good morning everyone I hope it’s still
morning it’s thank you for this
invitation I would like to talk about
cinema which is my field and one of the
things that the word that that we
usually use when we talk about cinema
our experience of cinema is
entertainment what I want to talk about
today is engagement not just being a not
just being engaged by what is happening
on screen but the other thing which is
actively engaging with what is happening
on screen that is putting ourselves out
there and thus I come to the topic of
today’s talk now typically through
viewing the problem in a new and unusual
light what we are talking about is some
as a kind of interpretation when it
comes to art and we apply this concept
we’re talking about a kind of
interpretation which is which is
basically saying within the same
framework within the same the word with
the framework we are talking about a new
way of thinking a fresh way of thinking
and approaching it this problem so we
can solve it for ourselves what is this
problem and we can we think of film as
being a problem when we talk about
problems you know maths has problems
where engineering has problems life has
problems what about cinema how can
cinema be a problem that needs a
solution yeah so consider barbequed is a
problem I would say yes because we’re
talking when we talk you problems and
solutions we are talking about finding
meaning in cinema which is sometimes the
film does not always give us all the
things that we want from frame to frame
to frame to frame so sometimes we have
to step in and you know like find out
the meaning for ourselves the problem
giving is posed on screen we are
the solution or the meaning and and I
want to simplify to just one aspect of
meaning which is to what is the meaning
of this signal shot that is what we most
basic I think when something comes on
something comes up on screen now let us
pick this most business the series of
scenes from the film The Godfather all
of you must have seen that most of you
must have seen it it’s by Francis Ford
Coppola this particular thing is the sea
as a sequence is from the scene where
this gangster in Clemenza orders the
assassination or carries of the
assassination of an underling called
Polly Gatto
that is the seal now when we look at it
there is you just think of forget forget
looking at this at this slide and just
imagine one person is killing another
right that is the content of the scene
that is the crux of the scene what a
what I only what kind of filmmaker do
that how we present it you can show
somebody you know pulling the trigger we
are the person falls then or you can
even you know have the family event
occur off screen because this is not
such a major character that you know you
have to show this person be murdered on
screen so there are many ways you could
do that but look at how caballo does it
he he shows the car containing Clemenza
the person who could carry out the
assassination and polygala the person is
going to be a scarer three people they
backing out of their very crowded
neighborhood then going through the city
then they going towards the outskirts
and finally the pass the car here which
is where the assassination takes place
so when you see something as simple as a
killing being depicted in such an
elaborate fashion your mind starts
thinking okay let me rephrase that
backtrack a bit and say at least one
kind of mind starts thinking there are
some people who are just contented to
say I’m going to eat my popcorn and I’m
just going to sit back and I’m going to
just watch the movie and not really like
say to Marge or Annalise to March or you
know get into it which is perfectly fine
because we cannot always you know
dictate how we respond to anything
you know the newspaper headlines or
anything else but if other kind of
person who wants to kind of get engaged
with if you want to think about it the
very fact that is a there is a sequence
of events happening like this mix of
brain you know start picking you know
you start thinking about you at say why
is this happening why are we sure being
shown such an elaborate you know secrets
of events for a simple killing of an
unimportant person right so then you
could say that maybe the point is to you
start creating so that is the problem
the problem is why and now the mind
starts creating solutions so you start
thinking maybe okay maybe one one reason
is that you want to show the you know
that you were just like just like we
like Palo Alto himself the person is
going to be assassinated just like he
doesn’t know that this is going to
happen exactly well maybe the directors
trying to you know expand time and not
let us you don’t know when this is going
to happen so he’s keeping us in the same
state of suspense that is one you could
interpret it that way or you could
interpret it as another way you could
get into a metaphorical zone where
you’re saying they start with this this
this civilization surrounded by houses
and all that is where they live and
basically this this this wire the place
with all these wild weeds is the the is
kind of represents the kind of work that
they do so the distance between this and
this is actually what is being shown in
the short so you could maybe get a
metaphorical zone and interpret it this
way so there are many many things that
you could do here but even if you want
the popcorn one sure even if you are the
kind of person who is not good is
terribly interested in doing this kind
of thing the scene still has meaning
because there is action but whenever
there is action or whenever there is
dialogue by action I mean when was not
necessary an action sequence but
whenever somebody is doing something or
whenever somebody is speaking something
that is action or dialogue
whenever action or dialogue is happening
on screen we are in the loop because
somebody is either doing some
we look at them and say okay they’re
doing this therefore this means that or
they’re saying something and we say okay
we are saying this and therefore it
means that but when it comes to the
thought being depicted on screen it
becomes a little more complicated
because now nobody’s doing action and
nobody’s speaking dialogue they’re just
thinking so I’ll move on to the next
slide from you tessellation logical
which is this film where the self
character and the deepika padukone
character at the beginning of the film
they break up and it remains friends and
at this point what happens is that they
he finds that you know he finds a girl
that he likes and he said he says we
become message saying there are
different continents at this point he
says that a message saying I’m ready to
move on so she looks at the message now
what we get now is we get the fact that
the message she looks at the message on
her phone and there is no conversation
at all it’s just a series of shots that
depicts what what she’s thinking right
so she looks at the message then she
goes and stands in front of the mirror
then she smiles then she turns and looks
looks at her like like a profile in the
middle since she loses her hair she does
that then she again looks at the mirror
some more so we get a series of shots
where this person is not doing anything
or saying anything very very specific
but just hanging in there for a minute
and we have to now take the we’re not we
have to try to see okay what exactly is
happening here the problem is this is
happening what is the solution how do we
what do we what do we do in order to get
it to her frame of mind and that is when
we start thinking about okay so now this
person sent her a message saying that he
has moved on now its hub her point is
like am I ready to move on
am I looking good okay this is a very
ridiculous proposition because this is
deepika padukone will be talking about
but at the same point this is what the
story is and we’ve got to fight so we’re
talking about am I ready to move on do I
look good do I you know I put on weight
am I looking you know is this feeling me
my
you look better with my hair tied up or
black should I let my hair loose so all
these things are happening in there and
here kind of you know interpreting that
we’re kind of will be forced to into a
zone where we have to apply our own
thoughts in order to get into the
thoughts of this person on screen now
this is still a relatively easier
instance of of getting into a thought
frame of mind because we just saw we
just saw sex message coming there for
this series of frames Springs from that
so there is an immediate basis from
which the you know the these things
happen now because this this see several
scenes from taxi driver where when the
property replaces character called
Travis Bickle who has dated this woman
that this woman dumps him and now he’s
not unable to accept this rejection so
he is this is a very classic scene in
which he is trying to call her we don’t
know whether she’s still listening or
whether she’s hung up or whatever so he
said this pay phone and the series of
scenes that is 1 this is 2 this is 3 and
this is 4 now what happens is the camera
the most interesting thing that happens
here is the camera starts here and moves
here and they slowly start writing to
the right so it starts with him and then
it starts here and then look at Robbie
we were here it’s here and then the
camera moves away from him and stops
here where it’s so well zones
let kind of focuses on the corridor at
the far distance you see people walking
you see a cars moving and all that kind
of stuff
no now the thinking person now you
immediately if you if you’re kind of
person who wants to know what the
meaning is you’re going to immediately
think the camera typically focuses on
the person that is doing the action what
is the camera now moved away to a place
where there is nothing happening where
there is no action so that is again a
problem how do you solve this problem
now can you have to come up with
solutions you have to think laterally
you have to come up with fresh ideas
within the same framework because the
framework is still the same you cannot
invent something and kind of
get into this within what is happening
here is where you’ve got to find your
meaning so then you can say okay maybe
because this person is becoming a little
air in it maybe the camera itself is
alienating itself from him maybe that’s
why it’s moving or maybe you can say the
camera is being kind to him and it wants
us to spare the humiliation that this
man is going through so the camera is
kind of you know moving away and that’s
what is happening maybe that’s another
interpretation or maybe the lonely and
desolate corridor that is there is a
metaphor for Travis bickel’s own
loneliness and you know desolation and
despair so maybe that’s what’s happening
so you know there are many many kind of
meanings yeah a lot of problem people
have problems with this kind of thinking
with this kind of interpretation why
because we are primarily a maths and
science oriented we come from that kind
of education so what does that teach us
one problem one solution that is a major
thing if you look at a question paper
what typically happens is that there is
only what got one right answer and what
is that right also the right answers
whatever the teacher has has you know
the right answer so that is what we know
so there’s multiplicity or answers or
interpretations of thinking that is a
little confronting to some people and
who’s the teacher when it comes to
movies the author the director so that
is usually the question of authors
intent versus aesthetic interpretation
now masses in aesthetic interpretation
is a particular emotional experience and
understanding of art which we just you
know showed with these examples there
are some people who fall squarely the
author’s intent category when they say
the only meaning of anything is what the
author said what the director said what
the writer said what the painter said
that is the only meaning and there is no
other meaning which is one camp I’m not
saying that is invalid but I do not
subscribe to that for the simple reason
is that unlike painting unlike writing
film is not done by one person it is a
collective endeavor and whatever they
also direct
had in mind at the beginning while the
film was being conceived go through a
number of iterations and as each person
steps in to collaborate the
cinematographer the editor the so-and-so
their costume designer the prison
gradually are not saying it changes but
it kind of shifts form and shape into a
something which the author may not have
originally had in mind so that is one
thing so the second thing is also that
it is very difficult do I know what the
author had in mind under stalker is
sitting right next you and whispering
off to each scene okay this is what I
meant okay this is what I meant by the
scene that is what happening even if you
see a director’s commentary which
happens in a DVD and things like that
they will be sitting back and talking
about maybe certain scenes they are not
sitting and explaining each and every
seal each and every shot that is still
something that you have to do so I would
then look at jaws now this is a classic
example of a movie that is hailed for
his great direction rightly so Spielberg
directed it very very well but there is
one particular aspect of this film where
the fish you don’t see the shark all
that much you would so a lot of people
tend to think that that you know it is
basically Spielberg’s genius that he
kept a shark hidden from us because you
know he does not want to you know he
kind of kept the shock he did it just
kind of and he’s using that we don’t
because we don’t see that shark all that
much we imagine it much as a much more
scary thing than it actually is
so he kind of prints that Taran more
than if we actually saw the shark but
what actually happened on the set was
that the shark the mechanical shark that
the bill was malfunctioning so they
could not actually use the shaft at the
build the extent that they could such
people was forced to adopt this method
in order to you know the end pipe by
chance it became this brilliant thing
because we could not see the shock and
therefore we started imagining it so we
don’t really know what happens behind
the scenes of the film enough to gauge
what an author’s intent it is my
contention that is why you know it is
perfectly valid to you know to within
the same framework go with you know
problem solving in terms of it
rotation let us serve there are some
places where offer very intense still
matter so I’m not saying that the
author’s intent is completely invalid or
it doesn’t matter at all now let us take
painting because when we talk of
painting what we’re talking about in
relation to cinema is a single framer
say the most 24 frames per second a
painting is one single frame and this is
a painting a classic painting called
suffer at Emmaus it was by the Danish
Renaissance painter Caravaggio which
depicts it’s a freeze-frame of the
moment where two disciple two apostles
of Christ this is after the the
crucifixion they invite a stranger to
supper and when the stranger breaks
bread and blesses the bread he discovers
that they discover that oh my god this
is no stranger this is actually Christ
himself he has been resurrected and that
is when this happened so that is the
mouth and that is the seal being shown
so basically you have Christ at the
center the two disciples here and the
innkeeper who doesn’t understand what’s
happening and he’s behind now if you
look at it you you look at the things so
that freezes the one precise moment
right the the if you look at it look at
it in terms of technique the whole flame
is lit by a single beam of harsh light
that’s coming on from the outside in and
it illuminates Christ’s face and from
there the other faces are being
illuminated that’s one thing yeah so
that’s like like the flash of
recognition the flash of light you know
lightning that comes to us when oh my
god this is what it really is that’s
happening in this in his painting then
if we look at it Christ has no beard
he’s usually represented with a beard so
we don’t recognize this person as Christ
because he’s and he seems like a
stranger that is and therefore they
don’t recognize them as Christ eyes so
that’s going on here then if we look at
it you know all the A’s is written like
in the last supper but they’re not other
bitchy
you have all the people’s eyes this
person this person this person they’re
all looking towards cracker all is
asleep towards him and even the doubter
the innkeeper was not really clued in
he he he shabu falls behind Christ and
forms a kind of halo so that’s again a
connection being made then and look at
the technique the actual
of the people here they have very motion
whereas this person is still that is
something that’s happening here and
don’t expect this over you have you have
to understand one thing which is like
this was the period of the
counter-reformation
the sixteenth century when the Catholic
Church was was creating lots of works of
art in order to counter the onslaught of
Protestantism so what happened was they
wanted to they wanted painters and
sculptors and all these people they
wanted people not just to believe or eat
these stories from the Bible themselves
into these stories participate in these
stories and you know become part of
these stories and how do you do that how
do you make people enter like something
like a painting that’s what Caravaggio’s
genius comes in see usually a canvas is
a division between our world and the
pain and the world of the painting right
it’s interesting so if you see a sunset
we ever hear the sunset is miles and
miles and miles away so there’s a huge
distance between what is here and what
is there and the pain now when I talk of
canvas also keep thinking in your mind
that I’m also talking about a cinema
screen but what what Caravaggio does is
that he forces because he his wall is
just a few feet away from the canvas the
whole thing seems to be pushed forward
towards us so so that that’s again
something that that he did which is
looked up artists make us participate in
this in this whole thing so that the
this person’s hand if you look at it
it’s coming out of the frame that’s
coming out of the this one itself even
that person’s elbow is coming out of the
same hand you know the they didn’t
keeper again is kind of amount that so
so what I wanted to say what this is
basically with this we kind of get into
the zone of interpretation or lateral
thinking which is very very helpful I
think I think when we kind of look at
look at films it helps us expand our
thoughts and also builds on the
literature
the film so along with like four inches
when you look at literature nobody knows
what shakes video he thought went when
when he wrote Hamlet it was just
basically kind of you know something
that that’s there but over the years the
number of layers that have added to it
have kind of you know enriched the world
and I think that that this kind of
lateral thinking this kind of
interpretation enriches a film much more
than what the original text is thank you [Applause]
morning it’s thank you for this
invitation I would like to talk about
cinema which is my field and one of the
things that the word that that we
usually use when we talk about cinema
our experience of cinema is
entertainment what I want to talk about
today is engagement not just being a not
just being engaged by what is happening
on screen but the other thing which is
actively engaging with what is happening
on screen that is putting ourselves out
there and thus I come to the topic of
today’s talk now typically through
viewing the problem in a new and unusual
light what we are talking about is some
as a kind of interpretation when it
comes to art and we apply this concept
we’re talking about a kind of
interpretation which is which is
basically saying within the same
framework within the same the word with
the framework we are talking about a new
way of thinking a fresh way of thinking
and approaching it this problem so we
can solve it for ourselves what is this
problem and we can we think of film as
being a problem when we talk about
problems you know maths has problems
where engineering has problems life has
problems what about cinema how can
cinema be a problem that needs a
solution yeah so consider barbequed is a
problem I would say yes because we’re
talking when we talk you problems and
solutions we are talking about finding
meaning in cinema which is sometimes the
film does not always give us all the
things that we want from frame to frame
to frame to frame so sometimes we have
to step in and you know like find out
the meaning for ourselves the problem
giving is posed on screen we are
the solution or the meaning and and I
want to simplify to just one aspect of
meaning which is to what is the meaning
of this signal shot that is what we most
basic I think when something comes on
something comes up on screen now let us
pick this most business the series of
scenes from the film The Godfather all
of you must have seen that most of you
must have seen it it’s by Francis Ford
Coppola this particular thing is the sea
as a sequence is from the scene where
this gangster in Clemenza orders the
assassination or carries of the
assassination of an underling called
Polly Gatto
that is the seal now when we look at it
there is you just think of forget forget
looking at this at this slide and just
imagine one person is killing another
right that is the content of the scene
that is the crux of the scene what a
what I only what kind of filmmaker do
that how we present it you can show
somebody you know pulling the trigger we
are the person falls then or you can
even you know have the family event
occur off screen because this is not
such a major character that you know you
have to show this person be murdered on
screen so there are many ways you could
do that but look at how caballo does it
he he shows the car containing Clemenza
the person who could carry out the
assassination and polygala the person is
going to be a scarer three people they
backing out of their very crowded
neighborhood then going through the city
then they going towards the outskirts
and finally the pass the car here which
is where the assassination takes place
so when you see something as simple as a
killing being depicted in such an
elaborate fashion your mind starts
thinking okay let me rephrase that
backtrack a bit and say at least one
kind of mind starts thinking there are
some people who are just contented to
say I’m going to eat my popcorn and I’m
just going to sit back and I’m going to
just watch the movie and not really like
say to Marge or Annalise to March or you
know get into it which is perfectly fine
because we cannot always you know
dictate how we respond to anything
you know the newspaper headlines or
anything else but if other kind of
person who wants to kind of get engaged
with if you want to think about it the
very fact that is a there is a sequence
of events happening like this mix of
brain you know start picking you know
you start thinking about you at say why
is this happening why are we sure being
shown such an elaborate you know secrets
of events for a simple killing of an
unimportant person right so then you
could say that maybe the point is to you
start creating so that is the problem
the problem is why and now the mind
starts creating solutions so you start
thinking maybe okay maybe one one reason
is that you want to show the you know
that you were just like just like we
like Palo Alto himself the person is
going to be assassinated just like he
doesn’t know that this is going to
happen exactly well maybe the directors
trying to you know expand time and not
let us you don’t know when this is going
to happen so he’s keeping us in the same
state of suspense that is one you could
interpret it that way or you could
interpret it as another way you could
get into a metaphorical zone where
you’re saying they start with this this
this civilization surrounded by houses
and all that is where they live and
basically this this this wire the place
with all these wild weeds is the the is
kind of represents the kind of work that
they do so the distance between this and
this is actually what is being shown in
the short so you could maybe get a
metaphorical zone and interpret it this
way so there are many many things that
you could do here but even if you want
the popcorn one sure even if you are the
kind of person who is not good is
terribly interested in doing this kind
of thing the scene still has meaning
because there is action but whenever
there is action or whenever there is
dialogue by action I mean when was not
necessary an action sequence but
whenever somebody is doing something or
whenever somebody is speaking something
that is action or dialogue
whenever action or dialogue is happening
on screen we are in the loop because
somebody is either doing some
we look at them and say okay they’re
doing this therefore this means that or
they’re saying something and we say okay
we are saying this and therefore it
means that but when it comes to the
thought being depicted on screen it
becomes a little more complicated
because now nobody’s doing action and
nobody’s speaking dialogue they’re just
thinking so I’ll move on to the next
slide from you tessellation logical
which is this film where the self
character and the deepika padukone
character at the beginning of the film
they break up and it remains friends and
at this point what happens is that they
he finds that you know he finds a girl
that he likes and he said he says we
become message saying there are
different continents at this point he
says that a message saying I’m ready to
move on so she looks at the message now
what we get now is we get the fact that
the message she looks at the message on
her phone and there is no conversation
at all it’s just a series of shots that
depicts what what she’s thinking right
so she looks at the message then she
goes and stands in front of the mirror
then she smiles then she turns and looks
looks at her like like a profile in the
middle since she loses her hair she does
that then she again looks at the mirror
some more so we get a series of shots
where this person is not doing anything
or saying anything very very specific
but just hanging in there for a minute
and we have to now take the we’re not we
have to try to see okay what exactly is
happening here the problem is this is
happening what is the solution how do we
what do we what do we do in order to get
it to her frame of mind and that is when
we start thinking about okay so now this
person sent her a message saying that he
has moved on now its hub her point is
like am I ready to move on
am I looking good okay this is a very
ridiculous proposition because this is
deepika padukone will be talking about
but at the same point this is what the
story is and we’ve got to fight so we’re
talking about am I ready to move on do I
look good do I you know I put on weight
am I looking you know is this feeling me
my
you look better with my hair tied up or
black should I let my hair loose so all
these things are happening in there and
here kind of you know interpreting that
we’re kind of will be forced to into a
zone where we have to apply our own
thoughts in order to get into the
thoughts of this person on screen now
this is still a relatively easier
instance of of getting into a thought
frame of mind because we just saw we
just saw sex message coming there for
this series of frames Springs from that
so there is an immediate basis from
which the you know the these things
happen now because this this see several
scenes from taxi driver where when the
property replaces character called
Travis Bickle who has dated this woman
that this woman dumps him and now he’s
not unable to accept this rejection so
he is this is a very classic scene in
which he is trying to call her we don’t
know whether she’s still listening or
whether she’s hung up or whatever so he
said this pay phone and the series of
scenes that is 1 this is 2 this is 3 and
this is 4 now what happens is the camera
the most interesting thing that happens
here is the camera starts here and moves
here and they slowly start writing to
the right so it starts with him and then
it starts here and then look at Robbie
we were here it’s here and then the
camera moves away from him and stops
here where it’s so well zones
let kind of focuses on the corridor at
the far distance you see people walking
you see a cars moving and all that kind
of stuff
no now the thinking person now you
immediately if you if you’re kind of
person who wants to know what the
meaning is you’re going to immediately
think the camera typically focuses on
the person that is doing the action what
is the camera now moved away to a place
where there is nothing happening where
there is no action so that is again a
problem how do you solve this problem
now can you have to come up with
solutions you have to think laterally
you have to come up with fresh ideas
within the same framework because the
framework is still the same you cannot
invent something and kind of
get into this within what is happening
here is where you’ve got to find your
meaning so then you can say okay maybe
because this person is becoming a little
air in it maybe the camera itself is
alienating itself from him maybe that’s
why it’s moving or maybe you can say the
camera is being kind to him and it wants
us to spare the humiliation that this
man is going through so the camera is
kind of you know moving away and that’s
what is happening maybe that’s another
interpretation or maybe the lonely and
desolate corridor that is there is a
metaphor for Travis bickel’s own
loneliness and you know desolation and
despair so maybe that’s what’s happening
so you know there are many many kind of
meanings yeah a lot of problem people
have problems with this kind of thinking
with this kind of interpretation why
because we are primarily a maths and
science oriented we come from that kind
of education so what does that teach us
one problem one solution that is a major
thing if you look at a question paper
what typically happens is that there is
only what got one right answer and what
is that right also the right answers
whatever the teacher has has you know
the right answer so that is what we know
so there’s multiplicity or answers or
interpretations of thinking that is a
little confronting to some people and
who’s the teacher when it comes to
movies the author the director so that
is usually the question of authors
intent versus aesthetic interpretation
now masses in aesthetic interpretation
is a particular emotional experience and
understanding of art which we just you
know showed with these examples there
are some people who fall squarely the
author’s intent category when they say
the only meaning of anything is what the
author said what the director said what
the writer said what the painter said
that is the only meaning and there is no
other meaning which is one camp I’m not
saying that is invalid but I do not
subscribe to that for the simple reason
is that unlike painting unlike writing
film is not done by one person it is a
collective endeavor and whatever they
also direct
had in mind at the beginning while the
film was being conceived go through a
number of iterations and as each person
steps in to collaborate the
cinematographer the editor the so-and-so
their costume designer the prison
gradually are not saying it changes but
it kind of shifts form and shape into a
something which the author may not have
originally had in mind so that is one
thing so the second thing is also that
it is very difficult do I know what the
author had in mind under stalker is
sitting right next you and whispering
off to each scene okay this is what I
meant okay this is what I meant by the
scene that is what happening even if you
see a director’s commentary which
happens in a DVD and things like that
they will be sitting back and talking
about maybe certain scenes they are not
sitting and explaining each and every
seal each and every shot that is still
something that you have to do so I would
then look at jaws now this is a classic
example of a movie that is hailed for
his great direction rightly so Spielberg
directed it very very well but there is
one particular aspect of this film where
the fish you don’t see the shark all
that much you would so a lot of people
tend to think that that you know it is
basically Spielberg’s genius that he
kept a shark hidden from us because you
know he does not want to you know he
kind of kept the shock he did it just
kind of and he’s using that we don’t
because we don’t see that shark all that
much we imagine it much as a much more
scary thing than it actually is
so he kind of prints that Taran more
than if we actually saw the shark but
what actually happened on the set was
that the shark the mechanical shark that
the bill was malfunctioning so they
could not actually use the shaft at the
build the extent that they could such
people was forced to adopt this method
in order to you know the end pipe by
chance it became this brilliant thing
because we could not see the shock and
therefore we started imagining it so we
don’t really know what happens behind
the scenes of the film enough to gauge
what an author’s intent it is my
contention that is why you know it is
perfectly valid to you know to within
the same framework go with you know
problem solving in terms of it
rotation let us serve there are some
places where offer very intense still
matter so I’m not saying that the
author’s intent is completely invalid or
it doesn’t matter at all now let us take
painting because when we talk of
painting what we’re talking about in
relation to cinema is a single framer
say the most 24 frames per second a
painting is one single frame and this is
a painting a classic painting called
suffer at Emmaus it was by the Danish
Renaissance painter Caravaggio which
depicts it’s a freeze-frame of the
moment where two disciple two apostles
of Christ this is after the the
crucifixion they invite a stranger to
supper and when the stranger breaks
bread and blesses the bread he discovers
that they discover that oh my god this
is no stranger this is actually Christ
himself he has been resurrected and that
is when this happened so that is the
mouth and that is the seal being shown
so basically you have Christ at the
center the two disciples here and the
innkeeper who doesn’t understand what’s
happening and he’s behind now if you
look at it you you look at the things so
that freezes the one precise moment
right the the if you look at it look at
it in terms of technique the whole flame
is lit by a single beam of harsh light
that’s coming on from the outside in and
it illuminates Christ’s face and from
there the other faces are being
illuminated that’s one thing yeah so
that’s like like the flash of
recognition the flash of light you know
lightning that comes to us when oh my
god this is what it really is that’s
happening in this in his painting then
if we look at it Christ has no beard
he’s usually represented with a beard so
we don’t recognize this person as Christ
because he’s and he seems like a
stranger that is and therefore they
don’t recognize them as Christ eyes so
that’s going on here then if we look at
it you know all the A’s is written like
in the last supper but they’re not other
bitchy
you have all the people’s eyes this
person this person this person they’re
all looking towards cracker all is
asleep towards him and even the doubter
the innkeeper was not really clued in
he he he shabu falls behind Christ and
forms a kind of halo so that’s again a
connection being made then and look at
the technique the actual
of the people here they have very motion
whereas this person is still that is
something that’s happening here and
don’t expect this over you have you have
to understand one thing which is like
this was the period of the
counter-reformation
the sixteenth century when the Catholic
Church was was creating lots of works of
art in order to counter the onslaught of
Protestantism so what happened was they
wanted to they wanted painters and
sculptors and all these people they
wanted people not just to believe or eat
these stories from the Bible themselves
into these stories participate in these
stories and you know become part of
these stories and how do you do that how
do you make people enter like something
like a painting that’s what Caravaggio’s
genius comes in see usually a canvas is
a division between our world and the
pain and the world of the painting right
it’s interesting so if you see a sunset
we ever hear the sunset is miles and
miles and miles away so there’s a huge
distance between what is here and what
is there and the pain now when I talk of
canvas also keep thinking in your mind
that I’m also talking about a cinema
screen but what what Caravaggio does is
that he forces because he his wall is
just a few feet away from the canvas the
whole thing seems to be pushed forward
towards us so so that that’s again
something that that he did which is
looked up artists make us participate in
this in this whole thing so that the
this person’s hand if you look at it
it’s coming out of the frame that’s
coming out of the this one itself even
that person’s elbow is coming out of the
same hand you know the they didn’t
keeper again is kind of amount that so
so what I wanted to say what this is
basically with this we kind of get into
the zone of interpretation or lateral
thinking which is very very helpful I
think I think when we kind of look at
look at films it helps us expand our
thoughts and also builds on the
literature
the film so along with like four inches
when you look at literature nobody knows
what shakes video he thought went when
when he wrote Hamlet it was just
basically kind of you know something
that that’s there but over the years the
number of layers that have added to it
have kind of you know enriched the world
and I think that that this kind of
lateral thinking this kind of
interpretation enriches a film much more
than what the original text is thank you [Applause]
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