I have heard it say that "seeing is believing", and the fixation of that saying is no more relevant than in Tom Gunning's piece "An Aesthetic of Astonishment": Early Film and the (In)Credulous Spectator". Like attending the theatre, a person would have had to pay a small fortune to see the latest in entertainment. The fortunate first audience to experience the novelty of this moving image must have felt real fear at the sight of watching a train pull up to a station because, physically, there was no train nor station at the theatre yet they were there watching the event.
This new technology gave entertainment a new twist on the experience of being entertained, an interactive experience in which the audience has a conversation with the film: "I know, but yet I see". It seems that the projection of Lumiere's Arrival of a Train at the Station allowed for this interactive entertainment, internalizing their experience: This image moves, it is there, in real time, but is it really? This is sort of a game of "now you see it, now you don't" and a 19th century audience did not know what to make of it. How can that be? A moving image? Is it possible? And it's this that Gunning is emphasizing on, the reaction of the audience to the film. They are astonished and in disbelief.
Cinema has come a long way and, it certainly has had a long path of an evolutionary trajectory working itself into our own homes using YouTube for example to make instant films/videos. Cinema is now used not only for entertainment, but used for i.e., education, science, art, and of course the film industry which uses new technology at every opportunity. We have visual effects that make us feel as if we are in the film using 3D glasses, not to mention, computer animation that helps elicit the experience of a range of emotions from fear, to sadness and, on to happiness.
From YouTube here are three links to the moving image:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JGugm8Dzmuc&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O6Z_59Jf6o
This new technology gave entertainment a new twist on the experience of being entertained, an interactive experience in which the audience has a conversation with the film: "I know, but yet I see". It seems that the projection of Lumiere's Arrival of a Train at the Station allowed for this interactive entertainment, internalizing their experience: This image moves, it is there, in real time, but is it really? This is sort of a game of "now you see it, now you don't" and a 19th century audience did not know what to make of it. How can that be? A moving image? Is it possible? And it's this that Gunning is emphasizing on, the reaction of the audience to the film. They are astonished and in disbelief.
Cinema has come a long way and, it certainly has had a long path of an evolutionary trajectory working itself into our own homes using YouTube for example to make instant films/videos. Cinema is now used not only for entertainment, but used for i.e., education, science, art, and of course the film industry which uses new technology at every opportunity. We have visual effects that make us feel as if we are in the film using 3D glasses, not to mention, computer animation that helps elicit the experience of a range of emotions from fear, to sadness and, on to happiness.
From YouTube here are three links to the moving image:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JGugm8Dzmuc&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O6Z_59Jf6o
Thanks for the links to the Lumiere films, Blanca! Very helpful. I want to clarify (as I did with Daniel's post) that Gunning isn't just repeating the standard myth about film's first audiences being so shocked by the arrival of the filmed train that they had to leap from their seats. What he's actually trying to do in his work is dispel this origin story, by showing that we haven't given audiences of the time enough credit! The technology and spectacle were new, yes, but many of the first observers were well prepared to gauge their impact. I also wouldn't say it cost a fortune to see these early films... just look at the history of the nickelodeon in the first decade of the 20th century (just a nickel!).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alenda. I am glad the links were helpful. I think they are awesome, had to share those with the class.
ReplyDeleteThe "shock and awe" effect did not come through very well in my blog. I wanted to refer to the "roller coaster" feel people get on a ride...you know you are in for a thrill for fun, yet you have to hold on for dear life when the roller coaster takes off! I did not articulate that very well.
I am struggling on the affordability of cinema when it started..I wonder if class distinction comes into play with watching a film in the late 19th century? I know 5cents seems cheap to us, but yet in the early 20th century people referred to arcades as "penny arcades", I suppose the class system comes in with entertainment money, if you happen to be middle-class, you might have 5cents to spend, but if you are middle to lower-class, a penny might be okay to spend on an arcade game. This Ella Fitzgerald video comes to mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=gapCK5_rMuY
Thanks again for your comments, I always appreciate and learn from them.
...so sorry, I could not activate the above link on Ella Fitzgerald, "copy and paste" is my suggestion. The song is: "It's Only a Paper Moon" and my reference is, I believe, the 4th verse, the refrain.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=gapCK5_rMuY
Thank you for your attention,
Blanca W.