Despite Roland Barthes’ essay being written in 1968, it proves itself to be a timeless piece with relevance to this day. The act of being in the theater being hypnotic, almost a world of its own, an escape from reality are feelings I have also felt after watching a film. Cinemas nowadays are made with large curved screens that take up your entire field of view, comfortable seats you can sink into, and complete darkness when the film begins. Even with the rise of online movie sites like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, I believe with advancing technology such as 3D glasses and 4D seats prevents these sites from standing a chance against the immersive experience of cinemas.
Barthes complimented the anonymity given when being in the cinema, which I found contradicted Walter Benjamin’s idea of films seeking equilibrium among the masses and allowing political mobilization. I steer more towards Benjamin’s view as I felt that when being in a theater with strangers watching the same film, the same reactions are induced and promoted. However, I wonder how the impact of a film now changes when movie sites give back anonymity when watched privately.
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It is excellent that you frame your discussion by comparing the two essays of Barthes and Benjamin in terms of the anonymity of film-watching. These two pieces are written in different eras, therefore, there are inevitably some asymmetric ideas. Please further reflect on how the space of theater partly achieves anonymity of film-watching and partly promotes the mutual impact between audiences. Besides, I appreciate your thought-provoking question put forward at the end, even though it might be impossible that movie sites will give back anonymity since one of the characteristics of movie sites is to provide a freely communicating platform with online users.