When discussing post cinema throughout the course, one platform has continually been understood as a main culprit in the shift to digital–Youtube.  This week discusses the ‘assemblage’ of the platform along with examples of how Youtube epitomises a post cinematic ideology.  In his chapter titled ‘Assemblage,’ Francesco Casetti discusses the view that digital cinematography can be understood as an assemblage rather than an apparatus. He points to the fact that ‘the machine’ shown through new digital platforms such as Youtube is defined cinematic experience (Casseti, 2015).  He shows this in three ways.  The first refers to ‘The Construction of Bubbles’ which discusses the thought that mobile devices create a private space which can be bought anywhere, thought of as a ‘mobile home’ (Casseti, 2015).  The second, ‘Virtual, Imagined Audiences’ brings forth the thought that social media platforms allow for the thought that viewing this content is in ‘real time’, as though you are viewing it as they happen (Casseti, 2015). The third, ‘Remediated Cinematic ‘Content’’, brings up the point that cinema reaching us through these platforms such as Youtube, verifies its identity as cinema (Casseti, 2015). So, where the apparatus theory suggests cinema itself is ideological because of the mechanisms set in place in order to produce cinema, assemblage suggests the way post-cinema is viewed and distributed is inherent in the content shown.  

When it comes to Youtube, there are many aspects which need to be looked at when considering its assemblage.  For one, there is the aspect of it promoting a DIY creation model, which therefore affects the type of content being shown. When looking at ‘viral videos’ such as ‘Charlie bit my finger’ shows two kids in the format of a home video which adds a sense of authenticity to the post, making it one of youtube’s first viral video.  Youtube, itself, is also considered a social media platform where those on the site can comment and like posts, which inherently affect the type of content posted on the site.  There is also the aspect of monetisation, along with Youtube’s restriction to what is allowed to be monetised which therefore affects what is allowed to be posted.  All of this must be considered when thinking of the ‘assembly’. 

References

Casetti, F. (2015). Assemblage. In The Lumière Galaxy: Seven Key Words for the Cinema to Come (pp. 67–98). Columbia University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/case17242.7

By John-Michael LaDage