Projection and Reflection: How the Cinema Frames Perception

In 1930, Antonin Artaud, concerned that cinematic representation had reached a stand-still, opined that cinema had reached its “premature old age.” Obviously, he was wrong. Eighty years later the cinema remains not only ubiquitous but extremely powerful in our cultural experience.

This series will consist of an introduction and several film screenings in which we will consider the ways in which film has influenced the way that we see and understand the world around us. How do we interpret visual information and what are the techniques that filmmakers use to influence those interpretations? To what extent does cinema interact with other visual media like television and the advent of user-generated content websites like YouTube?

Our first evening will feature a talk by Lauren Glenn, a PhD candidate in Film Studies at UF, in which she will provide a brief history of several movements in film over the past century. Drawing from clips of exemplary movies, we will start our conversation about the ways that cinema frames what we see. In our later sessions we will be viewing films that provide insight into these questions, and that encourage us to discern the visual movements introduced in the first session. The cinema is an ever-present aspect of our lives that calls for understanding and that offers a fruitful space for serious Christian reflection. We seek to encourage both through this series.

Pizza and drinks will be provided at each session.

Schedule All sessions begin at 6pm.
Thursday, January 27: Introduction by Lauren Glenn, PhD candidate in Film Studies
Friday, February 11: “The Hurt Locker” (2008)
Friday, February 25: “Catfish” (2010)
Thursday, March 17: “A Serious Man” (2009)