This blog is a reflection of lectures and screenings in first two weeks.

There is no clear-cut boundary between cinema and post-cinema, on the contrary, this kind of transformation follows the cinematic regime of the twentieth century. As a result, post-cinema challenges us to consider new media in the context of a continuing, erratic, and uncertain historical change in addition to its novelty.

The concept of “post-cinematic affect” was developed by Steven Shaviro, which describes the emotional and perceptual reactions that people experience new media and technology. Post-cinematic affect studies how modern media can arouse feelings in us, how it affects our senses, and how economic globalization and contemporary capitalism influence cultural implications.

The Big Short is a quintessential post-cinema style piece, creative, fast-paced and unique. Although the story is  about the financial crisis of 2008, the elements that stand out in The Big Short have nothing to do with any economics terms. What makes it stand out has to do with the way it explains them, the way it puts the whole thing in front of the audience. It interweaves multiple storylines, characters, and explanations of financial instruments, often breaking the fourth wall to directly address the audience.

McKay uses pop culture figures to directly define economic terms, which acknowledges the audience’s presence and their potential lack of expertise in the subject matter,for example, Sexy actress Margot Robbie dips into a bubble bath and sips champagne while explaining collateralised debt obligations; Selena Gomez explains composite secured debt certificates to everyone at the gaming table…The unexpected appearances of these celebrities achieve a very good dose of dark humour as the audience learns how subprime loans, cash on delivery and the like can be transformed into bankable entertainment.

“The Big Short” satirizes the financial industry, exposing its flaws and the recklessness that led to the housing market collapse. This type of critique is characteristic of post-cinematic media’s ability to engage with contemporary culture and economics. The film uses various techniques to reference and link to real-world events, news footage, and pop culture references:a Britney Spears interview, iPhone packaging, Polyphonic Spree’s mellowed rendition of an enraged Nirvana song, viral YouTube videos, etc.—as a reminder of all the noise we obsess over, it deflects our focus from the world’s corrupt systems.

The post-cinema affect includes a widely varying mixing clips, in a collage of humour and tragedy that leads us to reflect on the financial system and popular culture.

posted by Xiaojun Wang