This passage mainly discuss the role of cinema when people are watching films, theoretically explain that the darkness environment can provide people with relaxation and self-preoccupation.
The author analyzed his state when watching films. Interestingly, he points out a mode of watching: having two bodies and being fascinated twice. According to the text, there are two sources of fascination for watching films in cinema. One is the surroundings associated with the perverse body; another is the image associated with the narcissistic body. Here, I want to focus mainly on the surroundings.
The author put forward a concept as a cinema situation, referring to the darkness of cinema. He described it as pre-hypnotic and twilight-reverie, according to Breuer Freud. In a dark environment, people can feel free to relax and enjoy the freedom of the body. It is a realm that only the cinema can realize. The television, for instance, fails to act the same way. The familiarity and atmosphere of the household that television provides can suppress anonymous feelings and eroticism. Therefore, darkness makes cinema films contrary to television. The combination of darkness and light from films forms a scene like a keyhole. By seeing through the keyhole, we satisfy our voyeuristic desire. That’s also why the cinema is fascinating.
——Zhao Yuxuan, 3036127050
Barthes, Roland. The Rustle of Language. New York: Hill and Wang, 1989.
I appreciate you writing about Barthes’ Leaving the Movie Theater. Your text seems to be a summary rather than a response. To help you with this, you should write by using your experience/idea about the cinema theater. How it impacts you and how you agree or disagree with Barthes’ concept of the cinema theater. Using Barthes’ text as a reflection for your response.