Movies use gaze and emotion to engage the audience. In this blog post, we explore how space and atmosphere drive emotional resonance.
How do audiences perceive the flow of a movie? How do they keep up with the rapidly changing angles, characters, space, time, and more? A common explanation of film reception is the process of identification that occurs between the viewer’s eyes and the camera’s gaze, but identification theory fails to provide a meaningful explanation of how, under what conditions, and through what processes identification occurs, and what are the unique modes of identification that occur when perceiving the flow of a movie.
Kant’s discussion of “disinterestedness” provides a clue. Kant argues that the subject of aesthetic experience is distanced from the very fact of the object’s existence. According to him, in a movie theater, the viewer is in a state of ‘indifference’ to the existence of the image itself. Rather than accepting the flow of the image in a cold, analytical manner, they experience it empathetically, as if it were speaking to them, as if they were invited to participate in the play of aesthetic experience. They experience a state of aesthetic distance and empathetic engagement. Unlike conventional theories of identification, which understand subject and object as either strictly separate or completely overlapping, Kant views aesthetic perception as a tense “in-between state” of separation and fusion between the perceiving subject and the perceived object. This theory of playful identification can be applied to the reception of other arts, not just movies. However, this aesthetic and playful identification does not fully capture the dynamic nature of the experience of film reception.
The reason why audiences are able to experience the flow of a movie so vividly is that the space in a movie is a “directional space” rather than just a place. The camera’s various angle choices, movements, and free choice of point of view facilitate the expression of directional space. Consider a scene showing a conversation between two people. The viewer is not just seeing the presence and location of the two people engaged in conversation, but is also perceiving the directional implications of their gaze itself, i.e., the directional spatial situation in which their faces and upper bodies are facing each other.
The medium’s strength is not limited to its spatial representation. The perception of the flow of the movie is always accompanied by a sense of presence. The viewer is always aware of the power of atmosphere, which comes from the unique emotions of the spaces and characters in the movie. Therefore, the space in a movie is essentially an “emotional space” that allows us to feel the power of this atmosphere. This emotional space is an important factor that allows movie scenes to go beyond simply conveying visual information to engage and empathize with the audience.
Through its unique visual and auditory elements, a movie induces various emotional responses in the audience. Whether it’s tears during a sad scene, laughter during a happy scene, or sweat during a suspenseful scene, a movie can trigger a wide range of emotions. This shows that movies are more than just a visual experience, but a comprehensive emotional experience. Through this emotional space, audiences can more deeply empathize with the characters and situations in the movie and immerse themselves in the narrative.
In this way, moviegoers do not simply identify their eyes directly with the camera’s gaze. While watching the movie, the audience playfully identifies with the space, movement, etc. in the movie, and not only perceives various layers of space such as place space and directional space simultaneously, but also senses the power of the unique atmosphere emanating from the emotional space, and communicates with the space in the movie through empathy. In this process, audiences discover depth and meaning beyond the simple story through the complex and multilayered experience provided by the art form of film.
