Playing the Cinema Neurogame: Neuroscientific Perspectives on Film Research
Ewelina Twardoch-Raś
etwardoch@o2.plJagiellonian University (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2497-8463
Abstract
The aim of the article is to present neuroscientific perspectives on the study of film. First, the foundations for the development of this type of empirical and conceptual research are presented: the cognitive theory of film, the concept of embodied cognition, and the models of cinema that have been proposed in this area (embodied cinema and enactive cinema), as well as neuroaesthetics. Then, referring to the findings of Vittorio Gallese and Miguel Guerra, the author indicates three main perspectives for the development of neuroscientific research on cinema: 1) partial reinterpretation of the theory and history of cinema through the prism of new research tools, 2) empirical research on film techniques and strategies, 3) development of new technological forms implemented in the film industry. The article presents also selected experiments in the field of film neuroresearch, focusing on those dealing with general issues – including the pioneering experiment of Uri Hasson’s research group and a study on identification with film characters based on the Game of Thrones series (HBO, 2011-2019). The author also refers to research on film montage, conducted mainly by Javier Sanz-Aznar’s group, and presents it from a critical perspective, reflecting on the potential of empirical research on film, taking into account the problem of neurorealism. In the last part of the article, she presents the assumptions of neurofilmology as presented by Adriano D’Aloia and Ruggero Eugeni and the critical approach to the research perspective proposed by Maria Poulaki. The author of the article supplements this reflection with her own conclusions regarding potential directions of development of cinema neuroresearch.
Keywords:
neurocinematics, neurofilmology, film neuroaesthetics, biometrics, embodied cognition, neurorealismReferences
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Authors
Ewelina Twardoch-Raśetwardoch@o2.pl
Jagiellonian University Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2497-8463
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Audiovisual Arts at the Jagiellonian University. Author of numerous scientific articles (including in Teksty Drugie, Humanities), editor of collective books, author of the monograph Sztuka biometryczna w perspektywie filozofii post- i transhumanizmu. W stronę estetyki postafektywnej [Biometric Art in the Perspective of the Philosophy of Post- and Transhumanism: Towards post-affective aesthetics] (2021), for which she received the main award of the Polish Society for Film and Media Research. She participated in numerous scientific conferences in Poland and abroad. Member of the Art Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and deputy editor-in-chief of Przegląd Kulturoznawczy. In 2015-2020, she carried out an individual research project funded by the National Science Centre. She is a translator from German. His scientific interests include new media art, philosophy, literature, and contemporary cinema.
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