I'd be curious to trace this back even further than movies. Prior to motion pictures, what sorts of story-telling formats were used? What lengths did they tend to span? And how did they affect attention spans?
I think the obvious precursor is theater. I wonder about thinking as far back as cultural storytelling traditions outside of that, too... like sitting around campfires telling stories, etc.
Different storytelling formats affect attention differently, though, too, so it does become more complex. Movies are more stimulating than hearing someone tell stories around a campfire.
This is a really interesting thought, Linda! Even thinking about the theater, I wonder when they first implemented an intermission? I know movie theaters did this at one point as well. Some of that was logistical; i.e., costume change, makeup, reel change, etc. It would be interesting to dig into that history. Thanks for sharing this!
Good point about the intermission. I'd also argue that there's something different in theater vs. movies in that the audience interacts with and affects the actors during it. The more the audience responds in laughter, gasping, etc, the more the actors draw energy from that, and it actually affects how they act. Whereas for any pre-recorded format (movie, radio show, etc) that won't be a factor. So theater may be more participatory in that sense. (Same for in-person storytelling, etc... although that will also demand that the audience engages their imagination a lot more since it's just a story being told rather than acted out in front of them. I can still remember my 5th grade teacher reading The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles to us, though, because she did it in such a lively way.)
I'd be curious to trace this back even further than movies. Prior to motion pictures, what sorts of story-telling formats were used? What lengths did they tend to span? And how did they affect attention spans?
I think the obvious precursor is theater. I wonder about thinking as far back as cultural storytelling traditions outside of that, too... like sitting around campfires telling stories, etc.
Different storytelling formats affect attention differently, though, too, so it does become more complex. Movies are more stimulating than hearing someone tell stories around a campfire.
This is a really interesting thought, Linda! Even thinking about the theater, I wonder when they first implemented an intermission? I know movie theaters did this at one point as well. Some of that was logistical; i.e., costume change, makeup, reel change, etc. It would be interesting to dig into that history. Thanks for sharing this!
Good point about the intermission. I'd also argue that there's something different in theater vs. movies in that the audience interacts with and affects the actors during it. The more the audience responds in laughter, gasping, etc, the more the actors draw energy from that, and it actually affects how they act. Whereas for any pre-recorded format (movie, radio show, etc) that won't be a factor. So theater may be more participatory in that sense. (Same for in-person storytelling, etc... although that will also demand that the audience engages their imagination a lot more since it's just a story being told rather than acted out in front of them. I can still remember my 5th grade teacher reading The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles to us, though, because she did it in such a lively way.)