Dispositif Essay

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Although the philosophical concept of dispositif is applicable to any social structure, the terminology has been widely adopted by film scholarship, beginning in the mid-1970s, with theorist Louis Baudry. A dispositif can be described as the product of heterogeneous elements in relation to one another, which have a specific effect of subjectification on an entire social body. In 1975, theorist Louis Baudry specifically coined the concept of cinematographic angle for dispositif, based on features that were also used to constitute apparatus theory. Apparatus theory refers to the passive experience a viewer undergoes when watching a film under specific conditions, including the darkened theatre space, technology, placement of the projector and …show more content…

Before 1908, it was only one of many sites for the display of moving image. Film had been popularly viewed in cafes, on fairgrounds, churches, and as part of vaudeville showcases. The successful shift of film into the theatre as the dominant form of display was established by the motion picture industry. In France, the man behind the rise of theatres specifically for displaying film was mogul, Leon Gaumont. As film was emerging into a defined industry, with clear divisions between producers, distributors, and exhibitors, the rise of the darkened theatre, such as the Gaumont Palace, was meant to elevate film in such a way where it would be viewed as more than just a fairground attraction, while still giving the appearance of being an accessible, commercial activity. This dominant architectural component of the cinematic dispositif is partially responsible for the creation of historiographical shortcoming in film history. The disparate arms of cinematic viewing have historically been repressed, in this case regarding the white

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