The Changing Face of the Past. Immersion, Virtuality and the Light Born(e) Image. A Dialogue with Tom Gunning

Abstract

Dialogue with Tom Gunning about the concepts of immersion and virtuality in the history of audiovisual media. Gunning proposes some theoretical reflections on the cinematographic device and its immersive character, while also emphasising the meaning of the word “virtual” as potential. The dialogue delves into 19th-century technologies and spectacles such as the panorama and the phantasmagoria and genres and exhibition practices of early cinema such as Hale’s Tours or the phantom rides. The practice of history and the tendency to recognise the present in the past are also some of the questions addressed. Finally, the contemporary experience of cinema is discussed and some current work in the field of experimental cinema is mentioned.