In recent years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become one of the most popular and highest-grossing film franchises of all time. One of the key factors in the MCU’s success is its skillful use of post-cinematic affects. In this blog post, we’ll examine what post-cinematic affects are and how the MCU uses them to create determined reactions in its audiences.

In the book Post-Cinema Affect Shaviro defines post-cinematic affect as “the ways in which cinema changes, as a result of its encounters with digital technology”. In other words, post-cinematic affect ca be referred to the ways in which digital technology has changed the way we consume and experience cinema.

One of the key ways in which digital technology has changed cinema is through the use of special effects. As Scott Bukatman explains in his book Matters of Gravity, special effects “produce images that would be impossible, or at least too costly to produce photographically” (36). Thanks to advances in digital technology, filmmakers can now create elaborate special effects that were once impossible to achieve.

The MCU is a perfect example of how post-cinematic affects can be used to create determined reactions in audiences. One of the key ways the MCU does this is through its skillful use of special effects. As William Brown points out in his book SuperCinema, “The overwhelming majority of shots in a typical MCU film are now digitally composed” (44). This allows Marvel filmmakers to create elaborate action sequences and worlds that would otherwise be impossible to recreate on film.

Another way the MCU uses post-cinematic affect is by blurring the lines between reality and fiction. For example, many MCU actors have signed multi-film contracts that bind them to the franchise for several years. This creates a sense of continuity between films that wasn’t possible before. As Shaviro explains, “this blurring between fiction and reality helps to generate a more intense form of immersion for the spectator” (53).

The MCU is a perfect example of how post-cinematic affects can be used to create determined reactions in audiences. Through its skillful use of special effects and its ability to blur the lines between reality and fiction, the MCU has established itself as one of the most popular and highest-grossing film franchises of all time.

References:

Steven Shaviro, ‘Post-Continuity: An introduction’, Post-Cinema: Theorising 21^st Century Film, 51-64

Brown, William, ‘Digital Cinema’s Conquest of Space’ SuperCinema: Film-Philosophy for the Digital Age (Oxford: Berghahn, 2013).

Bukatman, Scott, ‘The Ultimate Trip: Special Effects and Kaleidoscopic Perception’, in Matters of Gravity: Special Efffects and Supermen in the 20th Century (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2003).

Author: Eike Gantois