![]() ![]() First, I wanted to obviously suggest some visual corollaries to Schivelbusch's work. With a time limit of 10-13 minutes, I set two major goals for this work. The panel topic was "The Video Essay" and the panelists (Keathley, myself, Michael Jarrett from Pennsylvania State University York, and University of Pennsylvania's Timothy Corrigan) created short sample films that imagined film studies scholarship as a visual medium. In short, what would the ideas behind The Railway Journey look like as a film instead of a book? What possibilities emerge in visual scholarship?Ĭhristian Keathley of Middlebury College provided me the forum to experiment with the above questions when he organized a panel for the 2006 Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference in Vancouver. My idea with Tracking Theory was to provide a visual, scholarly "illustration" of Schivelbusch's ideas through the medium of film and video. Yet, Schivelbusch's book remains abstract largely because he discusses perceptual changes via a literary medium. Indeed, the perceptual changes suggested by Schivelbusch - the ability to "instantaneously" travel between distant locations, the shrinking and expanding of scale and space, the standardization of time, direct experience replaced by virtual experiences - all see their fulfillment in early cinema. Recommended for rail buffs who will find much of interest and for general readers who may find many personal connections to trains they might not have fully appreciated.Wolfgang Schivelbusch's book The Railway Journey inspired this project In this intellectual history of the railroad's invention, Schivelbusch traces how rail travel radically changed our perception of space and time in the 19th century.Īs a film studies scholar, I was interested in how the railroad's reconfiguration of human perception neatly segued with the temporal and spatial possibilities introduced by cinema's invention in the late 19th century. His work focused as much on the social impact of these trains as on the hardware. Link went to great lengths to chronicle the passing of the great steam trains from the coal country of Appalachia in the 1950s. On the other hand, the discussion of American rail photographer Winston Link may be a pleasant surprise for many readers. ![]() The final chapter dealing with environmental considerations seems particularly labored. ![]() Unfortunately, the narrative sometimes rises to less engaging levels of abstraction, or descends to more detail than seems necessary to make a point. In each of these areas the reader may start building a list of books or films to check out. Throughout, the author uses literature, film, poetry, and art to showcase the many presences of trains in our everyday experience. These explore the train in culture, as a component of the nation-state, as a player in personal stories, as a commercial presence in the economy, and as an ongoing environmental factor. Revill provides what are essentially five extended essays on aspects on railroads. He commends and frequently cites Wolfgang Schivelbusch's excellent social history, The Railway Journey (see my review). The highlight is the fast-paced preface touching on the many connections trains have made with our lives over time. In this wide-ranging and well-illustrated look at railways across the globe, Revill ultimately reveals how central they are to our understanding of modern everyday life.īritish geographer George Revill provides a generally enjoyable and informative read on the role of trains in the world's culture and commerce. As Revill shows, railways inform our everyday language-from fast-track to side-track to going off the rails-and continue to fascinate us today. Revill draws from art, literature, music, and film to illustrate how the railway carries meaning for all of us-creating connections and separations, detachment and involvement-from the routine commuter to the enthusiast. In both practical and symbolic senses the cultural meanings of railways continue to play a role in how people organize and respond to modern environments, social problems, and technologies. In Railway, George Revill examines the technology and politics of railway history, as well as related themes such as mobility, identity, design, marketing, and sustainability. In the twenty-first century, the frustrations of gridlocked traffic, record-high gas prices, and the looming fears of climate change have transformed the railway system once again into a symbol of hope that provides the possibility of an environmentally sustainable future. In the nineteenth century, railways were viewed as a symbol of progress and confidence in technological modernity. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |