"The more densely and completely its techniques duplicate empirical objects, the more easily it creates the illusion that the world outside is a seamless extension of the one which has revealed in the cinema." Horkheimer & Adorno
In the quote above, Horkheimer and Adorno refer to the tendency of film to seamlessly resemble our reality. Because what we see in film appears to reflect what we see in reality, it is easy for us to believe that what is produced in film is, in fact, real and we become unable to distinguish the two. This occurs because film does not allow much room for imagination or for the roaming of the mind--it is constricted in a carefully produced framework. Since we often believe film to be reality, we typically also apply the rules we use to understand film in order to understand reality. While we watch a film, we are required to be very alert and process events quickly. We must repress our imagination so that we do not miss all of the fleeting facts that are thrown at us throughout the extent of a film. While watching a film, this may not necessarily be a negative phenomenon. However; because we relate film so closely to reality, this phenomena often begins to trickle into the way we approach our reality. This is where the danger begins. When we approach real life in a manner that is very quick, fleeting and surface-level, we do not fully process events in our lives. Our imaginations are thus incredibly constricted by the ways in which we have been trained to think and process things; we become somewhat robotic, unable to creatively think about situations. Horkheimer and Adorno believe that this way of thinking is so engrained in us that it occurs naturally. Even in a state of total distraction, we are able to think in this fleeting and surface-level way; it diminishes our critical thinking skills and destroys our ability to effectively use our imagination.
In the quote above, Horkheimer and Adorno refer to the tendency of film to seamlessly resemble our reality. Because what we see in film appears to reflect what we see in reality, it is easy for us to believe that what is produced in film is, in fact, real and we become unable to distinguish the two. This occurs because film does not allow much room for imagination or for the roaming of the mind--it is constricted in a carefully produced framework. Since we often believe film to be reality, we typically also apply the rules we use to understand film in order to understand reality. While we watch a film, we are required to be very alert and process events quickly. We must repress our imagination so that we do not miss all of the fleeting facts that are thrown at us throughout the extent of a film. While watching a film, this may not necessarily be a negative phenomenon. However; because we relate film so closely to reality, this phenomena often begins to trickle into the way we approach our reality. This is where the danger begins. When we approach real life in a manner that is very quick, fleeting and surface-level, we do not fully process events in our lives. Our imaginations are thus incredibly constricted by the ways in which we have been trained to think and process things; we become somewhat robotic, unable to creatively think about situations. Horkheimer and Adorno believe that this way of thinking is so engrained in us that it occurs naturally. Even in a state of total distraction, we are able to think in this fleeting and surface-level way; it diminishes our critical thinking skills and destroys our ability to effectively use our imagination.
11/30-pre comment:
ReplyDeleteHey there Sara! I really enjoyed reading your post. This quote is very informative to understand a perspective of film and reality. Film is a very powerful medium that can create and send many and different messages. Films that allow room for imagination and ‘tmesis’ are the ones that I really enjoy. This films do not necessarily have to represent reality to an exactitude, but through their images, storyline, theme, tone… end up sending a message of reality.
The difficult part comes when the audience is not able to understand reality vs. fiction, or they miss-understand the film’s reality. I understand Horkheimer and Adorno’s point of view, but I do believe they are being a little pessimistic and judgmental.
I think that depending on the persons ideology and sub-culture, they will have different levels of capacity to understand a film. As an example, as someone that studies critical thinking and film, my interpretation when watching a film such as Pam’s Labyrinth will be completely different as to someone that really does not practice critical thinking and media/film studies. For me, I understand that the film has a lot of elements of fantasy, but through that the director is representing reality of humanity and innocence. In the other hand, someone that does not have the same practices as I do, they will most likely just watch the film and a pure entertainment mode, or for a class requirement.
Our imagination is a very powerful tool that we often don’t use, and as we grow up, we believe that being more of an adult, is not letting go. We need to learn to have a balance of being real and imaginative. Otherwise, just like you said, we become robotic and close-minded. I also believe that this illusion that the theorist are talking about, we see it in many different platforms (fake news, social media, music) now a days, therefore, different representations of reality are constantly being shown to us in a regular basis.