Shaviro explores the transformation of cinema and media in the digital age focusing on how film and other visual media evoke emotions and affect beyond traditional cinematic techniques. Shaviro argues that in post-cinematic Affect that film during the classical cinematic era had different way of engaging viewers compared to what he calls “post-cinematic”. In classical cinema, film typically relied on structured narratives, characters development and visual coherence to evoke emotions.

Question: Can we find traces of post-cinematic affect in older films, even before the digital age transformed visual media?

In this clip it explores the sounds created by wind interacting with long suspended wires producing an eerie organic soundscape, linking it with body parts and how human bodies react to sounds but most importantly, emphasizing the relationship between nature and technology how nature reacts with technology.

There are Fragmentation and Affect in this film, the rapid scene where the camera is pulled back from the water through those red lines and the moment where it goes through this universal trance where the camera spins and all you see is multicolours. This is where Shaviros speaks about the Affect of emotions through visuals and sounds, how the audiences are feeling during this moment.

To Conclude, while Shaviro’s theory is rooted in the digital and fragmented media of today some films such as this one (classical cinematic era) were already experimenting with these Affective strategies.

Reference:

Shaviro, S. ( 2010). Post-cinematic Affect: On Grace Jones, boarding Gate and Southland Tales’, film philosophy, 14.1.

By Amiga Harewood 33741415