Vision and Blindness in Film

In order to understand &quote;vision&quote;, we have to look into concepts of blindness, both diegetically in typical film characters and in the representation of sight or lack thereof. A critical-historical investigation into theories of vision shows that the way we understand visuality today - scientifically and culturally - is very different from pre-modern notions and practices. In this book, Dago Schelin questions categories such as active and passive vision, tactile visuality, as well as blind vision, and discusses them alongside a variety of movies that deal with vision and blindness. Is there a connection between the filmmaker's gaze and an older pre-Keplerian ontology of vision? What is the role of sound in vision? Are our eyes mere camcorders or might they be projectors? These and other questions comprise the fascinating journey on which this study embarks.

Auteur
Dago Schelin is a Brazilian-German filmmaker/musician. After receiving his B. A. in Languages (Portuguese and English), as well as a B. A. in Popular Music in Brazil, Dago Schelin was awarded DAAD scholarships for his M.?A. studies in Media Production and his PhD in Media Studies. Among other publications, Dago Schelin has edited and co-authored a book on the interdisciplinarity of cinema called "Cinema Invites Other Gazes". Currently, Dago Schelin is a researcher at Philipps-University Marburg.

Résumé
In order to understand "vision", we have to look into concepts of blindness, both diegetically in typical film characters and in the representation of sight or lack thereof. A critical-historical investigation into theories of vision shows that the way we understand visuality today scientifically and culturally is very different from pre-modern notions and practices.In this book, Dago Schelin questions categories such as active and passive vision, tactile visuality, as well as blind vision, and discusses them alongside a variety of movies that deal with vision and blindness.Is there a connection between the filmmaker's gaze and an older pre-Keplerian ontology of vision? What is the role of sound in vision? Are our eyes mere camcorders or might they be projectors? These and other questions comprise the fascinating journey on which this study embarks.

Contenu
Acknowledgments Foreword 1 Theories of Vision 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Gaze within a Brief History of Theories of Vision 1.2.1 Introductory Remarks 1.2.2 A Review of the Current State of Research 1.2.3 A Historical Overview of Vision 1.2.4 A Short History of the Gaze according to Ivan Illich 1.2.5 Ancient Theories of Vision up until Kepler 1.2.6 The Window of Renaissance 1.2.7 Crary's Prehistory of Contemporary Vision 2 Categories of Vision 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 A Dialogical Framework 2.1.2 Vision and Visuality 2.2 Active and Passive Vision 2.2.1 From Camcorder to Erectile Pupilla 2.2.2 Entering the Film's Self 2.3 Tactile Visuality 2.3.1 To Touch or Not to Touch 2.3.2 Between a Metaphorical and a Literal Touch 2.3.3 Mimetic Visuality: Epistemological Implications 2.4 Blind Vision 2.4.1 Inner and Outer Vision 2.4.2 Further Insights of Blind Vision 2.5 A Summary of the Categories 3 Film Analysis 3.1 Outline 3.2 Films, Blindness, and the Blind 3.3 Introductory Analyses of Films in Relation to Vision and Blindness 3.3.1 LE SCAPHANDRE and the POV 3.3.2 Sensation Enhancers 3.3.3 Visual Prosthesis 3.3.4 Documentary Film and the Reality of Seeing Reality 3.4 JANELA DA ALMA3.4.1 Introducing JANELA DA ALMA 3.4.2 A Brazilian Window 3.4.3 The Opening Sequence 3.4.4 Looking at the Reel 3.4.5 Representing Views and Gazes 3.4.6 Good Bokeh, Bad Bokeh 3.4.7 Window, Sound, and Soul 3.4.8 The Blind Photographer 3.4.9 Seeing with Glasses 4 Discussion and Conclusions 4.1 Toward an Understanding of Filmmaking as a Bridge 4.2 Filmmaking as a Remnant of the Pre-Keplerian Gaze 4.3 A Substitute for the Invisible 4.4 Trans-seeing Reality 5 Final Words Works Cited