Against Post-cinema

This essay contests one version of the post-cinema thesis, namely, that the cinema is no longer a distinct medium because it has merged with other media into a monomedium of digital code or software due to digital technology. The cinema remains a distinct medium, the authors argue, identified and i...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ted Nannicelli, Malcom Turvey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Milano University Press 2016-10-01
Series:Cinéma & Cie
Online Access:https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/cinemaetcie/article/view/16444
_version_ 1797305591221190656
author Ted Nannicelli
Malcom Turvey
author_facet Ted Nannicelli
Malcom Turvey
author_sort Ted Nannicelli
collection DOAJ
description This essay contests one version of the post-cinema thesis, namely, that the cinema is no longer a distinct medium because it has merged with other media into a monomedium of digital code or software due to digital technology. The cinema remains a distinct medium, the authors argue, identified and individuated in much the same way as before the digital era. Proponents of the ‘monomedium’ version of the post-cinema thesis arrive at their unwarranted conclusions, the authors show, because they are ‘medium materialists’, defining a medium by way of its materials. Hence, because digital materials have replaced celluloid-based ones in filmmaking, and other media use these digital materials, monomedium advocates conclude that the medium of cinema has been subsumed into a digital monomedium. However, a medium cannot be individuated by its materials, but is instead defined, in part, by the practice of using materials. Hence, a transformation in the artistic medium of cinema would require a revolution in the practices governing the use of materials in the cinema. Yet if we examine those practices, as the authors do in this essay, there is no evidence that the artistic medium of cinema has been subsumed into a monomedium by digital technologies.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T00:28:11Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d8f0e2c5a4464d04a6ebec6eb11a52af
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2036-461X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T00:28:11Z
publishDate 2016-10-01
publisher Milano University Press
record_format Article
series Cinéma & Cie
spelling doaj.art-d8f0e2c5a4464d04a6ebec6eb11a52af2024-02-15T15:28:27ZengMilano University PressCinéma & Cie2036-461X2016-10-011626-27Against Post-cinemaTed Nannicelli0Malcom Turvey1University of QueenslandTufts University This essay contests one version of the post-cinema thesis, namely, that the cinema is no longer a distinct medium because it has merged with other media into a monomedium of digital code or software due to digital technology. The cinema remains a distinct medium, the authors argue, identified and individuated in much the same way as before the digital era. Proponents of the ‘monomedium’ version of the post-cinema thesis arrive at their unwarranted conclusions, the authors show, because they are ‘medium materialists’, defining a medium by way of its materials. Hence, because digital materials have replaced celluloid-based ones in filmmaking, and other media use these digital materials, monomedium advocates conclude that the medium of cinema has been subsumed into a digital monomedium. However, a medium cannot be individuated by its materials, but is instead defined, in part, by the practice of using materials. Hence, a transformation in the artistic medium of cinema would require a revolution in the practices governing the use of materials in the cinema. Yet if we examine those practices, as the authors do in this essay, there is no evidence that the artistic medium of cinema has been subsumed into a monomedium by digital technologies. https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/cinemaetcie/article/view/16444
spellingShingle Ted Nannicelli
Malcom Turvey
Against Post-cinema
Cinéma & Cie
title Against Post-cinema
title_full Against Post-cinema
title_fullStr Against Post-cinema
title_full_unstemmed Against Post-cinema
title_short Against Post-cinema
title_sort against post cinema
url https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/cinemaetcie/article/view/16444
work_keys_str_mv AT tednannicelli againstpostcinema
AT malcomturvey againstpostcinema