Introduction
The science fiction movie La Jetee, directed by Chris Marker in 1962, challenges viewers’ perceptions of and ideas about science fiction. The entire film was constructed using still photos in black and white with an audio track and transitions that go with the movie’s visuals to bring out different forms of science and technology. This film analysis hypothesizes that movies look for new scientific and technological advancements to freely predict the techno-social shifts that would shock viewers’ sense of cultural propriety and broaden their consciousness.
Conceptual Framework of Film
La Jetee is an experimental time-travel movie, yet the static pictures dramatically contrast movement and time. The article will expound on how the film has been integrated to outline the nature of science fiction. Elements in the film, such as the illusion of movement and time-lapse, fade-Ins, fade-outs, and dissolves, will be employed to differentiate the forms of science fiction presented. The article by Duana is significant as it expounds on empty shots in films that are ideal in science fiction analysis in the form of sound. The other article by MaryAnn is significant as it uncovers substantial indexicality in the film’s study of motion and movement.
The illusion of Movement and Time Lapse
La Jetée is made nearly entirely of optically printed images combined into a rhythmic photomontage. Due to Marker’s limited financial resources, the film only has one quick motion picture camera shot—of the woman who was previously mentioned sleeping and then abruptly waking up. A Pentax Spotmatic was used to capture the still images, while a 35 mm Arriflex was used to capture the motion picture part. The video’s dialogue consists of small excerpts of grumbling Germans and chats among travelers in an airport terminal. The suspense is increased throughout the entire film by La Jetée’s editing. The use of cut-ins and fade-outs contributes to the idea of the catastrophic destruction caused by World War III.
La Jetee’s drama is mainly focused on the main character, who appears to be living post-World War II Paris. At the time, the male protagonist is a hostage of some unnamed kidnappers. Additionally, he participates in various studies that attempt to find a solution to the issues of the present by looking to the future1. Finally, however, the protagonist finds himself transported back to his childhood memories while attempting to complete his job. Therefore, this article’s primary focus is on how the viewer and the characters in the film perceive the appearance of movement and time-lapse as a form of science fiction.
In the film, the male lead in La Jetee witnesses a man die as he tries to catch up with the woman he just saw. The image of the woman’s face leaves a lasting effect on the male protagonist. It has a significant meaning since it foreshadows the events the male character will experience as the movie draws closer. The film also depicts how the young man eventually falls in love with the woman he first saw in his visions as he matures and meets her. The protagonists are also seen to be stuck in time in the movie’s second scene when they visit the museum. It means humans can borrow information and images from science fiction novels and books and apply it to their lives.
Fade-Ins, Fade-Outs, and Dissolves in the Film
A photo that looks moving throughout the scene of the damaged buildings is just a static picture moving, creating an optical illusion. Through zoom-ins primarily, the film repeatedly makes the appearance of movement. La Jetee depicts the tale of a guy who, without realizing it, witnesses his death as a child. He lives his life (supposedly), only to discover that the recollection of his death is the event that has defined his whole life. La Jetee is an existentialist story about inevitable death and hopeless existence from a philosophical perspective. Time lapses were required to show how scenes transitioned into one another and which era the main character was in throughout each set2. Since the future is based on previous occurrences, it is the only thing that can be destroyed. People have a wide range of theories to assist them in solving difficulties since science fiction is founded on scientific principles.
Relating the Evidence in the Film to Hypothesis
The movie effectively illustrates how the story’s audience and characters experience the illusion of motion and time-lapse. The movie’s characters appear to be stuck in time; for instance, a young male character is standing on the pier when the film starts. Furthermore, something is left in the character’s memory when he sees a woman as his inspiration. In addition, science fiction may be used to explore aspirations and concepts that individuals can realize via their imaginations and curiosities and connections to other views that have the potential to help solve issues in their daily lives. But, on the other hand, the genre has been primarily perceived to accord to the worldview of contemporary science, in attitude and vision, if not in actual specifics of mainstream knowledge3. It suggests that even if a standard part of science fiction was time travel, science fiction is a tool to learn technology and science since it aids problem-solving.
Time-lapse and movement have also been incorporated based on how the movie has been edited. It is vital to note that fade-ins, fade-outs, and dissolves were mainly employed in the film to give viewers the impression that time had passed while they were watching. Additionally, these three techniques can be utilized to imply a considerably longer time gap because they are more progressive and transitional than cuts4. So as to provide a visual environment that may otherwise seem stationary, the impression of time passing and dissolving is frequently used in the movie. Although they are not as often utilized as dissolves in the film, fade-outs and fade-ins are used when there are longer transitions between the various parts of the movie. Another significant aspect regarding these techniques is that dissolves, which seem more dynamic than fade-ins and fade-outs, can be used to successfully lengthen the supposed mental break in the movie between the frames to bring in science fiction.
Effect of Sound on the Film
La Jetee’s use of sound also significantly contributes to the appearance of movement and time-lapse since it enables viewers to confirm the passage of time or the presence. The sound is the only aspect in the movie that is continuous, which is a significant remark for the viewer. As a result, it serves as the movie’s primary source of rhythm and temporality. Voice may be heard in three distinct ways: as a soundtrack, voiceover narration, and sound effects. The movie’s sound effects are mainly sparse and are utilized to simulate many recognizable notions, including footsteps or airport noises. The sound is generally coordinated with dissolve. Filmmakers have been able to construct some sense of mental rhythm and continuity through the sound and visual editing that has been done to the film. It is clear that the movie tends to create an overall feeling of time and place as the primary plot shifts from the past to the present
The movie’s soundtrack plays a crucial part as the editing framework that helps shape the many mental transitions between the scenes of the tale. It is well illustrated in the movie in the scene where the protagonist is in his past. At this point, the movie’s soundtrack is presented to accompany the voiceover. And when the protagonist falters back from tiredness, it seems like a shot of a woman’s face fades to his face as he is being transported to the lab5. When the character is disintegrated, the music stops playing; however, it resumes when the scientists send the feeling back in time. Concerning this, it is crucial to remember that the sequence typically serves as a means of maintaining visual coherence. This is because the identical woman’s face reappears in the following scene when the man’s face disappears from the laboratory. Despite the related temporal and spatial disturbances and the immobility of the film’s pictures, this scene typically maintains the sense of time lapses and movement.
Voice acting or direct analogy between characters is not used in the movie. However, a few voices can be made out conversing. However, as they frequently overlap with one another and the movie’s voiceover, they give the impression of being incomprehensible and inaudible. The male lead character in the film tries to speak to the woman at one point. However, he does not convey his message in a manly manner. In addition, the speech is not delivered directly by the narrator. Instead, the narrator emphasizes that the character hears him provide the speech’s main arguments6. Here, it is clear that the character interprets his own words indirectly and that there is a false sense of time passing, during which the main character appears to be removing him from the situation. It gives the impression that the main character usually observes his reality distantly. According to Duana, persons living in the present walk on a plane rather than a line as they go through time. 7 Since the word “plane” is used, it implies that their life happenings must be written on a blank page. The term “line” refers to a previously constructed timeline using historical data. This is how the past may be separated from the present and how a character can separate them from the present.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the hypothesis has proven valid throughout the movie analysis. The film has outlined the advanced use of science fiction, evidenced by the conceptual frameworks and the theory portrayed in the movie. For example, the illusion of movement and time-lapse are two science fiction elements used in the 1962 film La Jetee that mimic people’s everyday interactions with chemistry, physics, and the idea of time travel. Characters in the movie are frequently stuck in time, and the film’s static imagery similarly imprisons viewers. However, the film’s use of zoom-ins and zoom-outs over the whole running time allows it to create a sense of movement. In addition, the lack of direct dialogues and discussions among the characters in the film is used to show the film’s illusion of time-lapse. Other aspects of the film that enhance its movement and time-lapse illusions include fade-outs, fade-ins, and dissolves, and the use of sound to create an illusion of motion in the audience’s minds.
This science fiction movie lets the spectator imagine time-lapse and movement throughout the film. However, such time lapses and illusions demonstrate to the audience how science fiction may be used to illustrate how a person’s present life might be affected by a new viewpoint on time and time travel. It demonstrates how individuals can draw lessons from the past and find solutions to their issues. It implies that they can temporarily lose themselves and become stuck to view a situation differently. Numerous sci-fi elements in the film La Jetee demonstrate to viewers that issues may be overcome.
Bibliography
Doane, Mary Ann. “Indexicality: Trace and Sign: Introduction.” differences 18, no. 1 (2007): 1–6. Web.
Duan, Siying. “Thinking, Feeling and Experiencing the ‘Empty Shot’ in Cinema.” Film-Philosophy 25, no. 3 (2021): 346–61. Web.
Navas, Eduardo, Owen Gallagher, and Xtine Burrough. The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities. 1st Ed. New York: Routledge, 2021.
Serious Feather “La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962).” Vimeo, 2022. Web.
Footnotes
- Serious Feather, “La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962),” Vimeo, 2021, Web.
- Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher, and xtine Burrough, The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities, 1st ed. (New York: Routledge, 2021).
- Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher, and xtine Burrough, The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities, 1st ed. (New York: Routledge, 2021).
- Siying Duan, “Thinking, Feeling and experiencing the ‘Empty Shot’ in Cinema,” Film-Philosophy 25, no. 3 (2021): p. 350
- Serious Feather, “La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962),” Vimeo, 2021, Web.
- M. A. Doane, “Indexicality: Trace and Sign: Introduction,” Differences 18, no. 1 (2007): 1–6, Web.
- Siying Duan, “Thinking, Feeling and experiencing the ‘Empty Shot’ in Cinema,” Film-Philosophy 25, no. 3 (2021): p. 350