Photographs

"When we define the Photograph as a motionless image, this does not mean only that the figures it represents do not move; it means that they do not emerge, do not leave: they are anesthetized and fastened down, like butterflies. Yet once there is a punctum, a blind field is created (is divined)..." p. 57

La Jetee was an extremely interesting film. Since you cannot see the story unfold before your eyes, you are are left with your own interpretation. When we read Mythologies, I didnt quite understand how it was possible for the creator of the image to have control of the emotions the photograph invoked. It seemed like a game in which the meaning had to find the myth, and the reader is the only one who defines this myth. To me in a film, it appears that the creator has several opportunities to create this myth. Not only do you get to see emotions and stories unfold, but the dialog places the desired idea into your head.

Now I feel like photographs only have one chance. In La Jetee, each frame had to deliver a message. The angles and lighting were choosen in hopes that the myth would be invoked. However, the reader finds a punctum. Something in the image that seeks the reader. That catches his attention and helps him interpret what is happening. It is not what the photographer is trying to invoke, and it varies from person to person. Sometimes it can invoke the emotions the photographer wished for or the complete opposite.

I don't know exactly how to explain this. However, The Grizzly Man seems to do what a photograph cannot. Film cannot posses this punctum. There are many scenes in which Tim seems to be acting out a scene in a play, finishes, and corrects himself. This shows that although the scene is supposed to be unedited, the scene is actually planned out. You probably could have believed Tim's argument if the scene had finished a few seconds earlier. Now a photograph cannot do this. It has one chance and hopefully it will work.