Abstract:

 Building on Tom Gunning's notion of “cinema of attraction,” and based on an analysis of recent changes and innovations in theatrical film exhibition and production, the authors of this article argue that these aesthetic experiments can be theoretically summarized as a trend toward what they call “cinema of experience.” In comparison to the cinema that foregrounds the importance of storytelling, recent filmic experiments (including VR installation) by Alejandro González Iárritu, Ang Lee, and Christopher Nolan paid more attention to creating an immersive environment in which screen images appeal directly to audience members’ affect and sensorium, thus enabling them to intimately, even bodily, experience what the characters see, touch, hear, and feel. These experiments or what the authors call “cinema of experience,” constitute the core of the “perceptual revolution” in recent theatrical film productions. Cinema of Experience offers theatrical film exhibition a competitive edge in face of the ubiquitous presence of streaming media platforms.

Key words: cinema of experience, VR cinema, perceptual revolution, embodied experience