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Cinema in the History of Media - Coggle Diagram
Cinema in the History of Media
The Expansion of Modern Day Life Through Technological Progress
The subsequent growth in life and entertainment broadened through the development of expansionary technology. An example of this can be seen through
"The Fetish of Technology: Causes and Consequences"
by David Harvey. In his work he quotes Karl Marx from having spoken that "Technology, he writes, discloses man’s mode of dealing with Nature, and the process of production by which he sustains his life,and thereby also lays bare the mode of formation of his social relations,and of the mental conceptions that flow from them.” The fact that these "internal relations" go hand in hand provides us with the means to identify the immense importance of technological growth.
The ability for technology to broaden and further expand our capability to achieve connects this subcategory to our course relative to Cinema in the History of Media.
Wolfgang Schivelbusch; "The Railway Journey"
1. Coal and Iron being that catalyst that jump started the industrial revolution 2. The railroad providing a means to shorten the spatial distance 3. Technology (in the form of the railroad), advancing the ability for humans to connect and expand our means of understanding
Friedrich Kittler; Optical Media
, The ability to create is an objective innate to man, but to capture a moment is a question of time. In terms of the history of media, the Camera obscura is second to none. The technological advancements in the Cinema world would be abysmal without the advancements that the Camera obscura provided.
"Gentlemen, Chronophotography is the application of instantaneous photography to the study of movement. It allows the human eye to see its stages in a way that they could not be perceived previously."- Etienne-Jules Marey
"Chronophotography"
"The lanterna magica simply turns the camera obscura inside out" -Friedrich Kittler; Optical Media 2.2
Our sense of spatial and temporal orientation has changed dramatically in recent years, prompted by new technologies of surveillance, tracking, and targeting. -Hito Steyerl; "The Wretched of the Screen"
"If we want to live with the machine, we must understand the machine, we must not worship the machine". -Ed Finn; "What Algorithms Want
The Visualization of Social classes in Media
In film, the apparent struggles that can be depicted range from a plethora of ethos. As seen in "Michael Haneke's Cinema" by Catherine Wheatley, the issues presented end up being bloody and rough. The social class issue is produced through Georges's anger towards a fellow character, Majid. The viewpoints Georges has towards Majid and his immigrant background cannot be understated. Although it is a film, these feelings are real, and the depiction of how social classes can shape our worldly view is a treat that various forms of media can provide.
When one speaks of the visualization that is made through media, an important aspect that is sometimes disregarded is the optics of media. What can be included, and what is chosen not to. After indulging in "The Man Behind His Own Retina" by Miran Bozovic, the topic of "Retina" was present. The idea that Hitchcock achieved fame through what he chose to include in movies, but another equally important fact to note is what is chosen not to be included. Social classes is an entity that may not be consciously thought of, but in every film it is present. Our optics pick up on the visual discrepancies that are seen between characters and we judge accordingly. Our optical presence allows us to comprehend and visualize the different classes that are provided throughout various forms of media.
"Forced to leave fascist Germany in 1933, Siegfried Kracauer began a period of exile that would last the rest of his life". This quote is a definitive statement on a definitive mans life. The works that Kracauer was able to produce were all manufactured on the idea that Kracauer's social class was looked down upon, This type of pain bled into his works. His association and pain with social classes provided him the means to create the new "employee class".
"Photography";
Siegfried Kracauer.
"Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we're shown a photograph of it. In one version of its utility, the camera record incriminates. Starting with their use by the Paris police in the murderous roundup of Communards in June 1871, Photographs become a useful tool of modern states in the surveillance and control of their increasingly mobile populations." - Susan Sontag;
"On Photography"
"Consider a photograph from 1907 that captures a crowd of silver miners gathered in a town square with a large Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) banner…The sender has written directly on the postcard to identify the scene as “The Present Strike of Miners at Cobalt”."
"Capitalism And The Camera"
This quote and image both provide an in-depth look at the social classes in America, and provided a solidified image of it.
"Platform Capitalism" by Nick Srnicek helped provide clarity on how various economic plans like Capitalism, inadvertently create social classes. The status hierarchy is built off of wealth and Capitalism helps encourage that divide.
How Physical Media Can Be Utilized As a Means of Propaganda/Violence
As beneficial physical media hs been to our society, there has been drawbacks to the nature of progress. According to Friedrich Kittler's "Optical Media; 3.2", Anarchists were using nitrocellulose to create bombs, while the Vienna police were using nitrocellulose to roll film.
This comparison between the police and anarchists use of the same film rolling material provides a dramatic look into how physical media can be used as a means of violence.
"As I said before, World War II was the first war in color. At the end of the war, the first color film material was provided to the propaganda companies that had been systemically established in all of the armies." -Friedrich Kittler; "Optical Media 3.3"
Propoganda in media cannot be discussed without the inevitable Satellite. Before the satellite, there was no direct way to visually cast images across the world simultaneously. The satellite provided governments the means to hand feed their people what they wanted them to see. Visual propaganda was born through magazines and pictures, but the satellite took this form of propaganda to an entirely different level. -Lisa Parks; "Cultures in Orbit"
"The best definition of drones is probably the following: flying, high resolution video cameras armed with missiles." Gregoire Chamayou; "A Theory of The Drone"
"The task of theory, therefore, is to weapons proletarian consciousness, to turn it toward right action. This didactic view of the theory extends across the entire range Marxist intellectual work in the 20th century." -Jasper Bernes; "Logistics, Counter-logistics And The Communist Prospect
