Abstract
Projecting the invisible, namely the soul, onto the screen or other surfaces has always been a human ambition; its technical realization began with the dawn of mankind. Exteriorizing the soul and making it visible meant gaining control over it. Its imagery in our western collective imaginary was influenced by myths such as ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’ and descriptions in literature (e.g. Ulysses’ visit to Hades in Homer’s Odyssey). The underworld and its inhabitants were depicted by many painters (Rubens, Kratzenstein, Kasparides), in the 18th and 19th centuries the phantasmagorias of Schröpfer and Robertson anticipated ‘spirit photography’ (Mumler, etc.), but only the technology of cinematography would provide the ideal habitat for the pictorial heritage of the soul. In this article I discuss some of its various cinematographic representations, from Méliès to Matrix.
Original language | Portuguese |
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Pages (from-to) | 53-84 |
Number of pages | 32 |
Journal | Gaudium Sciendi |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2014 |
Keywords
- Soul
- Cinema
- Photography
- Imagery