ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the phenomenology of the cinema experience. Inspired by a reading of Don DeLillo’s novel Point Omega (2010), which features among its characters an anonymous viewer of Douglas Gordon’s film installation 24 Hour Psycho, the focus of the analysis is on cinematic slowness and its impact on the viewing subject. Thematically, because another of the novel’s characters is a former defense intelligence official alienated from his former role, the analysis includes a reading of Errol Morris’s Robert McNamara biopic, The Fog of War, in which (through film form) Morris challenges McNamara’s attempt to control the historical narratives of his decision making roles in U.S. wars. As is the case at the outset of the chapter, which focuses on DeLillo’s treatment of Gordon’s 24 Hour Psycho, the emphasis in the reading of Morris’s documentary is on theorizing cinematic reception.
