Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series

This article examines overexposure in contemporary film as a reflexive sign of exposure to extreme states of being. While there are realistic uses of excessive lighting in film, overexposure almost always appears symbolic, and operates as a cinematic code that translates exposure to the magical, sup...

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Main Author: Monica Michlin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" 2013-12-01
Series:Sillages Critiques
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/3718
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author Monica Michlin
author_facet Monica Michlin
author_sort Monica Michlin
collection DOAJ
description This article examines overexposure in contemporary film as a reflexive sign of exposure to extreme states of being. While there are realistic uses of excessive lighting in film, overexposure almost always appears symbolic, and operates as a cinematic code that translates exposure to the magical, supernatural, or unconscious “other.” Because it is so often connected to the aesthetics of shock and revelation, overexposure often plays on the limits of what we can bear to watch. Finally, although as a technique, it plays on the hypnotic attractions of excessive light, it also points to the artifice of lighting and acts as a reflexive sign that what we are gazing upon is unreal, in a contemporary enactment of the baroque allegories of life-as-dream.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2013-12-01
publisher Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
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series Sillages Critiques
spelling doaj-art-6b8af7f2795546239d28b29fdee486172025-01-30T13:47:58ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022013-12-011710.4000/sillagescritiques.3718Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV SeriesMonica MichlinThis article examines overexposure in contemporary film as a reflexive sign of exposure to extreme states of being. While there are realistic uses of excessive lighting in film, overexposure almost always appears symbolic, and operates as a cinematic code that translates exposure to the magical, supernatural, or unconscious “other.” Because it is so often connected to the aesthetics of shock and revelation, overexposure often plays on the limits of what we can bear to watch. Finally, although as a technique, it plays on the hypnotic attractions of excessive light, it also points to the artifice of lighting and acts as a reflexive sign that what we are gazing upon is unreal, in a contemporary enactment of the baroque allegories of life-as-dream.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/3718
spellingShingle Monica Michlin
Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
Sillages Critiques
title Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
title_full Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
title_fullStr Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
title_full_unstemmed Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
title_short Open Your Eyes Wider: Overexposure in Contemporary American Film and TV Series
title_sort open your eyes wider overexposure in contemporary american film and tv series
url https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/3718
work_keys_str_mv AT monicamichlin openyoureyeswideroverexposureincontemporaryamericanfilmandtvseries