On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 17:53:58 -0800, Steven Shaviro <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>The sort of fragmentation of the visual field that is evident in
>/Pretend/ is really just a way of moving cinema, that quintessential
>20th-century art form, fully into the 21st century.
[...]
>Today, under the impact of computers, and more generally the information
>and communications revolutions of the last thirty years, our minds have
>become more accustomed to multi-tasking, and our visual experience has
>become ever more heterogeneous and fragmented. >--
I haven't seen _Pretend_ but Steven's review certainly makes me want to
track this movie down (Steven's reviews of films and books are always quite
good!).
However, I question the notion that the use of multi-images/frames in the
mode of _Timecode_ or the movie in question is necessarily the next step in
the progression of the cinema (i.e., to move it into the 21st century).
Certainly, I understand and recognize the notion of postmodern visual
fragmentation, etc. and the growing influence of digital media/computers on
film (both in terms of production and reception), but I think an argument
can be made that visually experiencing/interacting with a computer and
watching a movie are not analogous processes (despite some commonalities).
Meaning, to be more precise, that although our minds may be more accustomed
to multi-tasking and the heterogeneous, multi-window images of computers,
our expectations and desires for cinematic experience may be (and I think
generally are) of a different type--even in the 21st Century.
Ultimately, any technique and/or form that allows the successful telling of
a narrative is a good thing (and if it questions dominant forms at the same
time, all the better)--and it sounds from your review that Talen uses this
form successfully. In general I don't disagree with your post, I only bring
up the above to question whether the multi-window form of the computer will
(or should) become the model for 21st century cinema or whether the movie-
going public will (or even wants) to embrace such a model. Is the multi-
frame form a la _Timecode_ and _Pretend_ more akin to such things as 3-D,
Smellovision or William Castle-esque "gimmicks" that pop up from time to
time in the history of cinema, but typically don't last as a viable (or at
least popular) form?
(of course, I know that is not necessarily the conclusion of your post but
I wanted to use your review to pose the question).
Thanks for the review, Steven.
-James Fiumara
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