ABSTRACT
Siegfried Kracauer’s opening, written in 1960, demonstrates the historical degree to which notions of the “physical” and indexical in image capture have been prioritized over apparently “less essential” non-indexical animated production. But comparing Christopher Nolan’s proclamations with Kracauer’s is interesting for another reason. Writing in the 1960’s Kracauer was doing so in a cultural context in which indexical photography reigned as the predominant form of moving image production. Following on from Nolan, in 2015, J. J. Abrams announced that he had turned to physical effects for his direction of Star Wars, stating that the production was governed by physical sets rather than digital effects and explaining that fans, “wanted it to be legitimate. Both Nolan and Abrams stated adherence to practical effects are not isolated cases. They mark a general trend toward the claim that “practical effects” should govern, or increasingly are governing Hollywood movie production.
