Bazin and the ontology of cinema

Why does Bazin talk about mummies, statues and ancient Egypt?

• Because he filmed a movie there

• The first camera was made in Egypt

• To explain the primordial function of statuary, the preservation of life, as the origins of wanting to "mummify" life

• Because within this ancient culture are found the origins of cinematography

Why medieval art never passed through the crisis of choosing between aesthetic and psychological?

• It is perfection made art, no mistakes

• Technology development came later, so there was no question about it

• Ancient materials were able to provide a sublimation of these two

• It a sacred art, so it is not up for discussion

No matter how skillful the painter, her/his work will always be subjective

• True

• False

Who is the mythical central figure of the crisis of realism in plastic arts?

• Picasso

• Niepce

• Bazin

• Lumière

• Van Gogh

Originality in photography lies in the essentially objective character of photography

• True

• False

How does Bazin talks about "the charm" of family albums?

• As disturbing presence of lives halted at a set moment in their durantion

• He relates it to the love and warm we feel when looking at family portraits

• He elaborates about the aesthetic function of sepia and grey

• As nostalgic memories of what once was

Photography does NOT contribute something to the order of natural creation, it provides a susbstitute for it

• True

• False

Why does photography is the most important event in the history for the plastic arts?

• It was the most powerful and fastest growing industry during that time

• Because photography was the first step towards cinematography

• Because it allows humanity to document the world

• It has freed Western painting from its obsession with realism

According to Bazin, and from certain perspective, cinema is objectivity in time

• True

• False

What does the following excerpt suggest: "Since -perspective- had only solved the problem of form and not of movement, realism was forced to continue the search for some way of giving dramatic expression to the moment..."

• Realism was about to end

• Realism was only starting

• The magic of surrealism was the answer

• The problem of movement culminated with cinema