The main features of a cinema include the darkness, the experience and the fascination. The darkness in the theatre provides you with the best atmosphere to focus solely on the movie. In the first reading, Barthes (1984) mentioned that ‘Not only is the dark the very substance of reverie, but it is also the “colour” of a diffused eroticism’. When you are in a cinema, the setting, lighting, music, soundtrack, and special effects amplify the emotions of the film. It also describes the experience mentioned above. The audience will feel like they are accompanying the characters as they make their way through the movie. In Barthes’ words, the image captivates me, captures me (1984). You are ensnared by the film as much as the cinema is the lure to keep you there. Watching movies without the darkness and the fascination will be incomparable to what is available in a cinema.
Leung Kwan Ho, 3035778022
Your response is dedicated to the captivation and fascination by elements and experience inside a movie theatre which is great.
Barthes also pointed out that –
“There is something to confess: your speaker likes to leave a movie theatre. Back out on the more or less empty, more or less brightly lit sidewalk[…] he’s sleepy, that’s what he’s thinking, his body has become something sopitive, soft, limp, and he feels a little disjointed […] In other words, obviously, he’s coming out of hypnosis.” (Barthes 1986, 345). It would be wonderful if you could address a bit more on how leaving the movie theatre also plays a part in the whole “hypnotic” experience.