The term, ‘post-cinema,’ proves itself to be complex and controversial, as it encompasses the many changes cinema faced/faces as it depart/departs from its traditional operation. Derived from the introduction and transition to ever evolving digital technologies, ‘post cinema’ has introduced the world to a new cinematic experience.  A perfect example of ‘post cinema’s’ employment can be seen in the 1999 film, The Blair Witch Project. 

The film introduced the world to a new form of cinema by presenting itself as being ‘found footage’.  By aptly using the low-tech imagery of home digital cameras, the film perfectly staged itself to give an illusion. Before the movie was even brought to the cinema, it was deemed one of the most popular movies of 1999 due to innovative and never seen before marketing which sparked confusion and intrigue from viewers. Believe it or not, many audience members were convinced the footage was ‘real’! Because the tech and direction reflected that of a 1999 home video (no sound track, sub-par sound, and lighting which just doesn’t make sense), viewers bought into the marketing and direction, feeling as though they were looking at lost documentary footage from 1995. Steven Shaviro discusses this idea through his concept ‘post-cinematic effect,’ acknowledging post cinema’s new ability and skill prompts a shift in audience reaction. The ability and access of digital cameras for the everyday person to be, in their own right, a director and producer through ‘home videos’ allowed for The Blair Witch Project to be perceived as ‘found footage’ from an audience perspective. This idea, therefore, prompted a different kind of emotion, a different way in which we as audience members understand cinema and view which could not have been achieved through analog cinema. The footage itself is seen as ‘real’ due to almost everyone having access to this technology, and therefore adding an uncanny level of authenticity to the horror, which has been replicated again and again solidifying itself as a standard horror trope. 

References

Shaviro, S. (2010) ‘Post-Cinematic Affect: On Grace Jones, Boarding Gate and Southland Tales’, Film-philosophy, 14(1), pp. 1–102. doi:10.3366/film.2010.0001.

The Blair Witch Project

By John-Michael LaDage

(Written Week 2)