Charlie Minnion Literature Review 1

Darley, Andrew. (2000). The Waning of Narrative - New spectacle cinema and music video In Visual Digital Culture Surface play and spectacle in new media genres. Pp 102-123. Oxon : Routledge

Content

Darley states that in the modern blockbuster film, spectacle and action are given the same amount of weight as narrative and meaning. His concern is that spectacle may continue to grow forcing narrative and meaning into redundancy. This chapter explores the tension between narrative and spectacle in both film and music video.

Early on in the chapter, he speaks about classical cinema, noting that pleasure is derived from the striking impression of hidden observation [] in its invisible mode of storytelling. He continues, recalling how narrative has defined cinemas classical model and the reason spectacle has been avoided in this model is because it is the antithesis of narrative halting motivated movement and bringing attention to its own artifice.

How then has spectacle become so dominant? Modern spectacle carries with it the ability to astonish and fascinate audiences. He describes it as photo realistic representation in a scene that is conceptually fantastic in character - a scene that could have no direct correlate in real life. He speaks of invisible photography referring to the invisible nature of visual effects. This has adhered to the invisible mode of storytelling and in this respect has only built upon classical film with seamless assimilation into the narrative. As Darley suggests these visual effects share the same indexical qualities with the live

action with which they are integrated.

He reiterates that in feature film; whilst the use of spectacle threatens to demote narrative and meaning it does not wipe them out but sits beside them, calling attention to itself pushing narrative into the background. He describes moments of heightened spectacle [] encourages a curiosity or fascination which wrests it from narrative subordination. He quotes Thompson: the minute a viewer begins to notice style for its own sakeexcess must come forward and must affect narrative meaning. Darley suggests that with the growth of spectacle, the formal facets of means (technological density) and pure perceptual play (visual excitation) are finding a place in mass entertainment.

Structure

Darley draws audiences in with the broad theme of blockbuster film. He states his theory and offers an oversight of the topics and films covered.

The chapter is divided in two parts - film and music video. He covers the following in consecutive order: the history of classical film and nature of the spectacle, reinforcement of main theory, the short history of todays spectacle film and its subsequent lucrative success in the industry. How and why is spectacle effective, concluding on the paradoxical nature of the spectacle. The music video section is divided into three individual case studies exploring spectacles dynamic relationship with narrative, aesthetics and meaning. He concludes, using the perfect example of the music video Ghosts by Michael Jackson conveying spectacles eradication of meaning and narrative.

Darley uses several films to contextualise and back up his points and theories. The Abyss, Terminator 2 and Titanic are used for describing the history and power of visual effects. For music videos he uses case studies

on aesthetic uses of visual effects and its impact on meaning in Black or White and Ghost starring Michael Jackson and Manchild starring Neneh Cherry. He also uses several quotes to emphasize, back up or conclude his points, in particular he uses Bordwell to backup his argument that spectacle poses a threat on narrative.

Frampton, Daniel. (2006). Filmgoer In Filmosophy. Pp 148 - 168. London: Wallflower Press

Content and Structure

This chapter is a philosophical investigation of the basic encounter between the film and filmgoer. Whilst briefly covering a number of cognitive and phenomenological theories, he uses his findings to help define his idea that there is a merging of the film and the filmgoers mind. Towards the end of the chapter he talks about how film is felt and experienced more then seen or heard and suggests that this directly effects our thoughts and emotions and informs the meanings we make.

He starts by exploring the similarities between reality and film. He refers to Messari, who argues that each filmic device acquires meaning by approximating some feature of real-world experience. Frampton makes clear that whilst this is true to an extent it would be wrong to suggest that experiencing reality and experiencing film are the same thing. He suggests that films are creating new ways of thinking and perceiving above and beyond those of our real life experiences.

Frampton glides through several theories of cognitivism quoting theorists such as Jean-Louis Baudry and Noel Carroll on Illusion theory, pretend theory, counterpart theory and thought theory. He identifies problems with the pretend theory which suggests it is not literally true that we fear cinematic monsters only make believably true in which case he argues, why am I sweating at the end of a dramatic scene.

 Frampton believes that these beliefs are not pretend but part of a new relationship the filmgoer is having with the film.

Moving on in the chapter a fair deal is discussed on visual perception and imagination with acknowledgement to Richard Allen. It is suggested that the cognitive theorists ignore sensory functions. He uses the analogy we do not access schemata to recognise a bird, we simply see the bird relating this idea to film suggesting that there is not an emotion in the image and then an emotion in the filmgoers mind - they are one and the same.

Later on in the chapter about Phenomenology. He speaks of the film experience, highlighting that in this context the distance between film and filmgoer is eliminated. He states that the films body is almost as invisible to us as our own body and that is why our mind and filmind become so easily mixed. Frampton refers to Artaud who suggests that Cinema is an amazing stimulant that acts directly on the brain.

In the filmosophical filmgoer chapter, Frampton argues to what extent is the filmgoers mind active in the make up of this fusion. He argues that the filmgoer is never thoughtless speaking of an active part in selecting and choosing which parts of the narrative line to look on or which parts of the image to look at. He suggests that as our mind meets the filmind the collision produces a third thought (which is our thought of the film.) The final section is entitled Affective film-thinking. Here he finds connections between the way we feel film and the emotions and meanings we attribute to it.