Time is an ideological construction ‘One moment produces the next’ (Poulantzas 1978:10). It can be viewed and seen in numerous formats. Henri Bergson believes we perceive and experience time in different ways, in present, past and future. He sees time as progression, as time always moves forward. In contrast to the ideas of Bergson, Paul Millar looks at how cinema constructs notions of time. An example I looked at was The Time Travellers Wife (2009), the film is a romantic drama about a man with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage. The films primarily about Time Travel and how people react to it, showing the importance of time within film narratives. Another theorist that concentrates on time is Gilles Deleaze. He combines Bergsons time as a duration and Borges theory on notion as a labyrinth of the virtual pathway in time, which again relates to The Time Travellers Wife.
Time can be seen in different formats, such as image. The movement image is often seen action films such as Die Hard (1988), where movement and the protagonists body pound within the narrative and express time, its edited to make time fit the story. Other images include perception image which is often linked with the long shot. Affection image which is related to emotions and feelings expressed in film, making the close up shot relevant for this. Finally the action image simply shows the action, using medium or mid shots. This showing the importance of cinematography within film to symbolise the powers of time. These ways of image being used as a time format can also be related to flashbacks within the movement image in films, or the revision of the past. Examples of this are often seen within the horror genre and in films such as, The Shining (1980) and The Haunting (1963). Where this revision and flashback of the past is apparent.
In the lecture we looked at the film La Jetee (1962) a film all about time progression. Whats unique about this film is the fact its all still imagery being used, with a voice over to help the narrative progress. The film explores notions of time through montages of images and fade ins/outs, showing time moving forward into the next shot. However the film isn’t always progressing smoothly. In sections of the short film time almost freezes. The paused image reflects importance of what we are seeing on screen, by making time freeze as we are then witnessing the image for longer periods of time, showing its relevance within the narrative. Quick cuts were also being used to show time moving quickly or so create an emphasis on emotions of stress,panic or urgency. I believe these techniques show time affectively within this film as its showing its audience different aspects of time progression through the still imagery.
Theory as Practice 