Cinephilia, take three?: Availability, reliability, and disenchantment in the streaming era

Author:

McGowan David1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. University of the Arts London, UK

Abstract

This article proposes a modified reading of Thomas Elsaesser’s theories of cinephilia, taking into account the new viewing practices established by the rise of online media streaming. Elsaesser characterised early film culture (labelled as ‘take one’) as rooted in celluloid and marked by a longing to view films that were not always easily available. By contrast, his characterisation of the later ‘take two’ era is one in which each new distribution technology (television, VHS, and so on) promises greater abundance and convenience, to the point where this new generation of cinephiles – in response to the widespread success of DVD – were perceived as having to deal with the ‘anachronisms generated by total availability’. Amanda D. Lotz argues that streaming services appear to provide an extension of the ‘take two’ ideal, offering assurances of ‘ availability (on-demand libraries with many choices) and reliability (you don’t have to watch it now or it’s gone)’. I suggest, however, that the underlying impermanence of streaming has prompted fears related to both access and ownership, marking a break from the expectations surrounding the DVD (as well as its successors Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD). The impact of content migration – fracturing access between a greater number of paid platforms – and particularly content delisting – the outright removal of access to a given text – can place certain works in a form of limbo. This article proposes the dawn of a new generation of cinephilia – a potential take three – marked by a newfound concern of ephemerality, albeit much more potential and localised than the widespread unavailability of the take one era. In essence, then, take three wrestles with the anachronisms of loss in a media landscape that, in many other ways, offers unprecedented levels of access to film and television content.

Funder

London College of Communication, University of the Arts London

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Communication

Reference72 articles.

1. Platforms, Power, and Promotion: Evidence from Spotify Playlists*

2. From Spectatorship to “Survivorship” in Five Critical Propositions

3. Alter R (2020) Every blackface episode and scene that’s been pulled from streaming so far. Vulture, 29 June. Available at: vulture.com/2020/06/blackface-tv-episodes-scenes-removed-streaming.html (accessed 21 September 2023).

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3