[1] Moving images are so pervasive ∈ our lives today
that it is hard to imagine a time when people did without
them. They’ve become an essential element ∈ the way we
[4] communicate, the way we think. They’ve certainly
influenced every other form of art ∈ some way.
When photography was invented ∈1839, many
[7] artists were repulsed by the new phenomenon. The visual
arts of painting and sculpture had reigned for millennia. A
painting wasn’t just a reproduction — it transformed the
[10] objective reality which it portrayed into something new, a
result which contained a mysterious quality that, for lack of
a better phrase, was a part of the artist’s soul. The new
[13] invention, which reflected reality back to us through a
mechanical device, seemed cold and frightening.
People have always remembered, and tried to
[16] preserve and transmit their memories through time. History
was recorded through the written word. The wisdom of the
past was transmitted through the myth, the story, and later
[19] the epic poem, drama and novel.
I doubt if I am the only person who, while
watching an old movie, has had the morbid thought occur
[22] to him that “Everyone ∈ the film is dead now”. Yet, they
are still on the screen, moving, laughing, dancing, just as
they did when alive.
[25] The Lumieres began to show their short films ∈
1895. They were a sensation. Imagine if you can the
astonishment experienced by the audiences, to see a
[28] projected moving image on a large screen. One effect was
fright. It is said that when the Lumieres showed their film of
the arrival of a train at a station, the audience jumped back
[31] from the screen as if they were going to be run over by the
oncoming train.
Internet: <www.cinescene.com> (adapted).
Based on the text above, judge the following item.
The author of the text believes he is the only person who thinks that people shown ∈ old films are already dead.
