[Reading Response]: Leaving Movie Theatre by Roland Barthes

Luk Sin Ching (3036227989) Looking on the surface, this article is about the experience of leaving the movie theatre, but then looking under the surface, this article is about the immersion of a film when it is showcased in theatre. Watching a movie in the theatre is completely different from watching a movie at home. Especially in this new millennial, online streaming platform is very popular, such as Disney plus, Netflix and HBO. Therefore, people would prefer not spending money on buying the ticket to get into the movie theatre. However, according to the article, there is such thing as ‘cinema situation’, and it is pre-hypnotic. Which is created due to the lighting in the movie theatre. Staying inside a dark room, where the only light is the screen, it emphasises the colour of a diffused eroticism from the film, which could bring out the emotions. for example, a warmer tone of the movie is more lively, blissful, usually those romantic, fantasy movies; otherwise, a cooler tone is more sorrow, brutal and sad, such as those zombies, futuristic films. Also, darkness could block the worldliness from outside the world, with such it could create immersion. Audience could really get into the atmosphere, indulging into the world from the film, forgetting the reality for a while. Most importantly, the perspective and build up of the world matters the most. Such as Harry Potter, Avatar and Star Wars, these movies have a wide and detailed worldview. Creating another level of immersion, hypnosis and magic of films. -Icy Luk

1 thought on “[Reading Response]: Leaving Movie Theatre by Roland Barthes

  1. oscar says:

    It’s noteworthy that you brought in discussions from the tutorial. Do you feel the presence of a crowd is essential to the movie-watching experience, going from the public space of the movie theatre to the private space of the home theatre? Your reflection focuses on the movie-going experience, whereas Barthes is more interested in what happens after the watcher leaves. In your reading, do you feel that the genre of movie you watch can affect this buildup?

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