Reel World: A Critical Engagement of Imagination and Cinema
“Imagination is an alarmingly creative faculty. Imagination makes things appear — shadows of what was once before, impressions of things impossible or yet to be” (Pandian, 152). This is a quote directly from Anand Pandian’s book “Reel World.” His section on imagination focuses primarily on how imagination ties into the expectations of the cinematic world and the desires of people and what they gain, or expect, from the things that are filmed and then watched. As he states in the beginning of the chapter, “Imagination is a movement of overflow, a crossing of countries, a spilling beyond oneself. To say that imagination works in this manner is to acknowledge its peculiar reality, its intangible depth beyond the sheen of appearances, its shadowy existence between presence and absence, there and here, oneself and another” (153). This paves the way for the brutal honesty of the question that it all leads up to; is film just portraying a false reality, an imagination, to distract from the brutal reality of the world? Is it just portraying how everyone wants to see the world, rather than how it truly is?
These questions go hand in hand with the question Pandian himself asks at the beginning of the chapter, “Are these images no more than illusory appearances, distractions from the reality of what is happening?” (152). Focussing deeper into these questions and the topic of my research project, I am left wondering how the use of cinema (and the technology it uses) takes the world of imagination and uses it to twist things to appear differently than they truly are. It is such a simple thing really, setting up a scene the way one envisions it and then using cameras, lights, digital editing, music, and so forth, to portray it EXACTLY how one thinks society will appreciate it. But does that not take away from the honest beauty of a moment? While Pandian focuses on Indie-like films, how they are created, and the story plots that are imagined for them, even other forms of film focus on the pick and choose routine of what they what the world to see. Documentaries take raw footage, in the moment, however do they too not piece it all together from tons of footage? Are producers not sitting there imagining the “perfect documentary” and while the recorded material may be more honest and real, the way in which it is displayed to the world can still be extremely structured.
Not only does Pandian focus on the imagination of the story within the film, but also in the characters themselves. They take these extremely real people, many of which he met and sat down with, and turn them into whoever the imagined character needs to be. So easily, and so readily, do these people suddenly turn into someone they are not; and while this may be part of the fun, it is still part of a false reality.
While this may all seem like somewhat negative input, there is beauty that needs to be acknowledged in the ability to take the reality of the world and transform it into something purely imaginative. Whether it be a romance or an action packed thriller, cinema has a way of capturing just what the heart craves, what it desires. There is beauty in a person being able to transform into a character. There is beauty in how a producer can imagine and then execute the perfect kiss at sunset between two people. There is beauty in manipulating the land or scenery to work perfectly with the moment one is trying to capture. And the best part is that all of this is capable because of peoples’ imagination and the technology that allows them to capture it and then share with the world.
