This week many of my classes have looked at how the nature of the media industry has changed, and is continuously changing. This idea was also reflected in this week’s film for Cinema Studies Holy Motors, which while an incredibly perplexing film, many scholars believe to be about the death of cinema.

After reading many articles about the film, trying to understand what director Leos Carax was attempting to say, I found myself disagreeing with the common argument that cinema was dead as a result of new technology. Sure, technological advancements have meant that the nature of film has changed. Films can now be enjoyed at home rather than in movie theatres, and more and more of these movies are being shot digitally rather than on physical film. But this doesn’t mean cinema is dead. It’s simply a sign that cinema is evolving with the times. Throughout the history of cinema, new technologies have been introduced that some claimed would kill the art form. And perhaps these new technologies will mean the production of some fairly ordinary films. Just as when sound was introduced and filmmakers weren’t entirely sure how it should be used, resulting in actors talking into microphones hidden in flower vases and the like. But much like as was the case with sound, the introduction of new technologies present new exciting opportunities as well as these challenges.

It’s not a matter of whether technology is good or bad, but how we use it.