As we have reached the digital age or post-cinema era, films have evolved beyond conventional storytelling. Concepts like post-cinema, chaos cinema, and post-continuity aid our understanding of how filmmaking adapts to changes in technology, consumption patterns and audience behaviours, specifically regarding social media’s impact on story consumption. This shift is evident through the fast-paced, fragmented nature of modern films.

Post-Cinema and Chaos Cinema

Post-cinema refers to an era where digital technology and new forms of distribution reshape how films are made and watched. Steven Shaviro (2011) ties technology to a changed “structure of feeling,” reflecting the overstimulating, fast-paced digital world. Mattias Stork’s concept of chaos cinema embodies this change. This style is characterised by rapid editing, shaky and disorienting camera work with a focus on the immediate sensory impact rather than traditional narrative clarity.

This raises an interesting debate: are these new techniques a break from traditional filmmaking or an evolution? Enhanced continuity suggests that rapid cuts heighten engagement, intensifying techniques of classical films. Meanwhile, post-continuity suggests a shift in the narrative structure, where the techniques serve the same purpose but adapt to the new media environment. Chaos cinema, by contrast, represents a more tumultuous departure, prioritising spectacle over coherence.

The Impact of Shortened Attention Spans

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram encourage users to rapidly consume content through short clips, training the audience to expect bite-sized entertainment. Chaos cinema reflects this, mirroring the fragmented, fast-paced content people encounter daily. In chaotic action scenes like those in Endgame or John Wick, quick cuts and mismatched edits create sensory overload, much like the audiovisual bombardment and constant stimulus users experience on social media.

End game: 1:02 – 1:32 min

Battle scene: Overlapping action and a mix of visual effects. The scene jumps between characters, giving viewers little time to process each moment.

To summarise, as attention spans shrink and media becomes shorter and more fragmented, chaos cinema offers a way for filmmakers to capture and maintain audience attention; whether by evolving classical Hollywood techniques or breaking away from them entirely.

By KS 33741956

Sources:

Returning, Recycling and Remixing: Cut-up and Collage in Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), [Video Essay], Dir. Andreas Halskov, 16:9: http://www.16-9.dk/2017/11/twin-peaks-the-return/

Chaos Cinema, 2012 [Video Essay], Dir. Matthias Stork, available here and elsewhere: https://vimeo.com/metafilm

Steven Shaviro, ‘Post-Cinematic Affect: On Grace Jones, Boarding Gate and Southland Tales’, Film Philosophy 14.1, 2010.

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

Cunningham, S., Silver, J. and McDonnell, J., 2010. Rates of Change: Online Distribution as Disruptive Technology in the Film Industry. Media International Australia, (136), pp.1-18.