Even in an age when the photograph has changed from a physical object into a data file that can be easily manipulated, we tend to believe what we see. But photographs can and do lie. As an object in a film, a photograph's meaning and function can be even more malleable and deceiving, as new developments in technology are altering how we perceive reality. In Reel Photos: Balancing Art and Truth in Contemporary Film, Wendy Sterba examines the use of photographs in cinema to explore issues of objectivity, subjectivity, fabrication, and fact. This study first looks at the traditional use of the photograph in films such as Blow-Up and then considers similar issues as they relate to the search for truth in detective films like Along Came a Spider, The Bone Collector, and Forgotten. Subsequent chapters explore ambivalence and photographic objectification in films about art photography, including The Governess, Fur, and Closer. Other movies discussed include Inception, Paparazzi, Under Fire, and Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture. By examining the function of the photograph in movies rather than the role of film photography as art, Sterba provides an innovative approach to cinema studies. Utilizing theory in an intelligent but easily understandable way, this book allows readers to re-examine the role of authorship and the value of authentic art. Reel Photos will appeal to students and scholars of cinema, as well as anyone interested in the aesthetics of art and truth in film.
1.1 Painting and dress in Blowup. 1.2 The blowup in Blowup. 1.3 Viewing the body in Blowup. 1.4 Woman in the park in Blowup. 1.5 Quizzical expression in Blowup. 1.6 Downcast look in Blowup. 2.1 First bathtub scene in Love Crimes. 2.2 Child Dana viewing sex games in Love Crimes. 2.3 Framing of second bathtub scene in Love Crimes. 2.4 Reverse shot of second tub scene in Love Crimes. 2.5 Burning bath Polaroids in Love Crimes. 2.6 Reverse shot of burning photos in Love Crimes. 3.1 Police evidence in L.A. Confidential. 3.2 Detective Cross discovers a missing photo in Along Came a Spider. 3.3 New sincerity in Nancy Drew. 3.4 Beam of light photo in Femme Fatale. 3.5 Femme Fatale's photographic mural. 3.6 Deckard's photos in Blade Runner. 4.1 Wolf man mask from Fur. 4.2 Gloved hand covering Diane's eyes from Fur. 4.3 Wolf man-style publicity poster of Lionel from Fur. 5.1 Mona Lisa eyes by da Vinci. 5.2 George's Mona Lisa eyes in Mona Lisa. 5.3 Simone's Mona Lisa eyes in Mona Lisa. 5.4 Polaroid of drinking tea in Mona Lisa. 5.5 Real versus plastic spaghetti in Mona Lisa. 5.6 Cathy with a red bow in Mona Lisa. 5.7 Simone as object of desire in Mona Lisa. 5.8 Mona Lisa on the fridge in Mona Lisa. 6.1 Rosina's eye behind the camera in The Governess. 6.2 Rosina with veil in The Governess. 7.1 Crime scene photos in Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture. 7.2 Close-ups of crime in Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture. 7.3 Watches in Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture. 7.4 Photographic manipulation in Paparazzi. 7.5 The panopticon in Enemy of the State. 7.6 Laramie empowered in Paparazzi. 8.1 Stills for carnal loop in Invisible Adversaries. 8.2 Comparison shots: removing impurities in Invisible Adversaries. 8.3 Comparison shots: fish and body prep in Invisible Adversaries. 8.4 Comparison shots: fish and gerbil in Invisible Adversaries. 8.5 Comparison shots: roll and turtle in Invisible Adversaries. 8.6 Invisible Adversaries' video of Botticelli's Primavera. 8.7 Three contorted graces in Invisible Adversaries. 8.8 Holy icons of modernity in Invisible Adversaries. 8.9 Paper photos on real fountain in Invisible Adversaries. 8.10 Future and present scientists in 12 Monkeys. 10.1 Gary amid Venere bus ads in The Good Night. 10.2 Gary and Dora in the past in The Good Night. 10.3 Mel's bedside table in The Good Night.
