Supernaturalisms: The Magical Naturalism of Contemporary Media
Date
2009-06-06
Authors
Thurtle, Phillip
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture
Abstract
Many commentators have remarked upon the recent proliferation of animated content in film, WWW, and television. What especially interests me, however, is how animation priviliges new relationships between the phenomenology of time and space and epistemology. For instance, animation often eschews the detailed descriptions of traditional realism in order to explore how transformations come about, how change happens. This ability to depict change contributes to a media ecology that is simultaneously super (in that it depicts what might come to pass as opposed to what is) as well as natural (in that it substantiates these depictions as a more satisfying portrayal of natural processes). This paper explores these emergent relationships by mapping the uses of animation in evolutionary and developmental biology research and superhero movies and comics.
Description
Keywords
supernaturalisms, magical naturalism, contemporary media, animation, media ecology, animation in biology, phenomenology, epistemology
Citation
Thurtle, Phillip. "Supernaturalisms: The Magical Naturalism of Contemporary Media." Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture, Victoria, B.C.6 June 2009. Presentation.