{"product_id":"9781501307294","title":"Vertov, Snow, Farocki : Machine Vision and the Posthuman","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eVertov, Snow, Farocki\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): David Tomas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eVertov, Snow, Farocki: Machine Vision and the Posthuman \u003c\/i\u003ebegins with a comprehensive and original anthropological analysis of Vertov's film \u003ci\u003eThe Man With a Movie Camera. \u003c\/i\u003eTomas  then explores the film's various aspects and contributions to media  history and practice through detailed discussions of selected case  studies. The first concerns the way Snow's \u003ci\u003eLa Région Centrale\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDe La\u003c\/i\u003e  extend and\/or develop important theoretical and technical aspects of  Vertov's original film, in particular those aspects that have made the  film so important in the history of cinema. The linkage between Vertov's  film and the works discussed in the case studies also serve to  illustrate the historical and theoretical significance of a comparative  approach of this kind, and illustrate the pertinence of adopting a  'relational approach' to the history of media and its contemporary  practice, an approach that is no longer focused exclusively on the  technical question of the new in contemporary media practices but, in  contrast, situates a work and measures its originality in historical,  intermedia, and ultimately political terms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tomas' ideas are fascinating . . . [and his book] presents these ideas in a measured way, precisely and deliberately considering his key examples. The volume is a must for anyone interested in technology or cinema, or for the greater implications of a society who carries in their pocket the capacity to record and represent the world around them.” —\u003ci\u003eCinema Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Tomas, an artist and anthropologist at the Université du Québec, Montréal, continues the work he undertook in \u003ci\u003eBeyond the Image Machine: A History of Visual Technologies\u003c\/i\u003e, exhorting readers to view visual technologies  differently. In this volume, Tomas attempts to shift attention from  aesthetic products to ritual practices. Specifically, he argues for  understanding the mechanical process of filming as a rite of passage  whereby the image is taken, processed, and reincorporated into the  socio-symbolic order. This ritual structure becomes the basis for a  comparative anthropological study of Dziga Vertov's \u003ci\u003eThe Man with a Movie Camera\u003c\/i\u003e, Michael Snow's \u003ci\u003eLa Région Centrale\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDe La\u003c\/i\u003e, and Harun Farocki's trilogy \u003ci\u003eEye\/Machine\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCounter-Music\u003c\/i\u003e.  The experimental, posthuman processes involved in shooting these unique  films is of primary interest, leading to detailed discussions of the  filmmaker's intentions and abstract theorization of their specific  execution. For this reason, Tomas's esoteric, though intriguing,  revisioning of film's history and future is likely of most use to  experts. \u003cb\u003eSumming Up\u003c\/b\u003e: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.” —\u003ci\u003eCHOICE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781501307294\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40648030355662,"sku":"9781501307294","price":46.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_ff471b0c-273a-4279-93f1-63e4c830d137.jpg?v=1639189924","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781501307294","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}