I'm working on an essay exploring possible conceptual and theoretical justifications for a step many of us are forced to for purely expedient reasons, namely using the video medium [whether LDs or tapes or TV is really irrelevant here] for looking at, examing, and teaching movies. The conventional wisdom, of course, is that such expedience is totally indefensible, and those who do it are either villains, charlatans, or fools. CINEMA JOURNAL and the Society for Cinema Studies have--in a document forged by a group headed by John Belton-- formulated a policy repudiating the use of video. And Bruce Kawin (of U.Colorado/Boulder and author of HOW MOVIES WORK--a smart book)is even more violently opposed. One understands why. There is the matter or resolution, the problem of aspect ratio, screen size, color saturation, etc. etc. There is even the . . . shall I say "unusual" view of Vlada Petric (world's leading post-contructivist, frumious disciple of Dziga Vertov [and Sergei E] and retiring head of the Harvard Film Archive) for whom the actual flicker created only by the appearance of an instant of black between every exposure of the frame on the screen is ESSENTIAL to the proper kinesthetic experience of film, absolutely regardless of the film's content or structure, and without which one is not experiencing anything remotely like cinema. No doubt there is truth in all these positions. Still it seems to me that watching a film on video might be liekened to reading a text in translation--you don't get the original but you get something, and depending on what you're loking for, what you get might prove reasonably adequate. The issue of translation in general, even the question of the possibility of translation, is enormously complex, and it is my purpose to work through it and see how it might apply to the film/video debate--so I don't want to explore it fully just now (though I'd be happy to share some speculations with anyone who expresses an interest.) For the moment, though, I'm curious about others' ideas on these issues. Are there objections other than the ones summarized above? Do list subscribers who use video have a rationale for doing so, or do they simpy find it an unavoidable evil? Are there some aspects of cinema that come through on video more completely than others? ANY thoughts on this vexed question, whether preliminary and inchoate or fully developed and ramified, will be lovingly appreciated. Mike Frank English Dept. Bentley Col. Waltham, MA 02154 <[log in to unmask]> ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]