Cinema Against Spectacle : Technique and Ideology Revisited

Jean-Louis Comolli’s six-part essay __Technique and Ideology__had a revolutionary effect on film theory and history when it first appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma in 1971. In 2009, Comolli revisited his earlier text, arguing that the present age, marked by the total dominance of media-filtered spectacle over image production, makes the need for an 'emancipated, critical spectator' more pressing than ever. In this volume, [Daniel Fairfax](http://filmstudies.yale.edu/gradute-students/daniel-fairfax) presents annotated translations of these two texts to provide an overview of Comolli’s activity as both a theorist and a filmmaker. Table of Contents Preface Introduction Cinema against Spectacle Introduction Cinema against Spectacle I. Opening the Window? II. Inventing the Cinema? III. Filming the Disaster? IV. Cutting the Figure? V. Changing the Spectator? Technique and Ideology: Camera, Perspective, Depth of Field Introduction I. On a Dual Origin II. Depth of Field: The Double Scene III. “Primitive” Depth of Field IV. Effacement of Depth/Advent of Speech V. Which Speech? Appendix I: Cinema/Ideology/Criticism Appendix II: Machines of the Visible Glossary of Terms Publication History Filmography Bibliography Translator’s Notes Index Film Theory in Media History Jean-Louis Comolli’s six-part essay Technique and Ideology had a revolutionary effect on film theory and history when it first appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma in 1971. In 2009, Comolli revisited his earlier text, arguing that the present age, marked by the total dominance of media-filtered spectacle over image production, makes the need for an 'emancipated, critical spectator' more pressing than ever. In this volume, (http://filmstudies.yale.edu/gradute-students/daniel-fairfax) Daniel Fairfax presents annotated translations of these two texts to provide an overview of Comolli’s activity as both a theorist and a filmmaker. Jean-Louis Comollis six-part essay Technique and Ideology had a revolutionary effect on film theory and history when it first appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma in 1971. In 2009, Comolli revisited his earlier text, arguing that the present age, marked by the total dominance of media-filtered spectacle over image production, makes the need for an emancipated, critical spectator more pressing than ever. This volume brings together annotated translations of these two texts to provide an overview of Comollis activity as both a theorist and a filmmaker.