ABSTRACT
Theatrical film is an iconic medium of the early 20th century. If the Renaissance was defined by painting and music, and the Industrial Revolution by the printing press and penny papers, the start of the 20th century is defined by going to the movies. It became an everyday experience to sit in a darkened theater, suspend disbelief, and devote one’s attention to unfolding narratives. By the end of the 20th century, this extremely intimate experience was taken for granted. Chapter 1 discusses how theatrical film normalized users to see media content as a “virtual reality” by immersing them in a space that demanded they acquiesce their attention. As a medium, theatrical film transmits messages through moving pictures with synchronized sound presented on a large screen in a controlled immersive space. The theatrical venue distinguishes theatrical film from other audiovisual media, because the audience’s attention, experiences, and emotions are controlled by medium. In this chapter, I describe the psychology of replicating movement, directing attention, and making (collective) memories. Ultimately, I argue that the practices of theatrical film over the past century anticipated advances in virtual and augmented reality technologies.
