Material Conditions

The study of film requires access to moving images as one of its conditions of possibility. However, there are two aspects of this accessibility that require consideration. First, there is the need to access filmic “texts” though the availability of primary source materials, i.e., the need to see films. Collections such as the lending library of MoMA, all the various film archives, film programs and parallel distribution networks have all made films available in situations that are both distinct from commercial viewing and more conducive to film study (situations that include the classroom). Through their promoters they have acted as conscious agents in the dissemination of film culture. ARTHEMIS researchers investigate the history of these modes of access and examine their connections to various discourses (critical and otherwise) about film.

Secondly, access to film must also be considered from the perspective of technology: film prints, VCR, DVD all imply different viewing conditions, different ways of accessing film through specific given technological interfaces, and they may even imply different ideas of what film is. For instance, the development of the 16mm gauge in 1923 enabled new contexts for film screenings which in turn have helped shape new attitudes toward the medium. The same can now be said for the development of VCR, DVD, IPods, telephone screens, the Internet and various other screen technologies as modes of access to films.