Integral Theory has several perspective-taking frameworks or lenses of perception through which we can perceive, experience, and integrate the multiple dimensions of existence. In this series of articles I will be exploring applying these various Integral lenses to the creation and viewing of cinematic media, which I am defining as any media that uses moving (kinetic) images as a means of expression.
Having previously explored the HOLONIC LENS, the QUADRATIC LENS, and the DEVELOPMENTAL LENS , this time we will explore the STATES LENS.
In addition to developmental Lines and Levels, each quadrant also contains STATES, transient shifts in various inner and outer dimensions including experiential states (e.g., psychological, emotional), physical states (e.g., biological, behavioral), relational states (e.g., cultural, communication), and social and environmental system states (e.g., weather, economic).
In a cinematic work, at the most basic level, these various human reality states can be captured and replicated to some degree through text, image, and sound. For example, we can visually and auditorily capture a storm (a weather state), and add the text/story of a person trying to get out of its way, including how this person is reacting (i.e., a fearful emotional state).
A closer look at this process through the States Lens reveals that a cinematic work can have various TEXTUAL STATES, including character emotional states (joy, sadness, etc.), character relationship states (attraction, aversion, etc.), and narrative event states (suspense, ambiguity, etc.). There are also VISUAL STATES (visual contrast or affinity, static imagery, frenetic movement, etc.); AUDITORY STATES (harmony, dissonance, silence, etc.); and TEMPORAL STATES (linear time, nonlinear time, flashbacks, etc.).
These four general categories of states correlate to the four quadrants when we look at a cinematic work from the perspective of its Constructed Cinematic Reality, or the level at which we are immersed in its projected world. From this perspective, we tend to perceive the image as the primary objective dimension. The text tends to be perceived as the invisible interior (subjective) dimension that animates and emanates from this observable visual world, giving it its meaning, purpose, value, and emotional context. The dimension of sound is primarily experienced as an invisible force that extends the invisible interior emotional and meaning dimension of text beyond the screen and into our subjective experiential field, establishing a shared intersubjective relationship between our interior and the interior dimensions of the Constructed Cinematic Reality. The dimension of time is generally experienced as the observable systemic (interobjective) unfolding of the Constructed Cinematic Reality (Kaplan, 2010).
When these four realms of cinematic reality states are combined in a skillful way by the cinematic artist, their coordinated expression can replicate the multidimensional sensory stimulation of actual lived-experience, and in so doing heighten and transform the cinematic experience into a deeply immersive state-inducing experience for the viewer. This process is what Russian film theorist Sergei Eisenstein referred to as the synchronization of the senses (For more on this see my 2010 JITP article Toward an Integral Cinema).
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The Fountain (2006) and the Synchronization of Textual, Visual, Auditory, and Temporal Cinematic States. |
A recent example of this cinematic-reality-state sensory-synchronization process can be seen in the feature film The Fountain (2006), in which the main character is transported into a profound other-worldly state experience that is supported by corresponding visual, auditory, and temporal cinematic state structures, giving the audience a multi-dimensional felt-sense of the character’s inner-state journey.
The States Lens is one of the most important Lenses, in that it is the gateway to understanding and mastering the immersive potential of the cinema. In and of themselves, individual cinematic states and their combination into Sensory Synchronization States have the capacity for powerful audience state induction; when masterfully combined with the other Lenses of cinematic perception and expression, they have the potential to powerfully effect individual and collective perception and behavior for both higher and lower purposes, from commercial and political propaganda to the catalyzing of shifts in stages of human development and the evolution of both individual and collective consciousness.
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Whether you know it or not, you are an evolutionary artist. All of us are already participating in a great dance of creativity, each in our own unique way. Our journey as evolutionary artists touches every aspect of our lives—from the words we choose, to the beauty we create, to the love we make.
That's why we are truly delighted to invite you to Integral Spiritual Experience Year 3: Kosmic Creativity on December 28th, 2011 - January 1st, 2012, at Asilomar Retreat Center in Pacific Grove, California. Featuring some of the world's most leading-edge spiritual teachers, artists, activists, and visionaries, we will be joined by the integral evolutionary community from over 30 countries world-wide. And we want you to be a part of this extraordinary experience!
For a limited time, when you register for ISE 3 you'll receive $300 off the regular price. We are only able to offer this Economy Rebate for a limited time, so please register by September 28th to take advantage and attend the biggest integral creativity event on the planet!
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tendencies
Posted September 23rd, 2011 by Ambo SunoHi, Mark, as usual I appreciate your laying out of an integral way to understand cinema, and, if one is working and playing at this endeavor or industry, probably useful in filling out the experience for viewers.
A few things came foreground for me as I read. I liked that you used qualifying words like "tends to" as you work to assign a feature of our perception and the technology to a quadrant. For example, "we tend to perceive the image as the primary objective dimension.", "The text tends to be perceived as the invisible interior (subjective) dimension that animates and emanates from this observable visual world, giving it its meaning, purpose, value, and emotional context." and "The dimension of sound is primarily [italics mine] experienced as...". It may seem to some people that it's a lot neater and more certain, confident, and actually represents big Truth if the way things work are presented as categorical - this goes here, this here, this here and this over here. This manner of thinking and communicating often reminds me of how children crayon within the lines, making a bold line around the boundary. It seems to me that some people however have heard that at integral stages we stop verbally qualifying in honor of the plurality of things and factors, and they maybe believe that speaking in that assertive and declarative way as though plurality and complexity of bits, pieces and interimbueings have been transcended and included within a higher truth into which they have entered. We are integral thinkers after all - we speak the condensed version.
Another emphasis of yours that connected fully with me is the phenomenon of immersion - you brought that foreground as a central current that runs through states of experience.
As an aside, I wanted to like The Fountain as I heard how integrally meaningful it was. Alas, I apparently hadn't arrived yet because ... well, I'm not sure I can sort out yet why it didn't resonate and capture me. At first guess, I'd have to say that my tastes and maybe conditioning are pedestrian.
Thanks for making the effort to post your work here.
ambo