Myth, Atmosphere, Territory: a Cinematographic Hypothesis of the Name 'America'

Abstract

This article offers a philosophical exploration of the concept of cinematographic territory. It draws on the concept of territory formulated by Deleuze and Guattari to propose that cinematographic territory is not a montage of spatial, geographical or scenic features with a diegetic or representative function, but an effect of appropriation and presence that occurs when the mise-en-scene, by means of a feature referred to here as cinematographic atmosphere, gives rise to a cosmic drama. All territorial human appropriation implies the endowment of a place or topos with a proper name, but this endowment also signifies a mythical foundation. Cinematographic territory is mythical because the identification of expressive forces that it brings together involves the vindication of, or the search for, a foundational name. The proper name that links cinema to political history would thus be America, which is not only a landmass or a contentious cultural reality, but a cinematographic myth with multiple variations.