1. MECS 102: Introduction to Media Studies
Early Cinema – Lecture 5

2. Exhibition shown at amusement parks and fun-fairs
later shown in theatres as part of vaudeville shows
short films eventually shown in venues such as shops and restaurants that charged people a nickel to watch

3. Concepts of Early Film Cinema of mise-en-scene
French phrase meaning “put into a scene” - everything that goes on in front of the camera or everything that the camera records.
Early film referred to as cinema of mise-en-scene because
the camera technology was simple
camera movement was limited
emphasis lay more with what was filmed.
The two distinct types of cinema of mise-en-scene were:
Film as entertainment
led by the Edison tradition
peep shows or staged performances
viewed in tents at showgrounds
scenes from history or Shakespeare

4. Concepts of Early Film Cinema of mise-en-scene
The two distinct types of cinema of mise-en-scene were:
Film as representing the modern world
encouraged by the portable Lumiere camera
actualities produced – the modern world captured in greater detail
a serious kind of filmmaking
Walter Benjamin - this type of filmmaking offered it audiences a method of understanding the rapidly developing modern world

5. The Audience and Institution of Early Film
Early Film Audiences
patterns of early film viewing have shown that:
films were short – audiences viewed several films during one session
the films were interspersed with other forms of entertainment
Audience members didn’t have to stay for the full duration of the screening – caused a lot of disruption during the show
sitting quietly while watching came with the development of narrative film

6. The Audience and Institution of Early Film
The Cinema of Attractions
Term developed by film historian called Tom Gunning – influenced by Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein
early filmmakers preferred to elicit immediate surprise from the viewer
“aggressive address to the spectator’s attention”
reached out to the exterior world of the spectator as opposed absorbing the viewer into the cinematic world
an attraction - the act of display of something to a viewer
“the attraction” is constructed to be aware of the viewers’ gaze and to work to attract that gaze

7. The Audience and Institution of Early Film
Cinema as an Alternative Public Sphere
film as one of the earliest examples of mass medium entertainment
the beginning of the working class public sphere – a term/phrase coined by German philosopher, Jurgen Habermas.
emerging democracy as enabled by dialogue and conversation amongst citizens regarding issues of shared cultural and social interest
somewhat of an idealistic notion since it excluded minority groups such as the working class and women.
cinema as providing an alternative public sphere, in which women and the working class could participate and eventually transform their ideas of society
middle class were not excluded – took a keen interest in the cinema of attractions and their objections to the content of these films saw the beginnings of film censorship and regulation