Steven Shaviro, in Post-Continuity: An Introduction, highlights how contemporary cinema has moved beyond the classical principles of continuity editing to embrace new, fragmented forms of storytelling. This evolution is central to the concept of post-cinematic form, which reflects the digital era’s aesthetic, emotional, and cultural sensibilities.

Shaviro argues that post-continuity films abandon traditional editing conventions that prioritize spatial and temporal coherence. Instead, they emphasize affect and spectacle over logical narrative flow. The result is a hyper-stylized aesthetic designed to evoke emotional and sensory responses. For instance, in modern blockbusters like Transformers or Mad Max: Fury Road, disjointed, rapid-fire editing bombards audiences with a series of overwhelming visual impressions. This style mirrors the fragmented nature of our digital lives, where multitasking, overstimulation, and constant media consumption shape how we process information.

This break with continuity reflects a new structure of feeling. In the post-cinematic era, cultural sensibilities are shaped by neoliberal capitalism, environmental crises, and technological acceleration. Post-cinematic media embodies these shifts, presenting a world that feels disjointed, unstable, and emotionally charged. Shaviro describes this as a cinema that prioritizes affect—raw emotional and sensory engagement—over traditional narrative or thematic coherence.

What makes post-cinematic form particularly powerful is its ability to reflect contemporary anxieties. The visceral style of post-continuity filmmaking doesn’t just depict chaos—it immerses the audience in it, creating an experiential alignment with the uncertainty of modern life. Shaviro’s analysis underscores how post-cinematic media captures the fragmented, networked reality of the 21st century, offering both a critique and a reflection of its cultural conditions.

In this sense, post-cinematic form and post-continuity are not just aesthetic shifts—they represent a profound reimagining of cinema’s role in mediating emotion, time, and cultural identity.

Post by: Karoline Brandslet

Steven Shaviro, ‘Post-Continuity: An introduction’, Post-Cinema: Theorising 21^st Century Film, 51-64

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Dir. George Miller, Australia

Transformers (2007) Dir. Michael Bay, USA