"Although not new to the 21st century, the use of nonlinear time in films and television programs has been growing and becoming more sophisticated, in part because of the increasing sophistication of storytellers as well as viewers who are increasingly well-versed in and accepting of different temporal concepts. Martha Nochimson explores the use of circular, parallel, and multi-directional time in contemporary entertainment by examining various films and television programs that tell their stories in a nonlinear fashion. She draws on quantum physics, Vedic religion, and Esoteric philosophy as well as interviews with many of the creators, such as David Lynch and Damon Lindelof, to explain how to understand these nonlinear stories based on an evolving understanding of the universe. Although elements of David Lynch's nonlinear storytelling were present in the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, which he wrote in tension with co-creator Mark Frost's more Newtonian viewpoint, his philosophy of time and existencewas more fully executed in the revived Twin Peaks's third season, which Nochimson begins with. From there, she explores the films The Tree of Life, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Cloud Atlas, BlacKkKlansman, and Arrival and programs The OA, Russian Doll, The Romanoffs, Westworld, and Watchmen. Throughout she examines how these stories' nonlinear presentation--often with multiple timelines, multiple versions of the same character, and post-Newtonian examples of cause and effect--intersect withideas from quantum theory and philosophy to create challenging, yet rewarding, narratives that open audiences' minds to the possibilities of storytelling in a nonteleological, non-Newtonian world"-- Provided by publisher.
An exploration of how nonlinear storytelling opens a post Newtonian reality and changes both the hero’s journey and how we understand history in film and television
Arvustused
"Quantum Screens is original and its scholarship scrupulous. It is an important, well-argued, and exceedingly well-written book that could change the way we look at cinema. - David Cook, author of A History of Narrative Film
"This is a fascinating book about the intersection of some aspects of science, especially quantum physics, and art, in particular film and television shows. Nochimson's beautiful conceptualization of the creative accomplishments of cinema and television, in their affinity with and grounding in the new and strange nature of reality that is theorized by mathematics and physics, resets and enlarges our understanding of the achievements of both science and art. There really is nothing quite like it in the field." - Jason Jacobs, author of The Intimate Screen
"The author's analysis of episodes 17 and 18 of The Return, in particular, is riveting." - The Film Stage
List of Illustrations
Introduction. Intersections: What Would Einstein Do?
Part I. The Heros Nonlinear Journey
Chapter
1. David Lynch and Unmanifest Destiny: Twin Peaks 3
Chapter
2. Terrence Malicks Nonlinear Book of Job: The Tree of Life
Chapter
3. Outsiders, Forking Paths, Healing Oxymorons: The OA, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Part II. Nonlinear Historical
Chapter
4. History Dont Teach: The Nonlinear Heritage Society: The
Romanoffs, Cloud Atlas, BlacKkKlansman
Chapter
5. Teleology Unstuck: The Not-So-Grand Narrative: Westworld,
Arrival
Chapter
6. Journeys End: Watchmen
Afterword. Real and Fictive, Scientific and Poetic
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Mediography
Index
Martha P. Nochimson is a professor emerita of Mercy University, and a former adjunct professor at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She is among the adjunct faculty of the David Lynch Graduate Program for Cinematic Arts at the Maharishi International University. She is the author of No End to Her: Soap Opera and the Female Subject; The Passion of David Lynch: Wild at Heart in Hollywood; David Lynch Swerves: Uncertainty from Lost Highway to Inland Empire; and Television Rewired: The Rise of the Auteur Series.
