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Country |
AUS |
Affliliation |
Monash University, Australia |
Biography |
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Paper title |
Fata Morgana: the cinema of ghostly duplications |
Abstract |
This paper will be pesented by Donna McRae. The proliferation of duplicates from an original template or 'master' is common to printmaking and photography amongst other visual artforms. But while the handmade duplicate cannot transcend its physicality and thus its uniqueness, the photographic duplicate is more a clone than a sibling. In the case of the film actor, the 'master's' relationship to its duplicates is more complex. This paper will argue that the film actor surrenders to a duplication process that spawns a ghostly crew of flickering clones, a legion that is further multiplied by the actor's appearance in different roles. This abundance of spectral duplicates will not only transcend any character differences contained within the actor's range of roles, but will eclipse the real nature of the original. Cinema itself is likened to the Fata Morgana mirage, the phenomenon responsible for the ghost ship illusion, where the 'mastership' is concealed beneath the horizon, leaving only its inverted duplicate(s) projected above. |
Date |
Friday 30 September |
Session |
1:30pm - 3.00pm |
Speaking |
1:40pm |
Michael.Vale@monash.edu |
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Website |
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Dr Michael ValeBack to home page