form of viewing it also radically
alters t he gatekeeping of a ccess to film content and fulfils the democratisation goals espoused in the
past by f ilmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola.
13) New digital filmmaking tools are affordable and constantly changing, which means that new talent
increasingly fo cuses on producing short d igital films a nd distributing them via the Internet.
14) The shift of Hollywo od c inema towards a narrow range of dominant genres, such as superhero films
and kids animation, has been countered by explosion of the film festival cir cui t, and independent
cinema is part of the new paradigm for cinema. However, there is a risk that this circuit creates a
“musealisation” phenomenon for what is sometimes described as “auteur cinema”. Festival films
often have difficulty in achieving “crossov er” hits, i.e. films that can engage wit h audiences beyond
their festival ca reer, in the theatrical mark et, on television or via Internet viewing. This particular area
of festival films is an important subset of the world of moving images, but does not hav e the centrality
that was formerly occup ied by the art house cinema circuit or periods of film histo ry s uch as the New
W ave movements, in terms of engaging with wide audiences.
94
94
New Generation of Image-Makers
Wh er eas in th e ea rly decades of th e cine ma , mo v ing imag es were pr i m arily con su med vi a
exhibit ion of fi lms in ci ne ma s , i.e. a th eatr ica l ex peri enc e, th is has now be com e a mo re ma rgi na l (an d
above all ex pen siv e) for m of con su min g imag es, which are no w pr i m arily co n su med vi a th e “small
sc reen ” of a TV se t or the sl igh t l y sma ll er scre e n of a com pu te r mon itor or the ev en small er sc re en of a
mobile phon e or tablet.
In te rms of th e product ion of im ag es, di gi t al te chn olog y has enabled a democratis ation of th e
prod uction and ci r cul a ti on of im ages .
This possibility ha s ex cite d man y film ma ke rs. Ma n y years ago Fr ancis Fo rd Copp ola said that
one day hi s daughte r would be a ble to u se a ho m e vi deo cam e ra and mak e fi lms th at would win fi lm
awa rds , which has es sent ia lly com e true .
This tr ansit ion also con ce rns fi lmm akers. British fi lmm a ke r Peter Gree naw ay re ma rk ed : “T hirt y
fi ve ye ar s of sile nt ci ne ma is gon e, no one look s at it anym or e. This will happ en to th e re st of ci n em a.
Ci nema is dead.” 68
The En d of Cine ma? : A Med iu m in Cri sis in the Di gital Ag e
by An d r é Gau dr eault and Phil ippe Ma r ion
(Ga udreaul t and Ma ri o n , 20 15) ex plor es ho w ci ne ma as an esse n t ia lly theatr ic al phenomenon may
di mi ni sh over time but th e sp irit of cin em a is alive and kick i ng in other for m s – whether TV se r i es or
Int erne t vi deos .
The authors quote Wil l Se l f who sug g es ts that fi lm is no lon ge r th e dominant nar rat ive me diu m,
and has been sup erse ded by oth e r me dia .
68
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from
https://books.google.es/books?id=sYIyBg AAQBAJ&print sec=frontcover&dq=end+of+cinema&hl=pt -
BR&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJofyh8sLcAhWmxI UKHcmLB_0Q6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=end%20of%20cinema&f=false
95
The Challenge for Film Studies and Communication Sciences
The risin g power of vi su al co m muni c at ion poses stimu lati n g cha ll en ges to th e fi el d of academ ic
re sea rc h in this fiel d, re qu irin g evo lut ion in va rio us dis c i pl ine s give n th e in cre asin g osmosis b et we en
diffe rent fi elds of au diovisual co m mun ic at ion .
In th e ea rly de c ades of ci ne ma , th e mai n fiel ds of rese arc h into visu al co m mun ic at ion were
ci ne ma and photo gr a phy .
In te rms of analys is of t his new for m of “w r i ting” (s ee late r ch a pte r), an ex te ns iv e body of
re sea rc h was develop ed int o th e power of th e fi xed a nd mo vin g imag e, and com m uni c at ion via singl e
im ag es an d th roug h ed itin g/m on tag e .
In th e post -w ar period ther e was maj o r ex pans ion of a cad e mi c en quir y int o th is fiel d and fr om
th e 19 60s onwards, ci ne ma was inc rea sin gly e mbr ac ed as a le git ima te fi eld of academic en quir y.
The adv e nt of te lev ision spawn ed multi pl e me dia stud i e s and com m uni c at ion s sci en c e
progr ammes, but ci ne m a con t in ued to mai ntai n pr ide of place in te rms of an al ys i s of vi sua l “lan gua g e”
and narrat iv e co d es .
Howeve r, this ha s a ll bee n ch ange d by th e digi t al re vol u t i on an d analysis of vi sua l com muni c at ion
strat egi es bas e d on so cial me dia hav e ofte n been pro v ide d in re sear ch and cou rs es on digital media
rat her th an fi lm st udie s.
To unde rstan d ke y trends in cu rr en t vi sua l co m mun ic at i on, ke y th emes addr essed in fi lm studie s
can be adap ted to other fo r m s of vi sua l com m uni c at ion .
Fi l m th eor y it self has adv an ced d ue to techn olo gi cal advances . For ex ampl e, vi deo annotation tool s now
mak e it pos s i ble to pro d uc e more emp iric al data in re lat i on to fi lms and vi deos .
Theo r ie s co n ce rni ng th e con st ruc ti on of me a ni ng th roug h a singl e shot or mon ta ge , developed
in th e con te xt of film th e ory can also be ex t e nded to a ll fi eld s of vi sual com muni c at i on.
Cou rs es wi t hin th e fi eld of com muni c at ion sc ienc e te nd to be tex t -based an d hav e often fo und it
diffi cult to inc orpo ra te theor ies re lat ed to cin em a stu dies or vi sual co m mun ic at i on th eory , as no ted by
Mi ch ael Gr iffin in his ch ap te r “Vi sual Co m muni cat io n”, published in
The Handbook of Co m muni cat ion
Hist or y
(S i mon son, 20 12), stat e s :
How ever , despite th e fa ct th at cinem a stu di es mor e close ly shar es th e soc ia l- th e or eti cal con cern s
of comm u n icat ion and ma ss comm u n ication studies, th e im pact of fi lm hi sto ry o n vi sual
com municat i on stu di es and visual comm u n icat ion hi sto ry has re ma in ed limit ed, ind irect , and too
ofte n unre cogni sed . In departments of co mm unicat ion and mas s com municat ion stu dies, cin ema
is freq uen tly viewed as a me di um bel onging to (or al ready cla imed by) other disci pl ines and
departments. Th is may be at least par tly due to the fac t that th e lit erat u re of cinem a studies pr edates
th e acad emi c fi eld of mas s com mun icat ion re se ar ch. Ma ny con si der fi lm stud i e s to be an
int erpretiv e enter p ris e better sui te d to scholar ship in th e ar ts and hu ma niti es , oth e r s as a for m of
96
96
popu lar ent ertain men t th at does not me rit se rious sc holarly cons ider ati on. Alth oug h t elev ision , a
med ium even mor e clos ely iden ti fi ed wi th popu lar (and fri vo lou s?) enter t ain ment , has mor e o ft en
been embrac ed w it hin ac ademic depar t ment s of com municat ion. In certa in com municat ion
pr ograms, som e att ention has been gi ven to th e visual as pec ts of t ele vision and TV news , or even
news docu ment ary, although any thing havi n g to do with fi lm or video h as cus to marily been situated
in sequences of "br oadc asting " study wh e re , in my exper ience, th e gr eat est att e n tion has usu a l ly
been gi ve n to script ing and de live r in g verbal re por ts , w ith fi lm and v ideo im age s cons idered
secondarily, as illust ra t i v e vehic l es for th e spoke n wo rd or as pl easi ng bac kground fi ll, wha t wo rk i ng
tel evisio n broad c a st journa list s have re fe rre d to as "w al lpa peri ng ." (Sim onson , 2012 , p. 1 42 )
None thel ess film th e ory ca n be a v ital area fo r providing insi ght s int o mo de rn vi sual
com m uni c ation as note d by th e sa me author, Mi ch ael Gr if fin, in his ch apt e r “Cam era as witne ss , im age
as si gn: Th e st udy of vi sual com m uni c at ion in com mun ica t io n re s ea rch” published in
The
Comm un ica ti on Ye ar boo k 24
(Gudykun st, 2001) quotes Mi tc he ll (1994) who iden tif ie d a “pict or ial t urn”
in co m muni c at ion stu dies:
T he pr obl em of pictori al re pr es ent ati on has always been wi th us, it presses inesca pab ly now , a nd
wi th an un prec edent ed for ce, on e very leve l of cult ure, fr om th e mo s t re f ine d phil osop hica l
speculations to th e mos t vulg ar pro ductions of th e mass med ia" (p. 16 ). Th e si mplest wa y to put
th is is to say tha t, in wha t is ofte n ch arac terize d as an ag e of "spec tacle " (Debord), "sur veillanc e"
(Foucault), a nd all - pervas ive ima g e - mak ing . we stil l do not kno w exa ctly wh a t pic tures are, w hat th eir
rel ati on to langua g e is, how they ope ra te on observer s and on th e wo rl d , how th eir his to ry is to be
un ders tood, and wha t is to be done wit h or about the m. (Gudykunst, 20 01, p. 13 )
Ki m Mar r iott , Be rnd Me yer in thei r book
Vi s ual Language Theo ry
(M arriot t an d Me yer , 1998)
ide nti fy th e need to de ve l op ne w rese arch in to th e fi el d of visu al lang uag e, which has be com e a ke y
com p one n t of hum an - co m put er int er ac ti on. Ho wever, in this cas e th e app roach is far re moved fr om
re sea rc h in to vi sual com muni c at io n in th e wor l d of fi lm st udie s.
97
Key Trends that are forcing cinema into a more marginal position
This los s of ce ntr al ity an d ma rgin al iza t i on of th e cl as si c s ty le of cine ma , and to a ce r ta in ex ten t
of ci ne ma as a whole , be gan with t he rol l - out of free - to - air telev ision , and was fur the r ch a ll en ged by th e
adv ent of hom e vi deo and pay TV ch a nne ls.
But unt il rece ntl y the fi lm in dus tr y was able to wi thstand th es e ch a nge s and st il l appear e d to be
th e de f ini n g for m of mo vin g imag es , abl e to co m man d a pr emium pric e and profoun dly sh apin g other
for ms of vi sual co m muni c at ion .
The fact ors under lying th e new par ad i gm for ci ne ma in c lud e th e foll owing :
a) The digital revolutio n is powered by new forms of viewing moving images that are more
interacti ve than the one - to -m any model underpinning traditional cinema and television. These
new forms of interactive viewing include browsi ng for videos on the Internet, watching video
games , enhanced vid eos, virtual reality, immersive viewing experiences and augm ented reality.
Even the traditional television experience has become more interactive through viewer
participation mechanisms.
b) The collapse of the video rental business reflected the fact that cus tomers began to access films
online, including through video piracy. Whereas DVDs primarily offered feature films, online
viewing offers a huge range of other content, in particular series an d d ocumentaries. Memories
of the video rental pheno menon are part of the “retro” or “vintage” feel of contemporary cinema.
c) On line viewing of film ed entertainment content has been accompanied by a significant rise in
viewing of content other than feature films and reduced viewi ng of the latter (see section below
on strea ming channels).
d) The shift to streaming services, such as Net flix, Amazon and Hul u, has erod ed traditional
television services and cinema. Consumers are progressively switching from traditiona l television
to strea ming platforms. Whereas in 2011, 18-24- year - old Americans viewed about 24 hours a
week of traditional te levision—broadcast or cable TV, whether live or time -shifted with a DVR - by
2016, the number had dropped to 15 hours a week. A Del oitte survey found th at younger people
are now spen ding more time watching streaming video than TV
69
.
e) BCG’s 2016 report
The Fu ture of Television: The Impact of OTT on Video Production Around the
World
highlighted that over - the - top (OTT) video platforms are making increasing inr oads into
69
Retrieve d on 29/10/19 from https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what -s- the - future - of - televis ion
98
98
viewing habits (see below) an d cre ating op portunities for new content creators, including pro - am
and amateur produ cers.
f) The initial growth of OTT video platforms has increased demand for sho rt- form content but long -
form content has begun to outst rip the former,
70
however mobile platforms, t hat are increasingly
used to watch video content, tend to privilege short- form c onten t.
g) Due to these changes, traditional cinema, based on long - form content, is losing its appeal
amongst younger audiences, especi al ly in the key 16-24 year old group, and it s demographic is
shifting towards older audiences, which mak es it likely that th e ero sion of cinema audi ences will
further increase over time.
h) Hollywood cinema, which continues to dominate box offices around the world has shifted towards
spec ific genres ov er recent yea rs, such as the sci- fi, fantasy, superhero and kids animation
genre s, wh ich are highly dependent on visual effects (VFX). One of the revenue saviours of the
Hollywood studios has been 3D films, which further intensifies this depe ndence on VFX. Many
other previously core genres, such as contempo rary and historical fiction, roma nce, crime and
even musicals, have migrated to television fiction, which means that audiences looking for these
genres seek out television fiction rather tha n theatrical films.
i) Television series are now seen by many directors, scre enwriters and actors as m ore stim ulating
than cinema, offering a broader canvas upon which to explore character and tell stories. Hit
series such as
Bre aking Bad
arguably create a bi gger cultural impact than superhero sequels.
This tendency has been driven by higher budgets, highe r production values and began with pay
TV operators such as HBO and Showtime and has been further lever aged by streaming operators
such as Netflix.
j) There has been a signif icant increase in the volume of documentary film production, which has
been leve raged and stimulated by operators such as Netflix, thus further intensifying the
impression that theatrical cinema is no longer nece ssarily the premium outlet for challenging
f ilm production.
k) Distribution of moving images via the Intern et, including platfo rms s uch as YouTube, Vimeo and
Facebook no t only has the advantag e of being a more interactive form of viewing it also radical ly
alt ers the gatekeeping of access to film conten t and fulfils the democratisation goals espoused
by filmmake rs such as Francis F ord C oppola.
70
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://ww w.bcg.com/publicat ions/2016/media - entertainment - technology - digital - future -
television - imp act - ott - video - production.aspx
99
l) New digital filmmaking tools are affordable and constantly ch anging, which means that new
talent increasingly focuses on producing short digital film s and distribu ting them via the Internet.
m) The shift of Hollywood cinema t owards a narrow rang e of dominant genres, such as superhero
films and kids animation, has been countered by explosion of the film festival circuit, and
independent cinema is part of the new paradi gm for cinema. However, there is a risk that this
circuit creates a “musealisati on” p henomenon for what is sometimes described as “auteur
cinema”.
Festival films often have difficulty in achieving “crossover” hi ts, i.e. films that can enga ge with
audience s beyond their festival career, in the theatrical market, on television or via I nter n et
viewing. This particular area of festival films is an important subset of the world of moving
images, but does not have the centrality that was formerly o ccupied by the art house cinema
circuit or periods of film history such as the New Wave moveme nts, in terms of engaging with
wide audiences. Nonetheless it continues to be a vibrant source of new ideas, and will be
discussed in greater detail later in this text.
n) There is increasing use of film and video in other fields of artist ic endeavour, especi ally in the
visual arts, which has also contributed to the creation of a new pa radigm for cinema, that extends
well beyond mainstream theatrical cinema.
In th e c ont e xt of th is ne w par adigm, cine ma and th e mov ing imag e mu st be vi ewe d fr om a
fun dam ent ally d if fe r ent pe r spe ctive.
C on clusion
This ch apt e r be gan with a question : Is Cine ma De ad ? Al tho u gh ci ne ma is cl e arl y at a cr os sr oa d s
it is too ea rly to pr onounce it s obituary. In te rms of th eatr ical audien ces, ci ne mago i ng rem ain s an
im po r tant socia l activi ty a nd con ti nues to gr ow in some mar ke ts , whil e plateauing or de clining in others.
Wh en a popul ar fi lm cat che s pe ople’s attention it ca n gen erate very signi f ic ant a dmissions. On e of th e
mos t not able re ce nt ex ampl es was th e Fr ench hi t
The
Intouchables (2 011)
wh i c h is th e highe st - gr os sing
fi lm in a lan gua ge oth er th a n En gl ish wi t h almost 20 mi l lio n admissions in Fr ance and over 31 mill i on
admis s ions ou tsi de Fr ance .
Ci nema is a spe c tator - drive n ac t ivi ty – peo pl e have to inv est ti me, ef for t a nd mon ey to go to th e
ci ne ma and ne ed to feel mot iva ted to do so. Oth er spe ctat or activi t ies , inc ludin g soc cer for ex ampl e,
hav e ex peri enc ed periods of decl ine fol lowe d by pe r io ds of gr o wth.
10 0
10 0
Al ongs id e the th eatr ica l dim ens ion of ci ne ma th e ma ss ive ex pans i on of the fe stiv al c ir c u i t has
also gene rate d ne w opportunities fo r mo r e auteur - driven project s an d li nks to inst itu tion s suc h as art
mu seu ms and gal le ri es that previou sly weren’t invo lve d in film . Th i s als o opens pro mising aven ues.
Thir dly, the very me a n in g of “cine ma” pe rh aps shou ld be br oad e ned back tow ar ds it s ori ginal
me ani ng of mo v ing imag es. Ther e is a ci ne ma ti c spi rit in ma ny other fiel ds of a ud io visua l ac t i vity,
inc lud ing te le vis ion fict i on , som e mu sic vi deos and som e Int erne t vi deos .
I will ret u rn to th is q uest ion in par t two, th at pr ovides th e theor etical fr am ewor k for th e thes is.
10 1
PART TWO – THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Par t Two establishes th e th eoreti cal fram ewor k for ana lys ing th e dic hotom y be twe en auteur and genr e
ci ne ma, bas ed on establishin g th e de f ini t ion of poetic ci ne ma , th e con tribu t ions to th e subject th at may
be drawn fr om cog n it ive fi lm th eory , ex plo rati on of the ide as of Jo seph Campbell wh i ch hav e had a pi votal
ef fec t on con te mpor ary Hol lywood ci ne ma , and analys i s of th eoreti cal fou n dation s for mov in g b ey ond
th is great divide.
10 2
10 2
CHAPTER FOUR – WHAT IS POETIC CINEMA?
Summary
Und erst andin g th e mu ltipl e me ani ngs of “poetic ci ne m a” is cruc ia l ly imp orta nt for th i s th es is,
beca use it is li nke d to th e differe n ce be tween auteur and genr e cin em a. Som e co m me nt ators, su ch as
Tr u f faut and Maya Deren, ha ve ide nti fi ed poe tic ci ne ma with fi lms th a t ha ve alternat i ve narrat iv es,
con tr aste d to th ose wi t h a cla s sic lin ear nar rative . This cr e ates a cl e ar di ch otomy be twe en auteur and
ge nre ci ne ma on th e bas i s of poe try an d pr ovides sup port for th e ide a th at genr e ci ne ma is es sent ia lly
le ss artistic . Howeve r if we analys e th eorie s of th e poetic ima g e and of poe tic ci ne ma and the id ea s
ex pr essed by fi lmm ake rs themse lves , we ca n se e th at th ere can be “poet ry” within cl as sic n arrative
stru ct ures. This is a cor e dim ens ion of th e th esis.
Introduction
One of th e ke y iss ues for addressing th e pe r c e ived di ch ot omy between auteur ci ne ma and ge nr e
ci ne ma is the ques ti o n of “poe ti c cinema”. In particul ar what mak es a fi lm poetic an d w hethe r a ge nre
fi lm wi t h com me rc ial pote ntial can al s o be po etic, or whet her th is rest ri cted to film s th at ha ve a nich e
audien c e.
The issu es at st ak e in clu de the f ollowing:
1) In order to move beyond the dichotomy between genre cinema and auteur cinema, it is extremely
important to understand the potential poetic force of all kinds of cinema.
2) Questions related to poetic cinema are not linked solely to questions of fo r m. A neo - form alist
approach to cinema distinguishes between genre cinema and auteur cinema primarily on the
basis of for m. However, although there may be formal differences between differe nt kinds of
film, there is no sing le form which determines the poet ic dimension of a film.
3) In the context of the new paradigm of the moving i mage, the poetic for ce of film may be found
in many different types of film and video production, including music videos, TV series, YouTube
videos a nd even commercials.
4) The enthusiasm and thinkin g of the early “poetic filmmakers” serve as a key source of inspiration
for many modern filmmakers and needs to be fully understood.
5) These same ideas have influenced the practical application of the theoretica l framework of this
thesis, discussed in section two.
10 3
The ke y id e as ide nti fi ed in th is ch ap te r in clu de th e fol lowi ng:
1)
The pri mac y of th e im age within ci ne ma (obviously com p leme n te d by sou nd , in th e cas e of
sou nd ci ne ma ) est abli s h e s a natu ral br i dge to th e wor ld of poetry, give n that man y th eor ists
co ns i d e r th a t one of the ke y building blocks of poetry is th e poetic im ag e.
2)
The ce ntr al imp orta nc e of rhy th m an d mo n tage struc tur e within ci ne ma al s o e s tabl ishes a
fur t he r br idg e to poetry, gi ven th at many th eor ists co n sid er th a t one of the def i ning
ch a rac te ri st ic s of poetry is its rigo rou s use of metr ic s and fo rm.
3)
On th is basis, al l ci ne ma may be vi ewed as be i ng pote ntially poe ti c , ev en th ou gh on ly a sma ll
number of fi lms fu l ly ac hieve th eir poetic potenti al.
4)
In th is co n tex t , one of th e de f ini ng ch a rac ter i s tics of poe tr y is its ca pa c it y to tr ans port th e
re ader /vie we r fr om th e wor ld of th e ev er yday co n sc iou sne s s, int o th e wor l d of non -v e rbal
con sc iou sne s s, a “state of reve rie ” and the unc onsci ous, whic h accor ding to one branch of
psychoan a ly ti c th eory (e.g. J ung ) is pe opled by uni v ersal archetyp e s .
5)
Fr om th is pe rspecti ve, poe tr y cas ts a s pe l l on th e re ader /vie wer , re movin g him fr om
ev ery day con ce rns and en ter ing a dreamlike or heig hte ned sta te of co n sc iou sne s s, whi ch
offers a sen sation of co mpl et e ness.
6)
The art ist’s ca pa c it y to prod uce poetic imag es and a “s ea voy age ” t hat will stir th e po eti c
fac ult y req uire s th at th e artist move beyond his persona l con sc iou sne s s. It is poss i ble to
argue th a t th is may be lin ked to what Jun g de fines as th e co ll ec tive unc ons cious , which
tra nsce nds personal , loc al, re gion al an d natio nal bo undari es. In this pr oc e ss th e ar ti st lo s es
hims elf , in the pr oduction of his art an d th e cre a tiv e for ce unde rpinn ing hi s art se ems to
com e fro m outsi de hi m.
The Poetic Image
One of th e ce ntr a l i deas ass oc i at ed to Eu rop ea n ci ne ma is that it places emph asi s on “poeti c
ci ne ma” and “slow ci ne ma ” in con tr ast to the “f ast - food ” com mod i fi cati o n adopted by Ho llywood .
But th e is sue is much mor e com ple x as I hav e argued he rei n.
None the less it is usef ul to ex plo re th e ques ti on of poetic cine ma because it can of f e r fur the r insi ghts in t o
th is topi c.
C. Day -Lewis, in his book
Poe ti c Im age
con sid er s th at im ag es are ce n tr al to th e unde rstan ding
of poe try, say i ng t hat "imag ery is at th e cor e of th e poem", and t hat "a po em may itse lf be an im ag e
11 0
11 0
4) Narrative structure – elements found in common with litera ture and poetry in term s of structure,
dialogu e etc can also be found in film.
5) Music – music is a core element of most films, as will be discussed later in this thesis.
6) Choreography and dance – t he importance of choreography app lies to all films and not ju st those
with an evident musical dimension, su ch as musicals.
7) Theatre – in the case of fiction film there are obvious multiple links between theatre and film.
This broad division of the differe nt artist i c el emen ts th a t may be li nke d to fi lm may be di v i de d
int o var iou s su b - ca t egor i es . For ex ampl e, th eor ists su ch as Jo seph Bloo m 76 hav e dist i ngui s hed be twe e n
th e
spat ia l arts
(painti ng, sculp ture and architect u re) and the
te mpor al ar ts
(poetr y/liter a tur e , mu si c and
dance/th e atr e ). C an udo made a simi lar stat e m e n t: "C ine ma is a super b con ci li at io n of the Rh ythms of
Spa c e (the Plast ic Ar ts ) an d th e Rhy th m s of Ti me (Music and Poetr y ) ” 77 .
Thes e ide as were devel oped in gr eat er detail by th e Rus sian For mal is t s (i n particul ar in th e
com p il ation of es says ,
The Poe ti c s of Ci ne ma
, als o kn o w n as Po etika Kin o (Eikhen baum, 19 27) 78 .
In one of thes e es s ays, Vi k tor Sh kl ovs ky con tr as te d poe tic ci ne ma wi t h prose cin e ma, as fo llow s:
“The y ar e di stinguished fr om one ano t her no t by rh yth m, or not by rh yt hm alone, but by th e
pr e val e nce in poetic cinem a of technic al and for mal o ve r semantic fe atu r es, wh e re form a l fe atur es
displace se mantic an d re sol ve th e comp ositi o n. Plotless cinem a is “v er se” cin ema.” (quo ted in Hi ll,
19 98 , p. 66 an d Shkl ovs ky 19 82, p.89 79 ).
In th is man n er, Shkl o vs ky offered one of the fi rst defini t ions of fi l m poe try – defining it in co n tr ast
to film prose, i .e. ki no - poetry is dominated by vi sua l logi c, wh e r eas ki no - prose is dominat e d by a na rrat iv e
log ic .
Kathryn Margaret McVeigh in he r 2008 PhD thesis,
Mosaic Na rrative: A Poetics of Cinematic
New Media Narr ative
(McVeigh, 2008) summarises t his outlook as follows: “The Formalists’
concentration on the stylistic techniques of cinema – montage, cinematogr a phy and mise- en -scene - as
an imp ortant part of the film pr oc ess, was a result of their adoption of Shklovs ky’s view that the aesthetic
function of the elements of an artwork is dominant in art (Eagle, 1981, p.4)” (McVeigh, 2008, p.114).
McVeigh suggests that “poetics” focuses more on qu estions of for m (
syuzhet)
, w hereas
76
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://www.ajourneythro ughthearts.com /
77 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww . ien - sa rc el le s.ac -versai lles.fr/IM G/pdf/La _naissan ce_d_un_art _Canudo.pdf
78 Th e essays of
Poetika Kino
(1927) inc lude Eic he nbau m ’s “Pro ble ms of Cine - St ylis t ics” ; Ty nja n ov’s “The Fundamentals of
Cine ma” ; Kazan sky’s “Th e Na tur e of Cinem a ”; Pio tr ov s ky’s “To wa r ds a Theory of Film Genr e s ”; Shkl ov sky ’s “Po et ry an d
Prose in the Cine ma” an d Mikha ilov and Mos kvin ’s “T he Camer aman’s Pa rt in Mak in g a Film”.
79
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://www.kinokultura.com/specials/9/first.shtml
11 1
“semiotics” focuses more on elements of meaning (
fabula)
:
Overall both P oetics and Semiotics deal with the codes of a text and the “fundamental principles”
of how a work creates meaning in a representational setting.
Ho wever, the key difference is that Poetics may apply to the craft decisions that are made by the
creator of t he work – what Bordwell in his generally non - semiotic work (Stam, 1992, p.11) deems
the “craft co mponent” (Bordwell , 1989b, p.2) - while Semiotics d eals with the d ecisions that can be
made about the codes, systems and mean ing of the work once it has been c onstructed. (McVeigh,
2008, p.18) .
Dav id Bor dwell ide nti fies “poe ti c s” pr imarily, but no t ex cl u s iv ely, with for ma l aspects of
fi lmm aking . He exp la ins how th e way th e st ory is to ld (i.e. th e plot or
syu z h e t
) determines ho w th e
audien c e int e r pret s th e film : “The viewe r builds th e
fabula
on the bas i s of pr ototype sc hem ata (id e ntifiable
type s of persons , action s , lo c ale s , etc ), templ ate sc hemat a (pr inci pal ly th e “cano ni c” story ) , and
proce dural sch emat a (a searc h for appropr i ate mot iv ati ons and re latio n s of c ausal ity, ti me an d spac e)”
(Bor dwell, 1985, p.49).
Two of B ordwell’s be st - kn ow n books on th e s ubj e ct are
Poe ti c s of Ci ne ma
and
Oz u and th e
Poe ti c s of Ci ne ma .
In th e for mer, Bo rdw e ll provides a se ries of es says dra wn fr om 30 years of writing on
th e subject. He foc use s on aspe c ts of for m and st yl e and con ce ntr a tes on li nks wi th prevaili ng norms in
th e re spe ctiv e co u ntr y and ep oc h. For this re ason he describes hi s ap proach as “his tor ical poe ti c s of
cinema”. He be gi n s th e book by st atin g:
These ef forts mig ht be charac terize d as push ing a doctr i n e — mos t wi l l call it for mal ist — but I th i n k
I’m doing som et h ing els e. Grant ed , th ese essa ys put the fi lm as an a rt wor k at the c en ter of stu dy ;
th ey analy se for m and style. Bu t they also tr y to mou nt expla nation s of how fi lms wo rk , and wh y
un der certa in circum stance s they cam e to look th e wa y th ey do. Th ose exp lan a tion s inv oke a wi de
ra nge of fac tor s: arti stic int entions, craft gu i del i n es, inst i tut ional con strain ts, peer nor ms , social
infl uence s, and cr oss - cult ural reg ula ri ti es and dispa r i t ies of hu man con duct ” (Bordwell, 20 07 , p.1) .
In a se parat e ess ay,
Hist orical Poe ti c s of Ci ne ma
(Fr o m The Ci ne mati c Te xt: Meth od s and
App roa ch es, ed . R. Bar t on Palmer 80 ), Bor dwell de fines poetics as follo w s:
The poetic s of any med ium, s tud ies th e fi n is hed wo rk as th e res ult of a pr ocess of con struct ion - a
pr ocess wh i ch in clud es a craft comp onent ( e.g ., ru l es of th umb), th e more g ener al pr i n ciples
accordi ng to wh i ch th e wo rk is com pose d, and it s fun ctio ns , effec ts, and uses . An y inq u i r y in to th e
fun da me n t al principl es by wh i ch a wo r k in any re pr es en tati onal me di um is con struct ed can fall
wi th i n th e doma i n of poetic s. (Barton Palmer , 19 89, pp. 36 9 - 39 8) .
Bor dw ell thus de fines “his tor i cal poe tics” as a hi stori c al ly - root ed stud y of for m and st yle, based
on fu nc t i ona l obj ecti v es th at pr evaile d at th e time. He li nks this pr ocess to hi s wi de r en qu irie s in to fi lm
th eory , in collaboration wi t h Kr is tin Thom pson an d Ja n et St a iger .
80
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http : //davidbordwell.org/arti cles/Bordwell_Cinematic%20Text_no3_1989_369.pdf
11 2
11 2
Bor dwell con sid er s th a t po etics is an em pir ical d is cip line , but ins tead of focu si ng on so cial or
ec ono mic is sues , it shou ld pr imarily ex plor e aesthetic cu rr en ts , exp lain e d against t he ir hi stori cal
background.
He d efin es th ree ke y areas of co nce r n: th eme s, co m po s itio na l princi pl es and st yl i stic principle s
– all of which s hould be unde r s tood fr om a hi stori cal perspe ct ive.
Establishing a bridge with li nguis tic s, he co n sid er s that fi lm poetics in volve s what he ca l ls
s em an tic s, syn tac tics an d pr ag mat ic s. He define s th ese as fo llo ws :
a)
Se mant ic s - th e st udy of how me ani ng is pro duce d
b)
Syn t acti cs - th e stu dy of rul es for sele cting and combining uni ts (e.g. with re spe c t to styl e,
Ra ymon d Bello ur's mi cr o - analyses; wi t h re spe ct to co m pos iti o nal for m , Th ier ry Kunt ze l's st udy
of openi n gs, Peter Wol l en' s appli cations of Propp, or Ri ck Al tm an's "dua l - focu s" narrat iv e)
c)
Pra gm atics - th e stu dy of ho w re lat io ns between view e r and te xt develop in th e proc es s of the
fi lm' s unf ol ding (e.g., ac c oun ts of nar rat ion or of fi lmic "en unc iatio n")
Bordwell’s wr iting p rov ide s fas cin ati ng in si ghts in to h ow fi lms hav e been pr oduced and thei r
diffe rent im pa c ts on audien c e s over time, but does not provide (and does not ai m to pr ovide) a
com p reh e ns ive defini tion of fi lm poetry
per se
– i.e . doe s not att e mpt to define c rite ri a for determin ing a
subset of fi lm s that may be cla s sif ie d as “poetic f i lms”.
In his book,
Oz u and th e Poetics of Ci ne ma
(Bor dwell, 1988) , he ide nti fies th e “poe ti c s of
ci ne ma” as a mi xt ure of in novat i on and tr ansgressi on of cla s sic fi lmm aki n g no rms . This outlook st ands
in li ne wi t h th e vi ew of th e Rus sian For malis ts, as exp lain e d above. He lin ks poe ti c s to in no vati on and
th e de vi ati on between th e art ist’s indi vid ual work and the tr a ditional can o n. “The poetics of cin e ma which
I am proposing diffe r s fr om an “i ntri n s i c” cri ti cal th eory in as sum ing th at onl y against his torical l y
si g ni fican t bac k grounds do particul ar wo rks achiev e sal ience, for audien ces or analys t s” (B ordwe ll, 19 88,
p. 17 ).
Bor dwell ex plor e s th e w ork of Ja p a nes e film ma ker Oz u in term s of th e mod e of fi lm pro duction
and con su m pt io n of Ja pa n e se ci ne ma , th e for mal norms available to hi m and th e cult u ral nor ms
associ at ed with Ze n Buddh i s m an d trad itional Ja p a nes e aesthet i cs .
In th is co n text , Bor dwell cla i ms th a t Ja pa n e se fi lm product ion in th e 1 92 0s and 19 30s wa s
sol idly based on Ho llywood dramatu rgy and styl e. He defines th e “hi stor ical poe tics” of ce r tain Ja pa ne se
fi lms as th e mann er in wh ich th ey “deviated, in is olat ed a nd co n tr o lled ways, from cl as sical nor ms”
(Bor dwell, 1988, p. 21 ). Fo r exa mpl e , in re lat io n to Tomo taka Tas ak a’s
Ai no mac hi
(
Town on Love
,
11 3
19 28) he st ates : “Within th e bounds of orthodox fr am ing and ed it in g, we fi nd fas t a nd int ri cate cam er a
mov em en ts, st ee p hi gh and lo w angles, hand he ld sh ot s, sof t focu s, rac k foc us, whip pans , split sc r e en
an d mov in g in ter - ti t le s” (Bordwe ll, 19 88, p 22 ).
Bor dwell de f ine s the “poeti cs ” of O z u ’s oeuvre as being based on :
-
mot if s – re cu r rent ima g e s , that define his wo rk
-
modu les – classic sce nes th at rec ur in hi s fi lms 81
-
nar rat ive ell ipses
-
rec ur ri ng “op aq ue” centr a l cha r ac t e rs – e.g. the out sider/st udent and th e salary - man
-
overt nar rat ive ges tur es (e.g. int er - titl es)
-
specific technic al nor ms – e .g. fr equ ent use of lo w cam era an gle s.
Sou rc e: (Bordwell, 19 88 )
Su mmi ng up, Bordwel l su gg ests th a t O z u ’s oeuvre is simul t an eous ly cl as si c and ec cen tric and
based on a mi x tur e of “playful de viation” and “unre ason a ble style”: “Ozu’s ed it ing pro cedures are at
once “legible” ( being fu nc tio n al eq ui vale nts for th e pro cedu re s of ordinary cin e ma) and ec cen tric (being
arbitrarily sys t e mati c in all mann e r of de t ai l s)” (Bo rdwell, 1988, p. 89 ).
One ex amp l e cite d by Bor dwell of Ozu’s “e cc e ntricity” is hi s habit of b re ach i n g th e 18 0º rul e.
Bor dwell li nks th is pl ayful breaching of n orms to pro cesses th at occur wi t hin Ja p a n es e poetry, citi ng the
hai ku tra dit i on : “T he stri nge ncy of Ja p a n e se po etic con ve nti o ns it se lf poi nts to a ga m elik e con ce pti o n of
art” (Bor d we ll, 19 88 , p. 144) . He provides exa mpl es of cro s s -br eedin g between Ja pa n e se poe try an d
Ozu’s approach: “His self -i mp os ed con st rai nts co u ld be seen as li ke th ose ri g i d cod e s of th e poetic
tra dit ion … Eve n his overt but elu siv e na rrat ion ha s an analogu e in lin g u ist i c reso urc e s wh ich Ja pa ne se
poe tr y ex plo its” (B ordwell , 19 88, p. 14 4). Nonethe less , Bor dwe l l po sitions “poe tics of ci ne ma ” as
es se ntia lly a deviat io n vi s -à- vi s cl a ssi c nor ms of fi lm fo r m . Wh er eas he pr ovides a co m pre he ns iv e
descr iption of th ese nor ms, by t he ve ry natu re of th e “exceptiona l” cha rac ter of th e norms ass ocia ted
wi th th e poetics of cine ma , he doe s n ot provide any ov eral l gene ral th eory of fi lm poe tics.
A re ce nt contr i but ion to th is to pic has be en mad e by Dav id Paul Foste r in hi s PhD th es is
Ki no -
Poiêsi s: Tow a rds a Poe ti c s of Po eti c Film
(Fos ter, 20 09). Foste r exp lain s th a t “Wh i le cr i ti cs often apply
th e term “poeti c” as a pl aceholder for wor ds suc h as difficult, beautiful or inc h oa t e in re latio n to fi lm,
th is dis sertation argues that ther e ar e discernible qual i t i es in cer ta in f ilms that war rant th e name poe tic ”
(Fos ter, 20 09, abs tra c t).
81
For example, he states: “Ozu ’s scenes can be im agined as detached units, members of a small paradigmatic class
available for re - use in later combinations”(Bordwell , 1988, p. 63)
11 4
11 4
Fos t e r fol lo ws in th e foo tst ep s of th e For m al ists an d ne o - for m a lis t s . He su gg e st s th at poe tic
ci ne ma is “a mo de of film ma k i ng th a t is re flexi ve, ly ric al and ch al le nge s nar rat ivit y” and shou ld be
ulti mate ly under stood as a “mode of direct ex pres sion whose me ta phor i c st ru ctu r e an d lyr ic ori e ntat ion
ch a llen ge th e li mit s of other fi lmic mod es and maps a di s c ur si v e spac e be twe en fi c t io n and non - fict io n
fi lm” (Foster, 2 009, abstract).
In this co n tex t Fos t e r ex plor e s th is issu e at fou r le ve ls: th e dir e ct co n nec ti o n between p oetry and
fi lm, via adaptat ions of poems int o sho rt film s; th e mann er in which fi lm st yle dis rupts narrat iv e di s c our s e;
th e rol e of refl exi vity and v is ual meta phor s ; an d th eor ies of ly ric is m.
On this bas i s Fos t e r p rov ides a th eor etica l basis for ide ntify ing ce r tain poe tic fi lmm akers an d
fi lms and in hi s thesis he stud ies fo ur ma in fi lm poets: Ch ri s Mar ke r, St an Br ak ha ge, Andr ei Tar k ov sky
and Gu y M add in.
Classification of Poetic Filmmakers and Poetic Films
On th e b asi s of th e above analys is, we ca n di sting uish between tw o mai n tr en ds for de fi n ing film
poe tr y and film po ets.
For m al ist and neo - for m a lis t analys i s di s ting ui sh be tween fi lm poetry and fi lm prose in term s of
use of for m an d na rrat iv e co n ve nti o ns. Fi l m pro se is ide nti fied with fi lms th a t hav e strong li nea r narrat iv es
and that use “cla ss ic” sto ry t e l l ing devices .
Fr om this pe rspective, a cla s sic Hollywo od fe at u r e - len g t h narrat iv e fi lm woul d be defined as th e
archetyp al form of “f ilm pr os e ”, wh ereas a film th at br eache s th e cl a ssi ca l nor ms sta nd s a goo d ch ance
of being define d as “f i l m poetry”. In particul ar, a fi lm with a lin ear hor izont al nar rat ive wou l d be equ at ed
wi th pr os e, wher e as a fi lm wi t h a non - nar rat ive struc tu re, or “vertical struc ture” woul d be cl assified in
th e fi el d of poetry.
An al te rnative approach, foc use s on th e “f abul a” and define s fi lm poe tr y in term s of th e cap ac it y
of a film to stir th e viewer’s “poetic f aculty”, th r ough us e of th e poetic ima ge, poe ti c jou r ney and
archetyp es. Fr om th is p er spe ctiv e, it is possible to dis tingu ish between a “f i lm po em” and a “film with
poe ti c force”.
A fi lm poe m wou l d be define d as a film th at ha s st rong poe tic for ce but an es se n t ia l ly non -
nar rat ive stru ct ure – su ch as M aya Deren’s
Me sh es of th e A ft ern oon (1943 )
, Dz iga Vertov’s
Man with a
Mov i e Cam er a
, Wal the r R utt m ann ’s
Be rlin (1 927) , The Sym p hon y of a Great Ci ty
(1927 ) or Nor man
McLaren’s
Pas de Deux
(1968 ).
11 5
By con t ras t, a fi lm wi t h poe ti c force would be define d as a film th at has a narrat ive st ru c t ur e
( whic h m ay be a ti ght stru ct ure or a loos er st ruc ture) and wh ich tra nspo rts the v ie wer towar ds what has
been d e sc r ibed as th e re alm of the uncons cious . An obvi ous ex ampl e of a fi lm wi th poetic for ce th at has
a cl e ar nar rat ive struc tur e would be Ch r is Ma rke r ’s
La Jet ée
. This cat ego ry may al so be potenti ally
ex ten ded to mai ns tr eam nar rat iv e fi lms .
A for m a lis t de finition of poe ti c ci ne ma may ap pe ar to be ea sie r to de fine empi r ica ll y, but th is
may be mi sle ad ing . Th e me re fac t that a fi lm has a non - na rr ative or alternat i ve struc ture obviously d oes
not mak e it “poe ti c ” and ul timate ly inc lusi on of any fi lm within th e pant he o n of poetic ci ne ma will always
be dep e ndent upon subjective fac tors ( and “gatekeepers”) in addi t i on to any for mal (m e asurable)
ch a rac t er is t i cs of th e film .
Ul tima t e ly, mos t th eor is t s app ly a combination of both de f ini tions , ho we ver wheth e r a spe cific
fi lm or film make r wi ll be cl as si fie d as “poetic” will de p end upon spe cifi c cr i ter ia .
Mos t fi lm theor ists wou ld inc lud e as poetic film ma ke rs, dir e ct ors suc h as Tar k ov sky , Mar ke r,
Br akhag e, De ren, Mad di n, Paso l ini , McLa r e n, Co c tea u, Verto v, Ei sens te i n, Dovsh enko, Buñ uel, Rui z,
Be rtoluc ci, Oz u , an d Fe llin i. This list inc ludes filmm ake rs wh o foc us primarily on n on - narrat iv e film s,
wher e as other s work p ri ma rily withi n the fi el d of mor e cla s sica l nar rat ives.
An inevitable question is ra i sed in re lat io n to Hollywood fi lmm ake rs, wor king wi t h in th e stu dio
sys t e m, wh o some th eorists wo ul d co n si der to be poe tic film mak er s wher e as others may con sid er ,
almost by defini t i on , th at thei r work li e s within the fi el d of pr ose rath er th an poe try. O bv ious ex ampl es
inc lud e di r ectors suc h as Franç ois Truf faut , Al fre d Hi tchcock, Dav id Lynch, Ti m Burt on, Terr y Gi lliam ,
St an ley Kubr i ck and Te rence Ma l ick.
Howeve r, this li st cou ld als o be ex ten ded to inc lud e man y other film ma kers wh ose wo rk co u ld
be des cribed as in clu ding at le ast som e poe tic el emen ts, inc lud ing th e li kes of Fr an c i s Ford Co pp ol a,
Mar ti n Sc o rse se, Paul Sh rad e r, Ri dle y S cot t, Dav id Fi n c her, th e Wac ho ws ki br othe rs , Ge orge Rom ero ,
We s Cr a ven, St even Spielberg, Ka thry n Bigelow and ev en Ja me s Cam er on… th e list is potenti ally en dl ess .
For ex ampl e, War r en Buc k l and in hi s book,
Dire cted by St ev en Spielberg: Poe tics of th e Con t emp ora ry
Hollywo od Blockbuster
(Buc kland, 2 00 6) uses sh ot -by- sh ot an al ys i s and st atis t i c al metho ds to analyse
th e film ma k i n g styl e of mai ns tr eam fi lmm ake r St ev en Spie lber g . He states in th e preface : “In th e process
of analy sing [Spiel ber g’s] bl ock bu sters, I be c ame att u ned to hi s nov el tr eat ment of con ve nti o nal and
rou tin e film t ech niqu es. Spie lber g does not inv e n t a ne w fi lm l ang u age , but mani pul ate s th e ex ist in g
lan gu ag e in a dis tinct an d com ple te ly ef fect ive ma nn er to cr ea te a quality spe cific to hi s film s.” (Buckla nd,
20 06, p.1) He lat er e mbe l lis he s upon th i s ide a:
11 6
11 6
The main a im of th is book is to exam in e Sp iel be rg ’s poe tic s , th e cho ices he make s in fi lming hi s
blockb usters. Spie lb erg ’ s poeti cs is base d on his in ternali z at ion of a series of hig hl y rit u al i zed sk ills
and hab its , wh i ch con stitut e hi s tac it kno w l edg e. This tac it kn owledg e ena bles Sp iel be rg to mak e a
series of (us uall y con sisten t ) ch oice s in th e con struct ion of hi s bloc k b uster fi lms (Buckland, 2006 ,
p. 4).
Thi s approach is re min iscen t of Dav i d Bor dwe l l’s analysis of the “poetics” of J apanese fi lm mak er
Oz u . Howeve r, wh e r e as mos t cr i ti cs wou ld hav e no pr oblem acce p ti ng Oz u as a poe ti c fi lm ma k e r th ere
would be gr eat er debate in re latio n to a mai nstr eam film ma ke r s uch as Spielberg. Buc k l an d ci te s Peter
Kr amer in th is re gard : “The co n ce ptua l debat e abo ut Ol d Hol lywood an d New Hollywoo d, mod e rnis m
and po stmode r n ism, cl a ss icism and post - cl as sici s m is perhap s le ss urge nt an d pro ductive than th e ki nd
of ca r efu l, sys t e mat ic and com ple x sty l i st ic an al ys i s which histo rical poe ti c s demands (K ramer , 19 98,
p.307)” (quot ed in Buckl a nd , 20 06, p.4).
Buc k l an d con cl ud es:
If Sp ie lb erg ’s fi lms co ns ist entl y achieve (at least in some of their sce nes) th e elus ive stat us of or gan ic
un ity , or wh at St efa n Sh arf f (1982 ) ca lls a “hig her leve l of visual me ani n g”, it becomes poss ibl e to
th ink of hi m as a “m agi ci an” – not the sham an or wi tc h wh o c onju res up th e spiritu al wo rl d, bu t the
con jurer wh o has mast er ed the ar t of en tertain ing via tec hni cal virtuosity…t hr ou g h his de f t
m anipu l a ti on of fi lm for m, he crea tes ench an tm ent, wo nd er and amaz ement (B u ck land, 2006 , p.
22 4).
S im ila r rem arks cou ld be mad e about other film ma k e rs suc h as Ma r ti n Sc ors e se or Ja m e s
Cam er on. Bu t sh ould th ei r wor ks be de s c ribed as “poeti c ”?
Mar ti n Sc o rs ese , fo r ex ampl e, gr ew up wat ching cla ssi c It ali an ne o - re ali sm film s an d wor ks by a
lon g li st of di r e ct or s wh o would be c onsid e red by mos t co m me nta tor s as “poetic filmm a kers”. In hi s
docume n tar y
My Voyage to It aly (1 999)
he de m onstrate s hi s in - dep th und e rstan di n g of th e “mag ic”
associ at ed with th ese fi lm s and ex plain s how fi lm s such as
I Vitell on i (1953 )
by Fell i ni in f luenc e d hi s own
ea rly fi lms such as
Me an St re et s
. Scorsese’s
Hug o (2011 )
is about th e mag ic of ci ne ma and por trays
Ge orge Mé l iè s. Th e film is cl e arl y abo ut poetic ci ne ma , but ca n it be cl as si fie d as als o be in g a p oetic film
its e lf?
In th e cas e of Ja mes Cam er on, he is cl e arl y a ma ste r of th e “magic of cin e ma” and film s such
as
Av atar
tra nsp ort viewe rs to fan ta stic univer ses, pe rhap s in a com p ara bl e mann er to Mé liè s in hi s
Voyage to th e Moo n
. For ex ampl e, in an in terv ie w talki ng about
Av atar
he stat ed: “A li ttl e l ik e th e surr ealis t
arti sts who at tempted to re ma in co n nec te d wi t h th eir dream sta te, my wor k inv olve s tr yin g to re m ain in
con ta ct wi t h my ima gin at ion , in order to co n ve y it to th e v iewer.” 82 Lou ise Ke ll er, f ilm cri ti c of U rban
82
In terview in HD Vision mag, May 2011. Retriev ed on 29/10/19 from http://www .hdvision - mag.com/2011/ 05/ava tar -
james - cameron - interv iew.html
11 7
Ci nefi l e al s o felt comfortable de sc r ibing
Ti t a n i c
as being “poetic”: "Ext rava g a n t , exhi lar ati ng, devastatin g,
poe ti c , rom an tic an d totall y unforgettable,
Ti t a n i c
is an ex tra ord i n a ry ac h iev e ment in fi lm ma k ing , wher e
te chno logy astoun ds, yet th e hum an sto ry shin es ev en bri gh ter. ” 83 On c e again this demonstrates how
ulti mate ly th e iss ue of wheth e r we con si d er a fi lmm ake r to be “poetic” is subjective.
Mos t cl a ssi f ic ation s of “f i lm poets”, how e ver, ex cl ude th e vas t ma jo rity of Hol lywood filmm ake rs.
For ex ampl e, the online f ilm library, Mubi.com, has list ed th e fol lowi ng direc tors in th e thre ad, “Poe ts of
Ci nema : Film m a k e rs who use Film as a Poe ti c Me diu m” 84 : Par ajanov , Rui z, Fe l l ini, Buñ uel , Tar k v osky,
An gelo p oulos, Eri ce , Roc ha , Pasolini , Coc te au, Sv ank ma jer , Gr eenaw ay, Jo dorowsk y, Tarr, Vl acil,
An toni oni, Ma l ick, Ki es lows ki, Berg m an, Sat yaj i t Ra y, R a bi nranath Tag ore, Al eks ei Ge rma n an d An na
Ak hmat ova , Ei sens te i n, Tak es hi Ki tano, Bress on , Ka u r ism ak i, Ja rm u s ch, Pe ckinpah, Hawks, Lubitsch,
Pi al a t , Ma rke r , Vertov, Ly nch, Bert o lu c ci , Tsai, Ho u, Gue rin, Bar t as , Al ons o, Ren oir, K ubr i ck, We nd e rs,
Dov zhenk o, Pudovkin.
An othe r th read at Mu bi.com li st s the fol lowi ng Poe tic Fi lms (abr i d ged se lect i on ) 85 :
The Fou nta in (2006)
by Da rre n Aro nof sky ,
Persona ( 19 96)
by Bergman,
Se x & Lucia (2 001)
by Jul io
Me d em, film s by Tarkov sky , par ticula r ly
Mi rro r (1 957
), An toni oni, Ji a Zhangke , li k e
St il l Li fe (2 006
), Bela
Tar r ’s
Sat an tango (1994
), Je an Eps te i n , li ke his ve rsio n of
Fal l of th e House of Ushe r (1 928
)… poe ti c
hor ror suc h as
Eye s Wi th out a Face (1960)
, some of Je an Ro l l in’s wor k , som e of Je ss Fran co’s, Vigo’s
L’Atalante
( 19 34 )
and
Zero for Co n du ct ( 19 33 )
, G odard’s
Hai l Ma ry
( 19 85)
,
Band of Ou tsi ders
( 19 64),
My Life to Live
( 19 62) a nd
Con tem p t
( 19 63 )
, Wen de rs’
Wi ng s of De sir e
( 19 87 ),
Tr u f faut ’s
The 40 0 Bl ows
(1 95 9 )
, Ts a i’s
Wh a t Time is it Ther e ( 20 01)
and
I Don’t Wan t to Sl e ep Al one
( 2006 ) .
83
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://drafthouse.com/movies/titanic_3d/austin
84
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://mubi.com / topics /poets - of - cinema - filmm akers - who - use - film - as -a- poetic -
medium?p age=1
85
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from http://mubi.com/topics/poetic - films
11 8
11 8
Sub -conclusion
The two pr i n cipal approac hes to t he is su e of th e “poe ti c s of ci ne ma ” - on e f ocu s i ng mo re on
is sues of for m , pl ot (“s yuzhe t ”) and the other on th e subject of th e film (i.e. th e con t en t, story or “f abula”)
- hav e had a de cisive im pac t on th e his tory of We s te rn ci ne ma and th e strat egi e s adop ted to war ds cin e ma
in differe n t cou ntr ie s . Thes e is sues wi ll be develop e d in th e fo llow in g ch a pt ers .
POETICS OF CINEMA AND PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Gi ven th e li nk be tween ci ne ma , poe try and non -v erbal co n scio u sne s s, a “state of re verie ” and
th e uncons cious - whic h is one of th e cor e th emes ex plo red in th is th esis - this subject h as inevitably
cap t ur ed th e in ter es t of psychoan al ytic th eory .
Freud initially had greater impact on filmmaking movements and has arguably had the gre atest impact
on film theory. The Surrealist mov ement in the 1920s and 1930s drew heavily on his theories of the
unconscious, and filmmakers such as Hitchcoc k drew on Freudian concepts.
In more recent years, the theories of Jung have had a greater impact on film theory, especially
in the United States, in particular in terms of sc reenwriting theory, via authors such as Christopher Vogler
who have been inspired by the writings of Jung and subsequently by Joseph Campbell.
Barbara Creed points out in her ess ay
Film and Psychoanalysis
(Hill, 1998) the ideas of Jung
have had much less impact on film theo ry than tho se of Freud:
Not all theorists used Freud. Ot hers drew on the ideas of Carl Gustav Jung and parti cularly his theory
of archetypes, to understand film …But generally Jungian theory has never been widely applied to
the cinema... Writers of the 1970 s who turne d to Freud and Lacan – the two most influential
p sychoanalysts – were critical, however, of what they perceived to be an underlying essentialism in
J ungian theory, that is a tendency to explai n subjectivit y in unchanging, uni versal terms. (Hill, 1998,
p.78 ).
Creed summarises some of the applications of Freud’s ideas to film theory as follows: the retu rn
of the repressed, Oedipal drama, narcissism, ca stration, hysteria and in particular the unconscious,
subjectivity and sexua lity.
Freud’s ideas have influ enced the writings of Lacan, Metz, Baudry, Mulvey and many other theorists.
One of the main applications of Freud’s theories to film analysis has be en linked to the rel ations
that he drew between art and neuroses that result from early childhoo d traumas. He considered a work
of art to be a symptom of th e unique personality and unconscious of the individual.
The artist is different from ordinary people in that he cannot live a nor ma l life and needs to use
his art to come to terms with certain obsessions he has. Freud traced these obsessio ns or neuroses back
11 9
to psychological complexes which stem from childhood development. In other words, each artist w ill be
obsessed with certain them es, rooted in his childhood, that will recu r in all his wo rks, and will in dicate
certain aspects of his personal developmen t. In turn expression of these neuroses will trigger responses
in viewers who have also been affecte d by these same neuroses.
Jung’s analysis, although it may be argued to hav e had less impact on film theor y is of significant
relevance for this thesis, du e to Jung’s extensive writing on the topic of poetry and the fact that his
analysis has fuelled subs equent research by writers such as Joseph Campbell, which in turn has had a
major influence on s creenwritin g theory.
Jung placed much less emphasis on the question of neuroses an d believed that the work of the
artist may reveal something about the author , but if it is true art, it rises above the level of the individual
and touc hes the collective. "The essence of a work of art is not to be found in the pers onal idiosyncracies
that creep into it - indeed the more there are of them, the less it is a work of art - but in its rising above
th e personal and speaking from the mind and h eart of the artist to the mind and heart of mankind"
(quoted in Tacey, 2012, p.2 68). In this sense, Jung considered that the work of art may be viewed as
"objective". The artist, " is in the highest degree objectiv e, impersonal and even inhuman - or superhu man
- for as an arti st he is no thing but his work, and not a human being" (quote d in Tacey, 2012, p.268).
Ju ng share d wi t h Fr e u d th e ide a th at ar t sp r i n gs fr om th e unc onsci ous , but he delineates two
le vels of th e unc onsci ous. Th e fi rst le vel is th e "r elat iv el y th in lay e r imm ed iatel y be low th e th resh old of
con sc iou sne s s" (w hich Ju ng c all s th e Personal Unc ons ci ou s). He de f ine s th is as the "s um - total of all
th o se ps ychic processe s and con ten t s which are capable of be com in g con sc iou s and of te n do but are
th en su ppre ssed be cause of thei r in c om pat ibility an d re main subliminal” (quot ed in Ta cey , 2012, p.338).
This is th e par t of th e unco nscio us th at pr oduces neur ose s, and for which Freu d's an al ys i s is mos t
appropr i ate. Be low th is lay er Ju ng ide nti fi ed the "Co l l ect iv e Unc ons ci ou s".
In his pape r , "O n th e rela tio n of analyti cal psychology to po eti c art" (J ung, 19 22), Jun g
em ph asi sed th e re lat io n of poetry to th e unco nsci ous. He define s th e co ll ect ive unc ons cious as:
"pot enti ali ty hand ed down to us fro m primo r di al ti m es in the spe c i fi c f orm of mn em onic imag es or
inv este d in th e anatomical stru ctu re of th e br ain " (J ung, 19 22, arti c l e ) .
He claims that the collective unconscious is the basis upon which the artist can communicate
with other people. By exploring his own un conscious, the artis t comes upo n ideas that may strike a strong
chord with other s. Jung believed that especially for a written medium, this is the only basis upon which
poetic comm unication is possible, because th e effectiveness of reference to different i deas depends upon
12 6
12 6
Paso l ini no ted , "Wh en I ma k e a film I am al w ays in re ali ty , amon g th e tr ees and am ong pe ople …
th ere is no symbolic or con ve nt io na l fi lter between me and re ali ty, as ther e is in literature.” 98
Tar kovks y stat ed: "No oth e r art fo rm can co m pa re wi t h cin em a in the for ce, prec i si on and
sta rk ness wi t h wh ich it con ve ys awar e n es s of fac ts and ae sth e tic st ruc tur e s ex ist ing amid cha ngi ng with
time " (T arkovsky, 19 89, p. 68) . He adde d th at "T h e po et th inks in im ag es wi th wh ich…he ca n ex pres s
his vi si on of the wor l d" (Tark ovsky, 19 89, p.5 0 ) . He no ted th at "i sola ted impre ssi on s of th e day hav e set
off im puls e s wi t hin us , ev oke d ass oc i at i ons; objects and ci rcu m s ta nces ha ve staye d in our me mo ry , but
wi th no sh arpl y de fi ne d con to ur s, in c ompl e t e, app ar e ntly for t ui tous " (T arkovsk y, 19 89, p.23 ) . Tar kovsk y
be liev ed th a t th e im ag e has it s own in ter nal uni ty, and e st a blishes in ner con nec ti o ns between el em ent s.
"T h e imag e mak es palpable a unity in wh i c h mani f old di f ferent elem ent s are co ntigu o us an d re ach ove r
int o ea c h ot her " (Tark ovsky, 19 89, p.38) The ima ge al so re ach e s int o in fin ity. "T h e im age stre tches out
int o in fin ity, and le ads to the absolute" (Tark o vs ky, 19 89 , p.104). "T he great fun cti on of the artist ic im ag e
is to be a ki nd of detector of i nf i nity…towards wh ic h our re ason and our feel ings go soar ing wi th joy ful,
th rilli ng has te " (T ark ovsky, 19 89, p.1 0 9 ).
Buñuel shared the same view saying that film can cap ture the mischievous, surrealist nature of
an object and thereby convey "the poetry, the mystery, and all that completes and enlarges tangible
realit ies”
99
. Mysteries and the fantasti c", he says, are the only things which are characteristically
cine matic, a dding that: "The most worthwhile contribution, is the raising of a humdr um act to the le vel
of dramatic action.”
100
Vertov located the ability of ci nema to capture the detail and my stery of the world with the power
of the "cinema - eye", which he be lieved w as superior to the human eye. He stated that the Kino - eye is
the possibi lity to “make t he invisible visible, the unclear clear, the hidden manifest, the disguised overt "
(Vertov, 1985, p. 120), He summed this up as "life caught unawares" (Vertov, 1985, p. 123) which is
reminiscent of Cocteau's statement that he tries to “catc h his live beas ts unawares”
101
.
Vertov viewed the film poet as a hunter or "ki nok":
He's a scout. An observer. A mar ksman. A path finder. An explorer. But he's a poet as well. He
penet rates life for artistic purposes…He does not shut himself up in an offic e. He leaves the cage of
his room. Paints from nature. Observes. Experiments, takes his beari ngs in strange su rroundings.
Makes instant decisions. Camouflages, making use of na tural re sources. And at the vital mo ment,
fires accurately. A film sniper. Calmn ess, braver y, coolness, initiative, self - control. No clerical or
other procedures. S imultaneous decision and i mplementation. (Vertov, 1985, p. 223).
98 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. az quo te s.co m/ aut ho r/3 14 32 -Pier_Pa olo_P a so lin i
99 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. th ear ts t ory .o rg /ar tist /B uñue l - luis/ lif e - and - legacy/
100 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww. ooci t ie s .org/tlverbu r g / bicycle.p df
101 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fr om ht tps: // ww w.t h eart s desk .c o m/fil m /jea n - co ct eau - po et - ca n - ne ve r - die
12 7
Tarkovsky referred to "t he origi nal sin of [cinema’s] genesis in the market place" (Tarkovsky,
1989, p.1 25) and added that "the true cinema image is built upon destruction of genre, upon c onflict
with it" (Tarkovsk y, 1989, p.150). By contrast, Fellini believed that the link to th e market endows cinema
a unique quality. "The movie business is macabre. Grotesq ue. It is a combination of a football game and
a brothel.”
102
Other filmmake rs, su ch as Hitch cock attempted to inno vate while working within commercial
cinema. Fairly early in his career Hitchcock remarked, "On the whole nowadays, I try to tell a story in the
simplest possible way, so that I can feel sure it will hold the attentio n of a ny audience and won't puzzl e
them"
103
“
I have learnt from experience how easily small touches a re overlooked"
104
he added, "I have
become commercially minded, afraid that anythi ng at all subtle ma y be misse d”
105
- "The art of directing
for the commercial mar ket is knowing just how far yo u can go”
106
.
Fr e nch film make r Coc te au de lineated two ca m ps of fi lm m ake rs - br other ly works, or po etic
ci ne ma, th a t he ch a rac ter i se d by "mala i se , in op po rtu nen ess , lame ness and discomfor t" and com me rc ial
ci ne ma, wher e "e ve ry th ing fl ows too fas t an d walks too st raig h t ” (Cocte au, 19 27, arti c l e)
Paso l ini also dis tinguish ed film s int o two fam i lie s: "poe try" an d "pro se " . "T h e ci ne ma of
poetry…is th e c in e m a which adopts a par ticular te chniqu e jus t as a poe t adopt s a par ticula r te chniqu e
when he writes vers e" ( quoted in St a ck, 19 69, p. 15 3).
Godard identified two types of film - str aight line and circular - and two types of film - maker. The
first, like Eisenstein, Hitchco ck and Resnais prepare the film fully beforehand, and shoot ing is merely a
practical applica tion. The second, like Rouch and Godard himself, use film - making as a sear ch, saying
that they know they will arrive, but don't know where and dep end much more on improvisation.
107
In the fi rst ha lf of th e twe nti eth ce nt u ry, th e pos s ibi l ity of us ing film to awaken th e co n sc iou sne s s
of th e mas s es appeal ed in th e con tex t of mode rn i sm and avant - gar de ide as, due to th e prevaili ng
optimism th at a ne w wor l d was about to be unle a she d th at would “l iber at e ” the ord i nary man.
Fe llin i saw one of th e mai n rol es of ci ne ma as breaking down "mo nad i s m" an d th e atom isation
of socie ty, and providi ng con ta ct be twe en pe ople. "O u r troubl e as mo de rn me n" says Fell ini, "i s
lon elin ess , and this begi n s in the very depths of our be in g” 108 .
102 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /onv i deo. or g/ kil le rs - anony mo us - ge ts - to gether - on - dig ital - disc - au g - 27 /
103 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fr o m h t tps ://th e.h itchcock.z o ne/w iki/Sight _and_So u nd _(1 937)_-_My _Own _ Meth o ds
104 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m https ://th e.h itchcock.z o ne /wiki/S ight _and_So u nd _(1937 )_-_My _Own_M et hods
105 Retr i eved on 29 /1 0/19 fro m h t tp s://the.hitc h cock .zone/wiki/S ight_and_S ou n d_(1937)_- _M y _Own_Met h ods
106 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /t he.hitch cock.zone/w iki/Sight _and_So u nd _(1 9 37)_- _M y _Own_Met hods
107 Retr ie ved on 29 / 1 0/ 19 fr om ht tp:/ / www .tas t eof ci nema . com/ 2 015/ 16 - legenda r y - fi lm ma k e r s - pr a ised - by - ot her - great -
directo rs/
108
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.academia.edu/7423070/La_Strada_and_So u l_Murd er
12 8
12 8
Ve rtov had a ve ry si milar rol e in mind, li nk ed to th e agenda prevaili ng af te r th e 19 17 Bolsh evik
re vol uti on in Ru ss ia: "Our basic, progra mm atic objective is to aid ea ch oppre s sed indi vid u al and the
prole tar iat as a whole in thei r ef for t to unde rstan d the phe nomena of li fe ar oun d th em" (Ve r tov , 19 85,
p.49). "T he e s tabl ishing of a cla ss bond th at is vi sual (kino - ey e ) and auditor y (r adio - ea r) be twe e n th e
prole tarians of all na tio ns and all lan ds " (Ve rtov, 19 85, p.50) . He added "Eve ryone has someth ing of th e
poe t, ar tis t, mu si cia n. Or el se th er e ar e no poe ts, artist s or mu sici ans " (Ve rt ov , 19 85, p.162). Ve r to v
em ph asi sed how film , althou gh direc t a for m com muni c at ion , may ha ve differe n t ef fe cts on diffe rent
peo pl e. "Thoug hts mu st be tr ansmi tte d fr om the scre en direc tly, wi t hou t tr anslat ion into words . It 's a
li ving com muni c at ion wi t h th e sc reen, a trans mi s si on fr om brain t o brain. Ea c h pe r son grabs th at whic h
cor r es pon ds to hi s capabil i ties and kno wl edge. Eac h penet r ates int o th e sp her e of ide as, th e germ of
whic h st i r s in his own co n sc iou sne s s” (Ve r t ov, 19 85, p.2 6 0 ).
Unt il the lat e 19 60s , poetic ci ne ma was viewe d as a re v olutionar y for ce that cou ld tra nsfor m
soc iet y and th is pe r spe ctive was ti ed i nto broader pol i t ica l and ide olog ical views of how art cou ld for ge a
bet te r wor ld - "In a wor l d so badl y mad e as ours" sai d Buñ uel "th ere is on ly one road - re be llion”. 109
Buñ u el cri ti ci se d th e way th a t film of te n li m i ts it self to cop ying th e novel or th e st age, whi ch are
"l e ss ri chly endo wed with th e mea ns of psychol ogical ex pr ession". He be l ieved th at mos t ci ne ma ta kes
"gre at pains not to dist u rb our pea ce of mind " and th us th e a uth o rities "k eep the mar ve llo us window of
th e sc reen cl os ed to th e li be rating wor ld of poetry ” 110 .
A new international language
Paso l ini de sc r i bed th e new in ter nati ona l lang uag e of c ine ma as be i ng tr ans - na tio nal and trans -
cl as s, th at owes noth in g, an d b ea r s no re latio n s hip , to any ot her art for m (Stack, 19 69) .
This background co n t ex t als o fos tere d ties between fi lm ma k e rs of dif f e rent cou ntr ie s , who
con sid er e d that th ey belonged to a si n gl e co m muni ty and mo v emen t.
Ci nema was se e n as a ve ry power ful an d p ote nti al ly re vol uti onar y tool . Verto v described th e cam er a as
a d iv ine fo r ce – “ th e all - se e i n g , unm askin g ey e" (V ertov, 19 85, p. 25 1).
Buñ uel added, "T he white ey e of the sc reen ne ed only re flec t th e li ght th at is pr operl y its own to
blow up th e univ erse " 111 , ech oin g th e view of Co c teau who th ought th at ci ne ma is "a po we r ful weapon fo r
proje ction of th ou ght , even in to a cro wd unwi lli ng to ac cept it ” 112 .
109 Retr iev ed on 29 /10/ 19 fro m https ://www.ac ademia. edu/35 9 9687 0 /T h e_S urrealist _C in em a_o f _Lu is _Bu ñ ue l
110 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m http://ww w.u bu.com /papers/B u ñu el_luis- st ate men t .htm l
111 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww. ub u .com/ pa pe rs/B uñu e l_lu is - st at eme n t.htm l
112 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww. terr a med ia .co.uk/qu o ta tions /Quotes _C.ht m
12 9
Se ver a l fi lm - mak ers sug geste d th a t th e ne w la ng ua g e of film is pe culiarl y abl e to deal wi t h th e
problems of th e mod ern age. Tar kov sky su gg este d th at "i t was th e inst r um en t whic h hum ani t y had to
hav e, in order to inc rea se it s ma ste ry ov e r th e re al worl d" (Tark ovsky, 19 89, p.82 ) . He be lie ved th a t
ci ne ma is abl e to do th is because th e rh yt hm of cine ma “most cl os el y co rr es po nds with th e rh yth m of
mod ern li fe" (Tarkovsk y, 19 89, p.83).
Maya D er en id e ntifi ed th e ci ne ma with th e New Wor l d. Sh e con tr as te d th e old st atic ar t fo rms ,
whic h were approp ri at e to the Ol d Wor l d, wi t h th e dynam i c ch ara c ter ist ic s of fi lm , which ar e app ropriate
to th e mode rn wor ld of mov emen t, en e rgy and dy namis m. 113
Buñ uel sh ared a simi lar pe rception and saw th is as th e re ason why Am eric a was th e home of
th e cin em a. He con sid e re d that Lati n cou ntr ie s are overburdened wi t h tra dit ion, mys ti cis m, cu ltu re an d
im ag inat ion while Am eric a is for ever forg ing ahead to som eth ing ne w.
Se ver a l film - ma k ers have adv oc ated the id e a th a t fi lm sh ould sh ock its audie nce, an d re vea l the
mos t dist urbing si de of phenomena. Buñ uel ma de a se r i es of st atem ents in fav our of ch a llen g in g th e
audien c e's s en s ibilities. His de s ire to “ open the ey es” of t he audie nce is evid en t in the fam ous ey e - slit ting
sho t of
Le Ch ie n Andal ou
. "F or me it is natu ral - to se e fro m th e sadi stic, not th e ne o - re alis t or mys ti cal
point of vi ew. I n th e en d I alw ays ch o ose what e v e r is th e mo st disturbing"" 114 . He sai d th at he wa nted to
ev oke "a mo re pr ofound , devouring and ter ri bl e sen suali ty…ak in to fem ale pe r vers ity and th e vi sion of "a
se nsual, vi rgin al , de m otic li ttl e gir l" 115 .
Buñ uel deliberate l y ch o se imag es which would both attract and re pel audien c e s. He said of
Le
Ch ie n An dal ou
, th a t he aime d to pro voke in th e spe ctat or in sti nct ive re act i ons of attractio n and re pu lsio n .
It uses "its "i deolo g y ", its ps ychic mot iv ati on an d th e sys tem at i c us e of th e poe tic ima ge as an arm to
overthrow acce pted noti ons ” 116 . This is spe cific all y int end ed to att ac k the spe ctato r , wh o ha s be en
soc ializ ed by mai ns tr eam nor ms, "i t att acks hi m…t o th e degree that he belongs to a soc iet y with whic h
surr eal is m is at war ” 117 .
Fe llin i, in hi s own man n er, aime d to ch all en ge th e "i d ea l". "T h e idea l, th e ide al i sed li fe , th e
ide ali sed co n ce pt s can be ex tr em el y dangerous for our me ntal hea lth ” 118 . Fe llin i con si dered belief in th e
"i deal" to re sult fro m "e ducatio na l con d iti on in g" and he be lieve d th at man req uire d a " back w ard walk"
113 Retr ie ved on 2 9/ 10 /19 fro m
https ://monoskop .o rg /images/3/3 1/ D eren_Ma ya_An_An a g r am_o f _Id eas_on_Art_Fo rm_and_Film .pdf
114 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/1 9 fr o m ht tps: // tar nmo or. com /2 0 18/0 6/1 3/v - that - obs c u re - obj ect - of - des i r e/
115 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. emp i reonl in e .co m/mo vi es/ rev i ews/ obs c ure - desir e - revie w/
116 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /tr in i ty coll eg est a ge3 medi a.w o rdp ress.com/201 4/02/11/u n - chien - an dalou /
117 Retr i eved on 29 /1 0/19 fro m ht tps: // ja h son ic. com/ An dal ou . htm l
118 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /nor m anbu ck ley . com/ blog / cine m a/ fell ini - considering - the - idea l/
13 0
13 0
in ord er to es c ap e fr om it . "I w ant to sug gest to mode rn man a ro ad of in ner liberation, to ac c ept and
lov e li fe th e way it is wi t hou t ide ali sing it, without pr oject in g oneself in to idea lise d im ages on a mo ra l or
et hic al pl ane .” 119
Coc te au con si der e d se veral devices for winning ov e r th e audien c e, su ch as picture s , st ars,
decor s , that wi ll suga r th e pill he want s th em to swa llow in orde r to cu re what he ca ll s th e mal ad it y of
stu pidi t y (Coctea u, 19 72).
One of t he mai n ch a llen g es ide nt if ie d by th e fi lm poets was to be able to adv an ce th is r adical
agenda wh ich was inc rea sing ly at odds wi th ca pi ta lis t so ci e ty, wher e pe ople are cau gh t up in co nsta nt
fas t - paced ch a nge . Coc te a u stat ed th at socie ty doesn’t suf fer fr om a con spi r a cy of nois e b ut rath er a
con spi r acy of si l e n c e . Ther e is an att raction for stori es that are "fals er th an fals e h oo d ” prod uc ed by
jou r nalis ts who dis figure fa ct s' to please au dience s . He cl a imed th a t this outweighs the att r ac t i on of fi lm
poe tr y , wh ich is "true r than trut h" . (C octea u, 19 88, p.1 5 2 ) Ac cor din g to Co c te a u , th e bus t le of mo de rn
day li fe mak es it ve ry diffi c ult for audie nces t o develop th e mode of con tem p lat io n and mu se which is
ne cessar y to art. Th is is tr ue for both cr i ti c and unt raine d viewe r. He added, "E very time one sl ips int o
th e picturesq ue, the spe c t ato r s gra b hol d of it as though it were a l i febelt in a shipwr e ck . Th e y hav e no
ey es fo r anyt h in g el se ." 120
An othe r ch all en ge to poetic film ma ke rs was th e stai d vi sio n of th e a rts of th e bourge oi s el ite.
Coc te au sug gests th at the eli te pi nches itse lf to re main awak e, but con sid er s th at the gr eat est civ il isa ti on s
are o ne s in which elit es ar e con fi den t to su cc umb to th e power of art an d dr e ams. (C o c te au, 19 72).
Fe llin i po inted to th e mat e ri al i s m an d emp ir icism of th e mode rn world as a maj or obstacle to
fi lm art. "W e live in an age th at has mad e a cu lt of metho dol o gy, th at ma kes us weakly believe th at
sc ient i fic or ideo logi cal ide as hav e th e ed g e over rea lity , and th at is suspi ci ou s of fan t as y, of in di vid ual
originali t y, in ot her words of personal ity" 121 (quot ed in Me nd e low itz, undat ed, p.5)
Ve rtov also noted th is, "T r u th is not pl easing to ev er yon e. You sp eak an unple asant truth ; th ey
smil e and con ce a l th eir mal ice" (Ve rtov, 1985, p. 20 9). He said that wh en his goa l is fin ally rea c h ed:
"T h e li ars and th e hy poc rite s will far e ba dl y. Thei r mas ks will be torn off. No one will be a ble to hi de fr om
th e all - se eing , u nmask ing ey e" (V ertov, 19 85, p. 25 1).
Tar kovsk y em ph asi sed how diffi cult it is to a ppr eciat e a gr eat work. He quoted Goe the who sai d,
"It is as ha rd to re ad a gr e at book as it is to wr i te it " (T arkovsk y, 19 89, p.46). Ar ti stic co m muni c at ion
re sts on the ability of th e au dience to ide nti fy wi t h th e cre a tive pr ocess unde rgo ne by th e arti s t, whic h
119 Retr ie ve d on 29 /1 0/19 fro m ht tp: // user s .cl as .uf l .e du/ nho ll and/ 8a nd half . htm
120 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww.redd it .co m/r/Tru eFilm / co m men t s/4 b akyx /my_histo r y_o f _film_i n_quo tes/
121
La Strada and Soul Murder, Ed Mende lowitz, p. 5
13 1
Tar kovsk y belie ved is bei ng dest royed by mode rn soc iet y. "O n e of th e sa dde s t as pe c ts of our time is th e
total destructio n i n peo pl e's awar e nes s of all th a t go e s w it h a co n sc iou s se nse of th e beautiful"
(Ta r k ovsky, 19 89, p.42). "M oder n m ass cu ltu r e, is cri pp lin g peopl e ’s sou l s, se tting up barriers between
man and th e cr uc ial q ue st ions of hi s exi st e n c e, his co n scio u sne s s of hi ms el f as a spi ritu al being”
(Ta r k ovsky, 1 98 9, p.4 2 ) . The maj ori ty ar e "deaf to th e pain und er gone by th e artist s in order to s ha re
wi th oth e rs th e truth he has reach ed ” (Tark ovsky, 19 89, p.42).
Vertical cinema
Se ver a l fi lmm ake rs, su ch as Pasolini , have st at ed th at poe tic fi lms mu st hav e a diffe r en t fo rma l
stru ct ure to “prose” fi lms. Maya Deren, for ex ampl e, di s ting ui s he d betwee n two alternat i ve st rate g i es of
devel opment for any wor k of art: horiz ont al or ve rti cal . Sh e ide nti fied horizo nt a l developmen t as rela ti n g
to nar rat ive pr ogression, which fol lows a "cau sal logi c ". Vert ical de velopmen t , by con t r a s t, is based on
p oetic de v e lo pment, which fol lows an "e m ot ional log ic". Dere n stat e d th at hor izo nt a l devel opm ent mov es
“from feel ing to fe el ing ” wi t h “one act ion le adin g to another”, fol lowi ng a “l ogic of action s ” or “cau s al
log ic of ev ent s” (Maas, 19 63, arti cle).
Verti cal de velo pmen t "probes the ramifications of the moment, and is concerned with its quali ties
a nd its depth." The different elements are "held t ogether by an emotion or a meaning that they have in
common, rather than by the logical action”. They are “brought to a cen tre, gathered up, and collected
by the fact that they all refer to a common emotion, although the incidents themselves may be quite
disparate" (Maas, 1963, article).
Deren suggested that vertical development can occur throughout the entire work, which mak es
it a poem, or it can occur as episodes within an overall narrative fr amework – i. e. as elements of poetry
within prose. Deren cite s Shakespeare as using both. Horizontal development moves the action from
moment to moment, while vertical develo pment expl ores the individual moment. Deren cites Hamlet's
soliloquy as an example of vertical development. If there had been purely , horizonta l development, she
says Hamlet would ju st have stated “I can’t make up my mind” (Maas, 1963, article).
Tarkovsky held a ve ry s imilar view of "poetic development" and belie ved that exploration of such
"poetr y" was the proper role of cinema. "In my view, po etic reasoning is closer to the laws by which
thought develops, and thus to life itself, than is the logic of tra ditional d rama " (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.20).
He added, "I find poetic links, the logic of poetr y in cinema, extraordinarily pleasing" (Tarkovsky, 1 989,
p.18). He felt that there should be "asso ciative linking" between images, that requires the audienc e to
join them together . "The artist obliges the audience to build the separate parts into a whole" (Ta rkovsky,
13 2
13 2
1989, p.21). "Through poetic connections , feeling is heighte ned and the spectat or is made more active"
(Tarkovsky, 1989, p.20).
This idea was also explo red by Buñ uel and Pasolini, who linked vertical development to the
pattern of dreams. The latt er suggested that the very nature of cinematic ar t made it a strong parallel to
dreams: "Every attempt at memorisation is…primarily a cinema sequence…All dreams a re a series of
image -signs which have all the characteristics of the cinematic -sequence: close-ups, long shots, etc."
122
Buñuel stated "Among al l means of human expression, [cinema’s] way of functioning is most reminiscent
of the work of the mind during sle ep."
123
He adde d - "A film is like an involuntary imitation of a dream”
124
- "the darkness that s lowly settles over a movie theater is equiva lent to the act of closing the eyes. Then,
on the screen, as within the human being, the nocturnal voyage into the unc onsc ious begins
125
" 'Th e film
acts directly upon the spectator presenting him with concr ete people and things and creating a hypnotic
state. “In the silence and darkness of the theatre it isolates him from what we might call his normal
psychic habitat. For t hes e reasons it can stimulate him more effectively than any other form of human
expression…it can also more effectively stultify him.”
126
As in th e thea tre, th e audien c e vi ews the sp ec ta c l e in the dark, but th e darknes s of th e ci ne ma
is at ti mes total . Ind ee d as Am os Vo ge l has poi nted out, th e audie nce in fact spe n d s ha lf of th e fi lm' s
le ngth in co mpl e te darknes s . The ability of th e ci ne ma to im ita te th o u ght s and dream s is co n sid er e d by
many to be th e es senc e of it s poe tr y. Buñ uel sta ted, "T h e ci ne ma seem s to hav e be en inv ented to ex plore
th e li fe of the subc on s c ious, th e ro ots of wh i c h punctuat e d ee ply" 127 .
Hitchcock also believed that editing sh ould be organic, linked to the psycholo gica l exploration of
the scene: "The screen ought to speak its own languag e, fully coine d. It can't do that unless it treats an
acted scene as a piece raw material, whi ch must be broken up, taken to bits, before can be woven into
an expressive visual patte rn"
128
. He added that it is necessary to "build up the psychological situati on
piece by pi ece, using the camera to emphasise fir st one then the other"
129
. "Each detail is f orced in turn
on the audience to reveal its psych ological necessity.”
130
122 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /d ili ps haky a. fi le s.w ord pr ess. co m/ 2013 / 04/p aso l ini 1 976 - ci n em a -n - po etry .pdf
123 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. s tones of e ras mus .c om/2 01 0/07 / lui s - Bu ñuel - on - fil m - and - su bc on sci ou s.h tml
124 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s :/ / w ww.st o n esoferasm u s.co m/2010/07/luis - Bu ñuel - on - fil m - and - su bc on sci ou s.h t ml
125 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. on theb oard s .org / blog / in - drea m - dan ces
126 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m
ht tps: / /ww w.s t il ls. or g/s i tes/ de fau lt/ f il es/ Bu ñ u el%20Cinema % 20Instrum ent%20of%20Poetry.pdf
127 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m
https ://www.ac ademia. edu/37 1 48 194/Gen der_a s _ t rau m a_in _Bu%C3% B 1uel_ s _Un _chien _andalou.p df
128
"Direction," a chapter in Footnotes to the Film, edite d by Charles Davy (New York, Ox ford University Press, 1937), p. 6.
129 Retr ie ved on 29 /10 /1 9 fro m ht tps: // ww w.j uko l art. u s/na rra tiv e - film - tech nique/h itchco cks -s tyle - pu re - cinema.html
130 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /fil med ucat io n. or g/pd f /fil m /Ps y cho.p df
13 3
Metre and rhy thm are essential to film
Just as metre and rhythm are essential to written poetry, filmma kers identify similar importance
within their work.
Tarkovsky wrote extensively about the importance of rhythm. He believed that the crucial element
of the shot, v ital to the editing, is its rhythm. "Th e dominant all - powerful factor of t he film image is r hythm
expressing the course of tim e within the frame” (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.113). "Editing brings together shots
which are already filled with time, and organizes the unified, living structure inherent in th e film; and the
time that pulsates through the bloo d vessels of the film, making it ali ve, is of varying rhythmic p ressure"
(Tarkov sky, 1989, p.114). Thus, Tar kovsky believed t hat it is rhythm, and not editing which is the
foundation of a film's overall st ru cture. "I am convinced that it is rhythm, and not editing, as people tend
to think, that is the main formative element of cinema" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.119).
Furthermore, Tark ovsky distinguished rhythm fr om the len gth of each shot. "The distinctive time
r unning through the shots makes th e rhythm of the pi cture; and rhythm is determined not by the length
of the detailed pieces, but by the pressure of time that runs through them" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.117).
"Rhythm then is not the met rical sequence of pieces; what makes it is the time -thrust within the frames"
(Tarkovsky, 1989, p.119).
Rhythm expresses both external movement, but also in ternal rhythm. The character's facial and
bod ily movements are expressions of their inner rhythm. They may be sitting deliver ing a monologue,
but their expres sions may be very agitated, suggesting a very nervous and rapid pace of thought and
inner movement . It is through rhythm that the director conveys the inner life of his characters, a nd also
indirectly his own inner life. Ta rkovsky stated that "Just as from the quivering of a reed you can tell what
sort of current, what pressure, there is in a river, in the same way we know the mov ement of time fr om
the flow of the life -process reprodu ced in the shot" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.120) . "It is above all through
sense of time, through r hythm, that the director reveals his individuality" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.120).
O th er film - ma k ers have fo c use d upo n th e im port anc e of rhy th m. We l le s stated, "I se ek th e ex act
rhy th m between one fr ame and th e ne x t. It 's a ques ti on of th e ea r” 131 .
Several directors compare film rhythm and structure with music. Kurosawa compared film
str ucture to that of a symphony. "A good structu re for a screenplay is that of the symp hony, with its three
or four movements a nd differing t empos…the easiest fo r people of today to understand.”
132
(Kurosawa,
131 R et rieved on 29 /10/ 19 from ht tps: / /ci nep hi li abe yon d .org / tou ch - evil - ors on - welle s - gra n dio se - fi lm - no ir - took - fo ur - decades -
sh ine - in t ended - fo rm /
132 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 f rom htt ps:/ / akir a kuro sawa . inf o/ aki ra - kurosa wa - qu otes/ ku rosa wa - quotes - scr e enpl ay /
13 4
13 4
1983, p. 142) Welles echoed this, "A strip of film is performed like a musical score, and that p erformance
is determined by the ed iting "
133
. He stated that there were three po ssible musical tempos: the rubato, t he
romantic, and t he "dry, academic".
The Creative Process as a mixture of intuition and the intellect
Many film - makers assert that they are not in control of the creative process. This is linked to
Plato’s idea that poets are invaded by a divine spiri t.
Bergman compares the creative act to a voyage into the dark, and contrasts the role of intuition
and intellect. "I throw a spear into the d ark. That is my intuition. And then, I have to send an expedition
into the ju ngle, very slowly - that is my intellect - to find the s pear, and to find the way to the spear”
134
.''
He added that he then uses his intellect analyses the creation of his intuitio n, and decide why the spear
is in one p lace rather than another ". This is a nalogous to the hypothetico - deductive method in science,
in which the imagination produces the hypothesis and the intellect deduces its l ogical consequences.
The irrational produce s the idea, the rational, the concrete shape.
Autobiographical dimension
Film - poetry is often seen as more personal or autobiograph ical than other films, and the writings
of the film - makers reinforce this.
Tark ovsky asserted that the most import ant qualities in an artist are "total hones ty and s incerity
towards himself" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.165), "sincerity, tr uthfulness, and clean ha nds" (Tarkovsky, 1989,
p.184), and "selfless devotion to duty" (Tarkovsky, 1989, p.189). He stated, "Every artist as they say
drinks from his own glass" (Tark ovsky, 1 989, p.149). This idea is echoed by many other film -makers.
It is the infusion of the arti st's spirit with a work that gives it vitality. Orson Welles remarked that "Any
work…is good to the degree that it expresses the man who made it - contains hi s' flesh and blood”
135
and added "A film – is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a
poet”
136
.
Many films are self consciously autobiographical. Fellini s aid, "Each of my stories is really a
period of my life. I can't distinguish my films one from another. For myself, I've always directed the sa me
film”
137
.
133
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://cinephilia beyond.org/touch - evil - orson - wel les - grandiose - film - noir - took - four - decades -
shine - intend ed - form/
134 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m https ://www.br ainyquote.c om/ quotes/ in gma r_bergm a n_7 5 9336
135 Retr i eved on 29 /1 0/19 fro m ht tp: // ww w.e le ctri csh e epma ga zine .c o .uk /re vie ws / tag/ orson - welles/
136 Retr ie ved on 2 9/ 10 /19 fro m htt ps:/ / www. we lle sn et .com /ey e s - ors on - welle s - re vie w/
137 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. az quo te s.co m/ aut ho r/4 72 3 -Federico _Fellini?p=3
13 5
It is the autobiogra phical element that drives the film - maker as if possessed. Fellini says, "What
is autobiographical is the story of a kind of call that pierces the torpor of t he so ul and wakes me. I should
very much like to stay in that state, in th ose mo ments when the cal l reaches me. I feel, then, that
someone is knocking at the door and I don’t go and open it."
138
Kur osawa said of hi s fi lms, "W ith in ea ch fi lm I hav e be com e on e wi th many di f f e rent ki nds of
peo pl e, and I ha ve li ve d th eir li ves". (Kur osawa, 19 83. P. 97 )
Tar ko v sky sta t ed th at, "t rue artistic insp ira tion is always a tor ment for th e arti s t, almost to th e
point of en dan ger ing hi s life " (Ta r k ovsky, 19 89, p.188). This is be c ause, "T he ar ti st ca n not ex pres s th e
mor al ide a of hi s time unle ss he touc he s all its run ni ng sor es, unle ss he suf fers these sor es hi ms elf "
(Ta r k ovsky, 19 89, p.8 8 ) . “Film poe ts” di f f e r between th ose who dr a w ma i nly fr om th ei r dre ams and
im ag inat ion, an d th ose who draw fr om th e wor ld around th em. Tar kov sky refe rs to th is, " Arti st s are
divide d int o th ose who cr e ate th ei r own inn er world, and th ose who recr eat e re ality . I undo ubtedl y belong
to th e fi rst " (Tarkov sky , 19 89, p.11 8).
Many film - makers have s tr essed the importance of their dreams. Polanski said, "For as far back
as I can remember the lin e between fantasy and reality has been blurred.”
139
He said that as a child, he
l ived in "a separate, make -believe wo rld of my own”
140
, which was the key to his existence. He concludes,
"Art and poetry, the land of imagination always s eemed more real to me."
141
Buñuel makes a similar
statement. "Even as a young man I was able to glimpse s omething that on the spiritual and p oetic plane,
goes far bey ond Christian mor a lity." The a bility to keep in tune with the dreams and visions of child h ood
is often important f or the poet. Tarkovsky no tes that, "A poet has the imagination and psychology of a
child…His impressions of the wor ld are immediate, however profound" (Tarko vsky, 1989, p.41).
A very different tradition is that of the film - makers w ho use the world around them for their
inspiration. Such film - makers live most intensely while conscious and acting within the world. Pasol ini
refers to his "passion for life, for re ality, for physical, sexual, objectual, existential reality around me”
142
" The cinema is an explosi on of my love for reality.”
143
Fe llin i exp res ses a simi lar lov e for th e wor l d ar ound hi m. "I must kn o w ev er ythi ng about
ev ery one, mak e lov e to ev ery thi n g a rou nd me ” 144 .
138 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /he lp l og4bm m. bl ogsp ot .c o m/
139 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. th eglo b eand ma il. com/news/world / pol an ski - libel - trial - co mpell ing -
vi ew ing/ art icl e18 24 17 35 /
140 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. th egu ard ia n. com /bo oks /2 004/ ma r/ 27 /fea t ure sr evi ew s. gua rdi an re vie w1 4
141 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w w w .theg uardian.com /books/2004 /mar/27/feat u resreviews .g uardianrev iew14
142 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /sg tr . word pr e ss.co m/ tag / pie r - pa olo - pa solin i/
143 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp s:/ /w ww. az quo te s.co m/ qu ot e/1 2836 24
144 Retr ie ved on 29 /10/ 1 9 fro m ht tp :/ /w ww. g - tru c.net/po st - 02 37 .htm l
23 8
23 8
Word vs Image in Twe ntieth-Century French Thought
In the twe nti eth ce ntu ry, as th e im ag e has gai ne d inc rea sing asc e ndanc y, th ere has been strong
cu rr en t inf luen ced by ra ti onal is m, es pec ial ly mar ke d in Fren ch phil osophy, th a t note s the potentia l danger
of im age -based co m m u ni c ation for Wes ter n cu ltu re .
Mar ti n Ja y in
Downc ast Eye s : Th e D en i g r at i on of Vi si on in Tw en tiet h - Ce ntu ry Fren ch Th oug ht
(2009 )
dis cusses th e in tel le c t ual roo ts of what he ca l l s “i conop h obi a” whic h he says in clu de mo n othe is tic
re ligi ons , be gi n ning with Ju dai sm, th at “have be e n deeply wary of th e thre at of pa gan id o lat r y” (J ay,
20 09, p.1 3 ) . He cite s St . Paul’s war n i ng against
spe culum obscurum
, th e gla ss (or mir ror ) and
Agustine’s admonition against
con cup is ce nt ia oc u l ar am
– “Ocular desire, whic h diver t s o ur mind s fro m
mor e spi ritua l con ce rns ” ( Sai nt Au gus tine,
Con fe ssi ons
, ch a p. 35 ).
Ja y su gg ests th a t suc h re ligi ou s iconophobia also exte nd s to an im port ant cu rr en t of tw enti et h
ce ntu ry We ster n th ou ght , esp ecia lly firm ly roo te d in Fr ance , and cr it i cise s in par ticul ar its suppo sed
com p lici ty with politic a l and soc ial oppr es sion t hr ough th e pr omulgation of spe ctac le an d surv eill ance.
He says that th e mai n goa l of his st udy is “to de m onstrate and ex plore what at fi rst gl ance may se em a
surp r i si ng pro position: a gr ea t deal of rece nt French th ought in a wide var iety of fi el ds is in on e way or
anot h e r i mbued wi th a profoun d susp ici on of vi sio n and it s he ge monic rol e in th e mo de rn er a” (Jay ,
20 09, p.13 ) . Ja y als o lin ks th is dis cussion to the de bat e be twe e n mode rn is m an d postmode r n ism.
Ja y begins by analys i ng th e th eory of vis i on in Anti quity and note s Plato’s hos tili ty to th e mi me ti c
arts – mo st notabl y painting – but als o th eatr e and at lea st ce r ta in fo rms of poe tr y . He also ide nti fi es th e
two tra ditions of sp ecula tio n , “t h e ra ti onal percept i on of cle ar and dis tinct for ms wi th t he unc loude d ey e
of th e mi nd”, which pr esuppose s mind -body duali sm, an d dir e ct observation “the col l apse of percept i on
int o pure se nsat i on ” (J ay, 2009, p.30). He note s th e ne o - Pla tonic tr adit ion in me die v al th ought th at
dist i ngui shes between th e highe r lu me n, bas ed on s peculati ve observation and the inf eri or lux of mere
se nse percept ion.
Spe ci fic a lly in rela tio n to fi lm theor y, Ja y analys e s th e writ ings of Bar t he s, Me tz, an d th e
Cah ie rs
du Ci né ma
, co m me nci ng with Bar t he s’ affirmati on th at “I cr av e, I lon g fo r Abs ti nence fr om Im ages , for
ev ery Im a ge is bad.” (quot ed in Ja y, 20 09, p.435).
Of cr u c ial si g ni fican ce for th e argument presen ted in th is th es is of a se cond wav e of auteur
ci ne ma th at em erg ed in th e late 19 60s, Ja y no tes th at it was not “until th e amalgam ation of struc tur alist ,
psychoan alytic and Mar x ist th eor y in th e lat e 19 60s and ea rly 1970s th at th e cr i ti cs of ocu l ar cent rism
devot ed th eir fu ll at tention to photo gr a phy an d film . ” (J ay, 20 09, p.436).
23 9
Ja y note s Barthe s’ ini tia l sch oolin g in ph eno men ol ogy, wh ic h then ev olv ed int o a se mio tic
approac h in which he foc use d on th e image’s denotative cap ac it y to imit ate th e world, com ple me nte d
by th e co n no tati o ns th a t we associate to th e im ag e, which he says is th e sou rce of it s my t holog ica l
potenti al .
Bar t h es stat es th at he resi st s th e attraction s of th e Im agin ary but fi nds it difficult to leave be hi n d:
“when I re sis t an al ogy, it is actually the im agin ary I am re sist ing: which is to say: th e coa l es c enc e of th e
si g n, th e si m i litude of si g ni fier and si gn ifie d, th e ho me omop or phi sm of im ages , th e Mir ror , th e capt iv ati ng
bait” (Bar thes, 20 10, p.44).
Bar t he s attempted to mai nta in a cr i ti ca l dis tance fr om th is “capt i v ating bai t”. In re latio n to th e
personal photograph s he share d in “Roland Bar t he s” he admit ted th at his hope of dis til l i ng th e es se nce
of th e med ium “is a phenomenol ogical metho d, an en tir el y subjective one.” 172
At th e sam e time he hold s that th e ph ot ograph cr e a tes a dualism bet ween object and s ubj e ct:
“The Phot ogr a p h is th e advent of my sel f as other, a cu n ni ng dissociation of co n sc iou sne s s fro m ide nti ty ”
(Bar thes, 19 81, pp. 11 - 12 ). He thereby be com es a spe ctre of hims elf , a ki nd of shade or “de at h in
person” .
Mi rro rin g hi s dist inc tio n between a re ader ly and a writer l y tex t, Bar thes dis tinguishe s between
th e “ stad i u m ” and “ pun ctum ” of th e ima ge, wh e r ein th e latt er is th e analogon of som eth i n g prior to
cod i f icat ion , or a Ja p a ne se Hai ku , wh ich ca n produce a highe r or der of em ot iona l in te nsit y. He says th at
th e im ag e of his five - ye ar - old mot her and he r se ve n- year - ol d brother in a con se rva tor y re tur ns him to the
“radiant, i r reduci bl e cor e ” of his mot her . He thereby a tt ri butes a phenomenol ogical , ma g ical power to
th e im age. “th e re ali s ts , of wh om I am one and of whom I was al r e ady one when I asser t ed t hat th e
Phot ograph was an im ag e without cod e — ev en if, obviously, ce r ta in cod e s do inf lect our read ing of it — th e
re ali sts do not tak e th e photo gr a ph for a ‘cop y ’ of re ali t y , but for an em a nati on of past re ali t y : a mag ic ,
not an art” (Ba rthe s , 19 81, p.88) .
Bar t he s as c ribes a ma g ical po wer to ima ges that he ca l ls phot ograph i c ec sta sy : “Ecstasy, th e
death of th e cen te r ed self , th us fo llo ws wh e n photography’s ma dne s s puncture s rou tini zed, cu lt ural ly
cod e d pe rception and for c e s th e vi ewer to con fr on t th e undia l ect ic al, unr e cuper a ble, unintelligible
ann ihilation awaitin g us all” (J ay , 20 09, p.456).
Howeve r by 19 75 Barthe s ex pres ses th e desire to es cap e fr om th e hypn ot ic spe l l of th e ci ne ma .
Ja y su gg ests th a t Bar thes’ ne w vi e w of fi lm, stat ed in a spe c i al 19 7 5 issu e of t he jou rnal he
he lped ed it ,
Com mun ica t ions
, devoted to “Psychoanalysis and Cine ma ” re flec ted the inf luen ce of
172
Barthes, “On Photography” (1980 interview), in The Grain of the Voice, p. 357.
24 0
24 0
psychoan alytic th eor y, in par ticular Lacan and Fr e u d, wh ich als o infl ue nced other writer s in that is sue,
cr e atin g a hos tili ty to th e me dium wh i ch J ay re mark s is “as tonis h ing in it s int ensi ty” an d which is “not
only ev ide nt in th e tex ts by non - film cri ti cs li ke Féli x Gua tta ri and Jul ia Kr iste va, it cou ld als o be de t ecte d,
wi th var ying degree s of feroc ity , in those by th eor ists who devoted th eir en ti re pr ofessio nal ene rgie s to
wr iting about film , suc h as Ch ri st ian Me tz , Jea n -Louis Baudr y, Thie rry Kun tze l, and Ra ymon d Bellour ”
(Ja y, 20 09, p.45 8 ).
This se cond wav e in th e s tudi es of fi lm an d phot ography, during th e late 1960s and ea rly 1970 s,
in Ba rth es an d other th eorists is ce ntr a l to th is th esis.
Ja y note s how Fr an c e has pla yed a ke y rol e in th inkin g about fi lm an d no tes how many ea rly
th eoris ts, suc h as Blaise Cend ra rs and the Su rr eal is ts, saw the ava n t - gar de pote ntial of ci ne ma .
Duri n g what is cal l ed in th is th esis as th e firs t wave of th e ava n t - gar de and of auteur th eor y, th ere
was a st r on g li nk to a phe nomenol ogical vi ew of fi lm.
For ex ampl e, Me r lea u - Pont y stated t hat “the mo v ies are peculiarl y sui ted to mak e mani f est th e
unio n of mind a nd body, mi nd and the world, an d th e ex pres sion of on e in th e other .… The phi losoph er
and the mo vie mak er sha re a ce r tain way of be in g , a ce r ta in vi ew of th e wor ld which belongs to a
ge n er at ion ” ( Me r lea u - Pont y, 19 91, p. 58) .
Baz i n adv an c ed these i deas a nd sai d th a t th e cin e ma pr ovided an es cap e fr om “th e tyr anny of
Car te sia n perspe ct ival ism, which dominat e d Wes ter n pai nting, was li fted as the pictu re fra me, sep aratin g
subject and objec t, was rep lac ed by th e mov ie sc reen , he lping to brin g them once again to ge the r” (quot ed
in Ja y, 20 09, p.459).
Ja y note s how Tr u f faut an d hi s youn g col l ea gu es at the
Cah ie rs du Ci n é ma
, e mbr ac ed th e
phenome nological potenti al of cin e ma: “
Cah ie rs
woul d be fi ll e d wi t h es says ex t ol ling th e ability of
Hollywo od auteurs h er oic all y abl e to tr ans cend th e co m me rcia l press ur e s pl aced on th em by th e gi ant
stu dios ” (J ay, 20 09, p.461).
But in th e ea rly 19 70s th is outlook, bot h within the
Cah ie rs du Ci n é ma
an d in French in tel le ctua l
li fe in ge ne ral , ch a nge d profound ly, ushe ri ng in wh at is ca l l ed in th is th esis th e se cond wav e of aut e ur
th eory .
Ja y ide nti fi es var ious dr i vers of this ch ang e .
One was Br e c h t ’s th eor y of dist an cing, whic h “ in spi red Je an -Lu c Goda r d’s se lf - con sc iou sl y
polit ical ex peri me nts in ci ne mat ic al i enation, wh i c h he ld out th e hope of re ali zi n g th e dream of
tra nsfe rri ng Br e c h tia n th eatric al te chniqu es to th e sc reen ” (J ay, 20 09, p.46 3 ).
24 1
This in vo lved a sh i f t fr om a phe nomenol ogical vi e w of fi lm to a mod e l th at was more er udit e and
mi str ust ing of the ima ge:
“The s em io logic al at tempt to ex pose the wor k ings of cinema’s re ali ty effe ct, which Ba r thes
cau tiou sl y defended in hi s int ervi ews of 19 63 and 19 64, went hand in ha nd with the Brec h ti an pr oje c t
of ex posin g de vi ces and pro v id i n g audie nc e s cri ti ca l dist an ce fr om the spe ctac l e before th em. Ra ther
th an vi sual ex peri enc es based on th e analogical re dem pt ion of phys ical re ali t y , fi lms became te xts to be
decode d. They we re thus be tter unde rsto od as co n ve nti on al lan gu ages than ont ological revelations.”
(Ja y, 20 09, p.46 4 ).
This inv olved a basic shif t fr om a mo de l ba sed on th e power of the ima ge, and non - lin guis tic
com m uni c at ion , to a mode l base d on la ngu ag e and cod e s .
Ja y note s th at a ne w g en era ti on of cri ti cs cam e to dominate th e
Cah ie rs du Ci n é ma
, su ch as
Louis Com o ll i, Jea n Narboni and Je an - An dré Fi e sc hi , and in par ticular Ch ris tian Me tz , who wor k e d with
Bar t he s in th e jou r n al ,
Com mun ica t ions
.
They int ensifie d th e re si sta n ce to th e cineph ili c phe nom en ol ogic al and auteur th eori e s of film.
Mov ing beyond the sem iot ic de cod ing of filmi c text s to a crit ique of th e ins titution al, mat er ia l, and
psy chol ogical und erpi nning s of the cin ema, th ey left behind th e nar row focu s on wh a t Gil be rt Coh e n -
Séa t had onc e ca lled th e “f il mic fac t ” for th e “ cinem atic fac t . ”
Wh en th e i deolog ic al imp licatio ns of the “ appa ratus ” as a wh o le bec ame for eg r o und e d, it re sul ted
in the post - 19 68 par oxys m of politi cally cha r g ed hos ti lity th at culm inate d in the fam ou s is su e of
Com mu ni cat ions devoted to psy ch oanalysis and the cinem a. (Jay, 20 09 , p. 464) .
Ja y no tes th a t Me tz , li ke Bar t he s, no n et hel es s “retained ce r ta in phenome nologi cal assumpt i ons,
whic h su r f aced wh e ne ve r he wrestle d with th e re lat io nshi p between de notation and con n otat io n,
analogic al an d co de d s i g ni f ication.” (J ay, 20 09, p.4 6 5 ).
Inste ad of a mu lti - sen sori al ap proach , as r ec ent ly defende d by th eoris ts suc h as Luis Roc ha
An tune s, Me tz sugg este d th a t th e spe c ta tor project ed a re ali ty ef fe ct onto th e sc reen . In th e mid - 19 70s
he de n ounce d “th e wi despread att i tu de of “loving th e cine ma ” as n othing mor e th an “a mir ror
re dup licat i on of th e film’s own ide olog i c al in spi rat ion , already bas e d on the mi r ror iden tifi catio n of th e
spe ctat or wi t h the cam er a (or secon dar il y with th e ch a rac ter s , if any)” (Ja y, 2009, p.469).
Thes e ide as ar e li nk ed to La can ’s vi ew of th e mi rror sta ge.
Ja y says th at th is ch ang e, fo r whic h th e id eas of Br echt paved th e way, cam e in th e wak e of th e
ev ent s of 1968 and “the rap id abs or pt i on in film st u dies of Al thu sse ria n and Lacan i a n idea s, often filt ered
th roug h the rad i cal mod ern is m of th e Te l Que l ci r cl e a rou nd Phi lippe Sol l er s” (Jay, 20 09, p.469).
24 2
24 2
In th is ne w con tex t th ere was a cr i ti qu e of nar rat ivit y, a tur n away fr om Hollywood, a foc us on
t he eco nom ic unde r pinnin gs of cin em a as an inst i t ut ion and wi der question in g of ocularcentri c idea s in
We st ern th ou ght .
In a 19 70
Cah ie rs du Cin é ma
es say, Se r g e Dane y ques ti o ns:
wh at both se rves and preced es th e cam era: a tr uly bli nd con fide n c e in th e visi ble, th e heg em ony,
gr adu ally acquired, of the eye over the oth e r se nses, the tast e and ne e d a soc ie t y has to put itself
in sp ec tacle, et c.… Th e cinema is th us bound up wit h th e We ste r n me ta p hysi ca l tradi tion of se eing
and vision who se pho tologic al voca ti on it real i zes .” . (quoted in Jay , 2009 , p.470) .
The id e as pr opose d by th e ne w ed ito rs of
Cah ie rs du Ci n é ma
, and th e jou r nal
Ci n é thique
,
stim ulat e d si m i lar id eas in jo ur n al s suc h as
Sc ree n
in En gl and .
Ja y st ates th at th e cr i ti cs :
D evel ope d a critiq ue of th e pern icious imp lication s of th e me di um th at we nt be yond any thin g be fo r e
in the his to ry of fi lm cr itici s m. Neither specific fi lms nor ce rtain techni qu e s nor id ealis t fi lm th eor ies
lik e aut eurism or phen omenolog ical real i sm we r e th e pr oblem, but ra t he r the very cin ema tic
“ appa ratus ” (
appa rei l
or
dispositif
) it self. (J ay, 20 09, p.471).
This develop m en t was rad ica lly di f f ere n t fro m the situa tio n occur r i ng in th e Un ite d St a tes, where
Hollywo od had ju st es cape d fr om th e st rai tjac k e t of th e Hays Cod e an d was e mbr ac ing th e te chn iques
of th e New Wav e fi lm m ake rs and su bseq uent ly migr ate d towa rd s narrat iv es ins pi re d by th e id ea s of
Jo sep h Cam pbell .
Wh er eas th ere was a shif t towar ds th e in flu enc e of Jun g in the Uni ted Sta tes , th e prima r y insp ira tio n in
th es e Euro pe an th eor etical ci rcl es we re the ide as of Fr eud an d Lac an .
Baudr y in his semi nal es say,
I de ol ogic al Ef fec ts of the Bas ic Ci ne ma ti c App arat us
, st at es th at
th e sp e ctat or is “chained, capt ur ed, or capt iv a te d” 173 th us re cal ling Plato’s alleg ory of th e cav e.
The resu lt was a st ate of con sc iou sne s s simul atin g a dream, an old c ompari s on in th e hi sto ry of
fi lm th eory , but now gi ven a more si n i ster twi s t , as it imp lied reg ressio n:
The arrangeme nt of th e different eleme n ts — pr oj ector, darkened hall , sc reen — in a ddit ion fro m [sic]
rep r oduc in g in a striking wa y th e mis e - en - sce ne of Pl ato’s cave (pr ototypical set for all tr ansc ende nce
and th e to p ol o gic al mode l of ideal ism) re con st ruc ts th e situation ne ce ssa ry to th e rel e ase of the
mir ro r st age ’ discovered by Lac an” (B au dry, 1975 , p.45) .
Tha t reco nst r u c tion tak es pl ace be cau se, like th e young ch il d, the mo vie goe r suf fers fro m li m i ted
cor p or eal mobility and becomes depen de nt on hype rt roph ied vi sua l ex peri enc e, wh ich pr oduces a
sup e r real sen se of reali t y th at can n ot be te ste d. 174
173
Baudry, “ Ideologic al Effects of the Basic Cinematic Apparatus” p. 44.
174
Jay adds the note: This contention makes sense if it is understood to mean that the viewer is in hibite d from testing the
diegetic reality depicted on the sc reen — whether or not what is seen is a “real” pl ane crash or only a model — and not the
24 3
As a res ult , th e real it y ef fect of th e fi lm is ulti m ately ba se d on the mis r ecog ni ti on of a re co nst it ute d
mir ro r stage, in wh i ch two ty pes of identifi cat ion tak e pla ce. A se condary level based on th e ima g e
of charac t e rs on th e sc reen, simila r to th e ty pe of iden tifica tion th at Br ec ht attacked in th e th e at er,
is gr ou nde d in a mor e pr imary leve l, un i q ue to the cin ema. He r e the viewer iden tifi es wit h the cam era
eye as transc ende ntal, omn iscie nt su bj ect. “T hu s th e spectator ident if i es less with w hat is
rep r esen te d, th e spectac le itself ,” Baud ry wr ote , “t han wi th wh a t sta ge s the spectac le, make s it
seen, obl iging hi m to see wh at it se es; th is is exa ctly th e fun ctio n tak en ove r by th e camer a as a sor t
of re l ay.” 175 (Jay, 20 09 , p.4 75).
As a con se quen ce th e theor ists sta ted th at th e cin em a mu st be ex posed as an ap par atus
dest ined to obtai n a pr ecise id eolo gi cal effe ct.
Ja y says that “Baudry and som e of hi s fol lowe rs in th e ea rly 19 70s , who held out a fai nt ho pe
for an alte r nat ive, mod ern is t c in e m a tha t would bare th e de vice, wake th e spe c t ator fr om his or her
re gr es siv e d re am, and break th e spell of il lusi on.” (J ay , 20 09, p.4 7 6).
Ce rta in fi lm m ake rs had been ide nti fied as ac h i eving th is in th e past, suc h as Robert Br esson.
Oth e r cr i ti cs , suc h as Narboni and Com oll i dis tanced th emse lves fro m th is mo re ex tr em e
p osition .
Baudr y also modi fie d his vi ews in an es say in th e is sue of
Com mun ica t ions
on “Psych oan alysi s
and the Cinema,” in wh i c h he rea naly s ed th e par allels be tween Plato’s The Cav e a nd ci ne ma , and in ste ad
of ide ntify ing it wi t h La c an ’s mir ror stag e, sugg este d re gre ssi on to th e ea rli est ps ychic st at e of onene s s
wi th th e wor l d, the overcom i ng of subj e ct and object in a kin d of primitiv e nar cis sis m.
He re th e ca ve’s obvious rese mbl an ce t o the wo m b wa s impo rtan t , as wa s th e lin kage be tween vision
and th e or al stage wh ich th e an aly st Be rtr am Le win had posi ted. ¹ ⁴⁸ Su ch a uto pi a of ar c h aic
satisfac tion, Ba ud ry speculated , wa s “a n teri or to th e stade du mir oir ,’ to th e for matio n of th e se lf,
an d the re fo re fou nded on a permeab ility, a fus ion of the int erior wi th th e ex terio r .” ¹ ⁴⁹ As a
con sequ ence, “the usu al for ms of ident ifi cat ion, already supported by th e apparatu s wo ul d be
rei nf orc ed by a mor e ar chaic mode of ident ifi cat ion, wh i ch has to do wi th th e la ck of differentiation
betw e e n the subjec t and hi s envir onmen t, a dream -s ce ne mo de l wh i ch we fi nd in th e baby /breast
rel ati on s hip. ” ¹ ⁵⁰ The cinem a cou ld thus be call ed an artific i a l hall uc inat o ry psy chosi s in wh i ch
perce ptions and re pr es en tati ons we re co nfus ingl y in tertwin ed. No libe r at ing use of th e cinem a, he
now taci t ly admit te d, cou ld dismantle su c h an appa ratus. (Jay, 20 09, p.478 ).
This ef fect iv el y mar ke d a re tur n to a visi on of ci ne ma li nke d to th e “ poe ti c path ” wi t h li nks to
phenome nolog y.
C hris ti an Me tz foc use d on th e im pli cit voy euri sm of the fi lm spe ctat o r and as so ciat e d to th e
latter’s di s av owal th at he is watchi ng an il lusi on (i.e. susp en sion of disbelief) whic h ac c ordin g to
psychoan alytic th eor y, is int ima tel y li nke d to fe tish ism.
experience of viewing a film as opposed to “real life,” which ca n always be teste d by such devices as sticking one’s hand in
front of the projector.
175
Baudry, “Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematic Apparatus,” p. 44.
24 4
24 4
“The ci n ema f e tishist,” Me tz writ es, “is th e pe rson who is enc hant ed at wha t th e ma c hine is
capable of, at th e th eate r of sh adow s as su ch … The fe tish is th e ci ne ma in it s physi cal st ate” (quot ed in
Ja y, 20 09, p.48 3).
Ag ain this le ads to a cal l to ac t io n – to disrupt th e ci ne phi li c lov e affair wi th th e me diu m in order
to o ve rco m e the ide olog i cal ef fect s of the app aratus.
By th e mid 19 80s , th e more seve re di me n s i ons of apparatu s th eor y had fal le n in to di s r e pute.
Ja y note s, f or ex ampl e, that Gi ll e s De leuz e s ta te d th at th e li nguis tic approach h ad been “catastrophic” .
Be yond th e new th eoreti cal outlook in France , th ere was no neth el ess a wi de r ch a nge in fi lm
th eory wh i c h began in th e 19 70s .
Fi l m cr i ti c Ja m e s Nar emore ide nti fies th e fol lowi ng ke y inf luenc es on his own wor k as a fi lm
cr i ti c:
1) New criticism. “what they most value d wa s li nguistic complexity, irony, ambiguity and verbal skill. Their
ideal was lyric poetry and modernism.
2) The ideas of F. R. Leavis. “What Leav is valued above all – and he often wrote li ke a passionate and
brilliant preacher – was the nineteenth century realist novel pkus the novels of D. H. Lawrence.
3) Auteurism: “What it valued was classic Hollywood and the international art cinema”.
4) Screen theor y. “This sort of writing was often impenetr able but was always against both Hollywoo d and
social realism. What it favou red was the “counter cinema” of Godard and the political avant - garde.
5) The cultural studies movement. “Reacted against the leftist theory of Screen by advancing a somewhat
populist moti on of movi es and TV (…) its canonical texts are slasher flicks, soap ope ras and kick - ass
action movies.” (in Rosenbaum, 2003, pp 120 - 121)
This sum m a ry is int eres ting be cause of it s cl e ar di s tinc tion between auteur th eory and Scre e n
th eory , and th a t cu lt ur al st udie s which focu s on a popul ar con ce pt of fi lm and TV te n d to pay mor e
att ention to audien c e s th a n th e for ma l qualities of fi lm.
Transcendental Style
Paul Sc h ra der sug gests in hi s book
Tr ansce ndent al S tyl e in Fi lm
th at th e prison is one of th e
mos t fr e q uen tly us ed me tap hor s fo r exp res sing mankind’s se parat ion f rom di v i nity .
This can also be applied to me ta phor suc h as Pl ato’s th e Al legor y of th e Ca ve or th e asylum in
One Flew ove r the Cuck oo’s Nest
.
In th is co n text Sc h ra der sug gests th at one of t he ke y objectives of ar t is to ov e rcome or att enuate
th is sp i rit ual es tr angement/i m prisonm e nt .
“Art” m ay be viewe d as an out ward mo v emen t to war ds th e “other” and Sc hr ad er stat es th at th e
tra nsce nden tal styl e in fi lm attem pts to mov e towa rd s th e “Wholly Ot her” a te rm al s o us ed by De leuz e
to refe r to di v i nity.
24 5
Se en fr o m th is p er spe ctiv e th e prison me tap hor re fers to a se paratio n fr om th e “Wh olly Other ”
and es cap e fr om th e prison inv olves re -est abl ishing con t ac t wi t h this “Wholly Other”.
Pla to describes th e Wh o lly Oth er as Wi s do m and say s that althou gh ma nk ind can neve r
com p reh en d wisdom it is possible to lov e wisdom which is th e ro l e of th e philo s o pher.
The wor ds “religion”, “yoga” and “yoke” are als o associa ted to th e con ce pt of “r e-l i nking”, re -
es tab lis hing con ta ct wi t h the cre a tor.
In Jo sep h Cam pbe l l’s mo n omy th str uctur e, th e st ages of “At one m ent with th e Father ” and
“Meeting wi t h the God d ess ” are li nke d to th is ide a.
The re ason why an orphan ch arac t er is par ticularly us eful in nar rat ives is li nke d to th e same ide a
– th a t th e “orphan” mu st re -e s tabl ish con t act with th e cre ator. The same ide a is also fo und in th e st ory
of
Pinocc hio
. 176 Con sid er th e fo l lowi ng dia g ram :
Figu re 21 I/O diag ram
The “I” and “O ” ca n be int erp rete d in var iou s for m s. Eith er as let ters , for exa m p le st andin g for
“ In ” and “ Out ”, or as numbers, stan ding for one/unity , and zero /voi d. Th e co n tr ast be tween th e two
hal ves can als o be li nke d to tw o cog ni t ive mode s – ra ti onal th inkin g (I) and se nsori al percept i on (O).
If we con si d er th e co n ce pts of the One and the Zero th is ca n also be li nke d to mu lt ipl e fact ors.
An int eres t i n g aspect of the nu m ber “ ze ro ” is th at it may be re lat ed to the con ce pt of th e “W h ol ly Oth e r ”
a term also app lied by De leuze and Schr a der .
Zero has si g ni fican tly di f f e rent ch a rac ter i st ic s fr om other numbers and wasn’t in clu de d , for
ex ampl e in the sys t e m of Rom an numer als. An y number mu lti pl ied by zero becomes zero and any
number divide d by ze ro b ec om es in f init y. Any n umber to which we add or s ubtract ze r o re m ain s th e
sam e. Ot her numbers ch ang e wi thin fi nite bounds wh en su bjecte d to mat hem a tica l operations.
176
Incidentally, in this context, the name Gepetto may be linked to names such as Jupiter and “Deu s- pater”, and Pinocchio
may eventually be linked to n ames such as “Pan”, and “Punch”.
I
O
24 6
24 6
Wh er eas sc i e n c e is con s iderabl e with tangible me asu re me nts th at can be te sted em pir ical l y,
th ere is a dime n sion of ar t wh i c h seem s to go “beyond” th is spher e an d co n ce rns ques ti on s th a t it is
diffi cult to ex pres s in wor ds (or i n numbers).
As ar gu ed in th is thesis , what has fas ci na t e d pe ople about ci ne ma si n c e it s in v entio n is its
powerf ul ca pa c it y to exp lore th e non -v erbal co n sc iou sne s s, a “state of re veri e” and th e unc ons cious , one
descr iption of which ca n be a “ zero s pac e ” - th at which th e pur ely rat ional , int elle ctu al mi nd ha s difficulty
in accessing.
The “ poe tic ”, “ arti s tic ” dime n s i on of ci ne ma is rela te d to its cap ac it y to ex plore what Jo sh ua
Ra me y has cal l ed, in
The Hermetic Dele uze (2012 )
, “th e unthinkable, or in dis c e r ni ble, th at which
mu st
but
can no t
be th o u ght.” (Ra mey, 2012, p. 16) .
The “ zero ” sp ace is described by som e, su ch as Paul Sc hr ad er, as a tra nsce nden tal re alm, an d
by ot hers, suc h as Gi lles Dele uze, as a pla ne of im ma nence .
Dele uze and Gua tt ari wr i t e in
Wh a t is Phil os oph y?
:
T he plane of im manen ce is pr ephilo sophic al and do es not im m edia tel y take ef fect wi th concep ts , it
imp lies a sor t of gr opi ng ex per imentat ion and its lay out re sor t s to mea sur e s that ar e not ve ry
res pe cta ble , ra ti ona l, or rea son a bl e . These m eas ures bel ong to the order of dr eam s, of pat hologic al
pr ocesses, eso teric ex pe rienc es, dru nke n ness, and excess . We he ad for th e hor iz on, on th e plane
of imm an en ce , and we re t ur n wi th bl oodshot eyes, ye t th e y ar e the eyes of the mind . Eve n Desc ar te s
had hi s dream. To th ink is alway s to fo ll o w th e wi tc h ’ s fli ght . (Deleuze/Gua tta r i , 19 94, p. 41 )
This stat ement applies to all fo rms of philosoph ical th inkin g and th e ass ociated sp ir it ual ordeal
has lin ks to hermet ic tr adit ions, as ar gu e d by Ra m e y, and als o to “ pr imitiv e ” re li g i ous tr adit ions , su ch as
sha ma nism .
A work of art project s th e spe ctato r on a “witch’s fl igh t” to wa rd s a ze ro sp ace. A
ke y mom ent in th is project ion is wha t Jo sep h C am pbe l l cal l ed th e “moment of ae sth e tic arres t ” .
At th e “mom en t of aes theti c ar r e s t ” ti me seem s to stand stil l, ins te ad of be in g lin ear, or ci r cul a r,
or measurable, it is et ern al - pas t, presen t an d fut ure me rg e in to on e. We co u ld say th at it is ze r o and
inf inity at the same ti me. Th i s is one of th e cor e dime n s i ons of th e ar tis tic ex peri en c e.
The jour n e y in to a “ ze ro ” spac e ca n als o be co m pa red to the jo ur ney int o a “ dar k fo res t ”, ei the r
li teral ly (as in ma ny fai ry tal es) or met apho ri ca lly.
Thi s jo ur ney in v olve s passing li m i ts/t hre shold s an d also fa cin g li m i t si tuat io ns, wh ic h ra i se
ques ti on s of id e ntit y. Two ke y d ri vers of th is jour ney are the prin ciples of lov e and death, which are lin ked
to th e principles of Er os and Tha nat os, as described by Fre ud, and analys ed lat er in th is thes is.
24 7
In the world of spor t we al s o fin d so me pa rallels with th ese ide as as will be e xpla ined late r in th is
th esis. For ex ampl e in football, th e te ams pass fr om th eir hal f to the oppon ents hal f and pl ay in “home”
gam es and “away” ga m es. The ce ntr e ci r cle of th e football pi tch and th e ove r al l design of th e pitch has
par e llels with the diagram pr esented above.
The use of a ball (w holen ess) th at mu st be pl aced insi de a goa l /ho le is als o rem inisc ent of th e
afo re m entione d d ime n si on s of ze ro and in fin ity . The wor d go al , in th e se nse of spor ts an d also at tai ni ng
an o bjecti ve , is be lie ved to be li nk ed to the Mid dle En glis h gol , boun dary , possibly fr om Ol d Eng lis h *g ā l,
barrier. 177
If we acce pt th at one cor e dimens ion of th e arti stic ex peri enc e is to fos t e r a projection int o a
“ ze ro ” spac e, which be lo ngs to t he “or der of dream s ” then cl e arl y project ion int o th is spac e is not
ne cessar ily on l y achiev e d by non - li near nar rat ives or one spe cific fi lm for m.
Ra mey di s c uss e s th e li nks be twee n Deleuze’s phi losoph y and th e id eas of Gi ordan o Br uno
(15 48 - 16 00) in pa rticu lar th e “mag i cal” pow er th a t Br uno attrib ute s to im ages whic h ar e “not
il lust rati ons or ex ampl es but tal isman s and emblems, ens igns of r eali t y .” He th erefo re con tr asts be twe en
il l us tra tive use of imag es - which was on e of th e mai n cri ti ci sm s le vell ed by Pl at o against im age mak ers
- and thei r gene rat i ve po wer :
Br uno ’s poe tic s, essen tial to his un d ersta ndin g of mag ic (which wo rk s co nst a n tly wi th image s to
direct en ergy and to evo ke t he oth erwise in visible ) is thus a man neri st poeti cs, in the sense tha t th e
ru les of dec o rum incu mbent upo n th e superio r fab ulis t (or ma gu s) is not a mat te r of th e im itatio n
of ge ne r i c con venti ons or rep eti ti on of cod ified nat ural re se mbl an ces , but of u si ng image s as
pr ojectiv e or con jectur al, as access to imp ercept ible for c es. Bru n o himse l f use d image s not only to
reme mb e r (by cons tructin g Lul lian me mor y th e at res) but al so to att empt to access that wh i ch can not
be see n. (Ramey, 20 12, p. 77 ).
Thes e ide as es tabl i sh a natu ral br idg e wi t h con ce pt s associated to sha man ism, as w ill be
e xpla ined be low.
177
Retrieved on 29/10/19 from https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=goal
25 4
25 4
Sc hr ad er no tes in hi s ne w int rodu ct ion th at Eu rop ea n art hous e ci ne ma of th e 19 50s and 1960s
mor phe d in to sl ow cin e ma and sug gests th at tw o of th e ke y pe rsons r esp o nsible for th is ch a nge were
th eoris t Gi lles De leuze and fi lmm aker Andre i Tar k ovsky.
Sc hr ad er defends the bod y/soul dich otomy wh ich he describes as a li nkag e mad e :
B y th e wel ls pri n g of We ste rn though t: both Plato and the scriptu res. Sh ortl y befo re his dea th
Soc r ates described his bod y as th e “ soul ’s priso n ” To St . Paul th e body of sin is pr ison, he is a man
in “c apt ivi ty to th e law of sin wh i ch is in my memb er s . O wre tc he d man th at I am! Who shall deliver
me from th e body of this death (King Jam es Bib l e, R om. 7:2 .3 - 2,4 ). (Schrader, 2018 , p. 11 4)
Sc hr ad er sugg ests th a t th is bod y/s oul dich otomy un de rp in s th e austere fi lm fo r m used by
Br esson, Ozu and Dreyer and by lat er film make rs, which provid es a spi ritu al dim ens ion to th eir fi lms.
He se es trans ce ndental st yl e as part of the wi de r mov emen t away fr om narrat iv e, and says th at
Gi lle s Deleuz e play ed a ke y rol e in th is de v elop ment.
The dir ectors in question us e dis tancing de vi c es, in th e tr adit ion of Brec ht. But th e objective is
not to stimu late th e fac ul ties of re a son , but inst ead th e med it ativ e power of th e imag e.
He views th is as a phenom eno lo g i cal approach and says th at it co n cur s wi t h th e vi ews of
Dele uze.
Gr ossl y si mpl if y ing, he sa ys th at De leuz e iden tifi es nar rat ive ci ne ma as bei ng based prim arily on
mov em en t and action – mov emen t - imag e – whic h is th e dominant fi lm for m and ke ep s our attention
en ga ged wh i l e watc h i n g th e fi lm but doesn’t al l ow us to appreciat e th e mom ent in ti me. The opposite
mod el enables ti me to unro ll on sc reen – time - ima ge – whi ch c an th us fos t e r a phenome nological
ex peri enc e.
As suc h al th ough sl ow ci ne ma c ould be con sid er e d to be “ er udit e cine ma ” it is not li nke d to th e
rat io nal ist tr ad ition or th e power of re aso n, but is inst ea d li nke d to th e “ poe ti c path ” of di r e ct ex peri enc e ,
but w ith an auster e approac h.
The au sterity is necess ar y in order to pr epare t he spe ct ator for th e de c i sive action or De cisiv e
Mom en t (w hich is rem inisc ent of Henri Car ti er Bresson’s term ) whic h may be very sudd en and fas t -
paced in con tr ast to the re st of t he fi lm.
Sc hr ad er says th at “Del e uze feel s th at “ mat u re ci ne ma ” (po st - WW II) was no l onger prim arily
con ce rne d with tell ing stori es to our con sc iou s se l v es but now also seek s to com mu ni c ate with th e
unc onsci ous and th e ways in whic h th e uncons cious pro ce s s es me mor ie s, fan tas i es and dreams”
(S chrader, 20 18, p. 5) .
This is the re aso n wh y th e lon g take is im port ant , because it al l ows ti me to unfol d on the sc reen
and be se nsed by th e audie nc e .
[Document text truncated for crawler view.]