Eisenstein, Part 2: '[As] in Life Itself' – Montage from 1930

Few artists have tried harder than Sergei Eisenstein to understand what they were doing, how and why, as they fashioned early on the works that made them famous, and no one among them has ever affirmed later on – with such clarity and conviction – how and why they had at the time misconceived what they were doing, and what lessons they had learned about their art from having done so. Though some filmmakers understood afterwards what Eisenstein had achieved by rethinking what he had done, few commentators, unable to sense hands-on its impetus or consequences, have proven capable of acknowledging it. Within this essay (Part II of two on the evolution of Eisenstein's conjectures about 'montage') I shall unpack what Eisenstein said in 1938 of the mistake that he had made early on and how to correct it, reaffirming thereby, though unwittingly, that Pudovkin had been right all along

Repetitions and reflections in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel Garcia Marquez' Chronicle of ~ Death Foretold is a spiralling search for satisfying explanations of why events occur as they do. The first sentences prefigure the book's concern with the nature of memory and our perception of reality as describable in words. The narrator's declared intention of reassembling "the broken mirror of memory" allows the scrutiny of many kinds of reflections: dream images, recollections and retrospective insights, repetitions and contradictions. Memory is both individual and collective; separate voices are joined in a town history. The story of a small town murder becomes a chronicle of a universal need to understand the purpose of life. The fallibility of memory and of words is expanded into the impossibility of recovering the past objectively. We are able to perceive repeated patterns of behavior but the meaning of history eludes us. Interwoven throughout the cycling narrative fabric of repetitions, mockeries and fragmented insights are affirmations of the creativity and strength of human imagination, and Chronicle is ultimately a celebration of the power of words, despite the inadequacy of language to mirror objective reality

Accessing the Past as Landscape: The Danish Bog Bodies and Modern Memory

This article will investigate variations on place-making involving the museum presentation of the well-preserved bodies of Danish bog sites. While any museum site holds the potential for such a critical analysis, bog bodies have a unique role in the narrative nature of place-making: they are individuals who experienced the story being told (assuming, of course, that the story is “true”). They are, in essence, characters in the created story of the “place-world.” Well-preserved bodies are fully recognizable as humans, with recognizably human faces and, sometimes, discernible facial hair. They seem almost ready to tell the story of the past themselves. By telling these individuals’ stories, museum exhibits and visitors alike imagine and create place in a seemingly more real way: by imagining individuals’ lives, they transform the past into a relatable and accessible place where other humans acted, thought, and made meaning. The past landscape can, after all, have no significance if no one was there to experience it

Reality as a feeling – a feeling as reality. On the film by Joseph Cedar, Footnote

Hendrykowski Marek, Reality as a feeling – a feeling as reality. On the film by Joseph Cedar, Footnote. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 57–xx. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.04. This analytical study by Marek Hendrykowski is an attempt to re-read one of the most valuable contemporary films of Israeli production, Footnote, written and directed by Joseph Cedar. The author paid particular attention to the specific way of conducting a seemingly dependent narration, skillfully combining the image of external reality with the sphere of thought and the feelings of the main character.Hendrykowski Marek, Reality as a feeling – a feeling as reality. On the film by Joseph Cedar, Footnote. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 57–xx. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.04. This analytical study by Marek Hendrykowski is an attempt to re-read one of the most valuable contemporary films of Israeli production, Footnote, written and directed by Joseph Cedar. The author paid particular attention to the specific way of conducting a seemingly dependent narration, skillfully combining the image of external reality with the sphere of thought and the feelings of the main character

Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World

Our Space is a set of curricular materials designed to encourage high school students to reflect on the ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation.Our Space was co-developed by The Good Play Project and Project New Media Literacies (established at MIT and now housed at University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism). The Our Space collaboration grew out of a shared interest in fostering ethical thinking and conduct among young people when exercising new media skills