A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF
This article presents an analysis of James Benning's film, BNSF (2013). It argues that the film comprises a landscape rendered in such a way that the temporal aspects of the processes, both cultural and natural, of which it is composed are brought forth. The article also asserts that, by relati...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Edinburgh University Press
2017-02-01
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| Series: | Film-Philosophy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2017.0031 |
| _version_ | 1811260588743983104 |
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| author | Samuel Adelaar |
| author_facet | Samuel Adelaar |
| author_sort | Samuel Adelaar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents an analysis of James Benning's film, BNSF (2013). It argues that the film comprises a landscape rendered in such a way that the temporal aspects of the processes, both cultural and natural, of which it is composed are brought forth. The article also asserts that, by relating a world that unfolds with a measure of contingency, the film not only manifests the inherent inadequacy of representation, but also it draws attention to the efficacy of the world in the making of its moving image. Finally, the article demonstrates that the qualities of the world delimited by the film impel the viewer to attempt to envision facts of nature that greatly outsize the horizon of her human point of view. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:49:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09236e1938fc454f84a5726663b9a0ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1466-4615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:49:44Z |
| publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
| publisher | Edinburgh University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Film-Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-09236e1938fc454f84a5726663b9a0ed2022-12-22T03:20:31ZengEdinburgh University PressFilm-Philosophy1466-46152017-02-01211607710.3366/film.2017.0031A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSFSamuel Adelaar0Independent Scholar, ()This article presents an analysis of James Benning's film, BNSF (2013). It argues that the film comprises a landscape rendered in such a way that the temporal aspects of the processes, both cultural and natural, of which it is composed are brought forth. The article also asserts that, by relating a world that unfolds with a measure of contingency, the film not only manifests the inherent inadequacy of representation, but also it draws attention to the efficacy of the world in the making of its moving image. Finally, the article demonstrates that the qualities of the world delimited by the film impel the viewer to attempt to envision facts of nature that greatly outsize the horizon of her human point of view.https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2017.0031Benningsocial theory of timeearly cinemanew materialismBergsonWhitehead |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Adelaar A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF Film-Philosophy Benning social theory of time early cinema new materialism Bergson Whitehead |
| title | A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF |
| title_full | A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF |
| title_fullStr | A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF |
| title_full_unstemmed | A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF |
| title_short | A World in the Making: Contingency and Time in James Benning's BNSF |
| title_sort | world in the making contingency and time in james benning s bnsf |
| topic | Benning social theory of time early cinema new materialism Bergson Whitehead |
| url | https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2017.0031 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samueladelaar aworldinthemakingcontingencyandtimeinjamesbenningsbnsf AT samueladelaar worldinthemakingcontingencyandtimeinjamesbenningsbnsf |