The birth of post cinema in today’s twenty-first century gave rise to what Steven Shaviro identifies as affect, a realm within cinema solely based on evoking feeling.  

Bordwell (1985), refers to the so-called Hollywood continuity editing, as a technique for building up a cohesive storyline, making it easy for the audience to understand. However, this style was abandoned as we transitioned into a time focused on intensifying sensations, rather than following a linear narrative. This is what we call Post Cinematic Affect and Sensation. 

Post cinematic films, “are machines for generating affect” (Shaviro, 2010). Shaviro discusses how there is more beyond just a simple story to follow when watching a film and draws our attention to how they have the power to engage with their audience at a sensory and emotional level. This gradual decline of classical editing mentioned above allowed for a different way to view cinema, through a lens of emotion, proving the impact these upcoming techniques had on their audiences. 

As told by Dargis, M. (2006) “The Pursuit of Happyness”, a film starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner and his son Jaden Smith as Christopher Jarrett Gardner Jr., is the heartfelt story of a father and son. It ventures the highs and lows of their lives after their wife and mother leaves them. Chris, a struggling salesman, is left to take care of his son in poverty, and even through the most challenging times of his life, his smile never fails to show, as he makes sure to set an example for his son.  

The scene above shows Chris and Christopher sleeping in the subway bathroom. Immediately as we find out where Chris is leading his son, we are overloaded with this heartbreaking sensation and strong feeling of empathy. We ache to see the situation they are in. Both the visual intensity in the close up of Chris’s face and the music used underneath, adds to us feeling these emotions.

The film serves to understand what Shaviro means by affect. The way the audience reacts has got to do with the filming and editing techniques that manifest themselves as affect in the film. It reaches out to those who are parents, resonating with moments of hardship they have endeavored with their children, fostering empathy and allowing for reflection.

Bibliography:

Bordwell, D. (1985) Narration in the Fiction Film. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 

Dargis, M. (2006) Climbing Out of the Gutter With a 5-Year-Old in Tow, The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/movies/15happ.html 

Shaviro, S. (2010) Post-Cinematic Affect. Winchester, UK: Zero Books.    

Ella Cabanillas

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