Most writings on the subject of motion pictures, including those scrutinizing the structural characteristics, aesthetic qualities, and effects of motion pictures on audiences, have traditionally been relatively abstract and have not considered what a filmʼs audiences actually see. In fact, various external factors intervene between the filmmakerʼs intent of a film and, consequently, the viewerʼs perception of it.
In the process of distribution, a film can be mutilated in many ways. The damage is most obvious when films in one language are shown to audiences that speak a different language. Subtitling may be simply incompetent, full of mistakes, or used for actual censorship. Dubbing—a significantly more profound intervention—can be even original titles, a practice that often creates false expectations and distorts the works intent.
When a film is shown on television or video, it suffers the most extensive deformations. In addition to causing a loss of image size and definition, current mass-market television and video technology is harmful in other ways. These intrusions include advertisements that break the intended continuity, the superimposition of images—such as station obtain more commercial time, are almost imperceptible but nonetheless detrimental to the integrity of a film.
It seems that audiences and even most film critics have tacitly accepted this situation—they rarely speak about it. This may be partly because of the special nature of film. In many other arts it is obvious that reproductions of a work are not the work itself, and they are not treated as expectations with regard to the more or less faulty versions that are often available to viewers.
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