Journal Entry – Week 2

I believe if I were in the audience of  Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows I would be terrified. It was meant to be spooky as that is what Robertson clearly intended but along with being a normal person, I wouldn’t understand how these would work so it would be all the more realistic to me. It’s also interesting that even people back then also thought they were real and did not want him to continue with the show because of it. It kind of reminds me of 3D or 4D movies which kind of enhance your senses to make the experience of watching a movie way more realistic in your mind. If I saw a scary movie in 3D I would be super terrified as well because I’m very invested in the story but so are my senses so it would feel like I’m truly there, experiencing these frights.

Prompt 3 – Imagining myself as an audience member at one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows in 1797, my reaction would have been a mix of confusion and horror, because during this time period people were not used to seeing this kind of content, especially in an art form. I feel like another form of entertainment that can cause these same reaction/emotions today is the horror genre in movies or even anything, because the viewer won’t fully know what they’re getting into until they experience the whole thing.

Prompt1

Looking at examples of pre-cinema animation from 1450 and early cinema animation 1900, I find it fascinating. From the invention of magic lanterns, praxinoscope etc was achieved to invention and development of motion pictures cameras, projectors etc.

The common is obvious- images in motions. It started as means of entertainment, spread of information, storytelling, engaging human senses(visual, auditory) as well emotions as we can see it in the phatasmagoria. Both pre cinema and early cinema animation are a byproduct of scientific development and social change.

The evolution of machinery, invention of new tools, and themes do set apart the pre and early cinema animation. Magic lanterns were mostly a traveling show, individually hand painted photographic glass slides and the zoetrope was just a motion device. Early cinema animation was stationary, people would travel to theater to experience it. In early cinema we can see animated effects, double exposure, stop motion, lightning sketch, tricks and more other elements to create a short film.

The form of art I have experienced are hand puppets. I have done hand puppet as a project once during elementary school as a project and it was harder than I expected. We had to make the puppet by sewing, our sewing experience doesn’t match up with our creativity. The hardest part was acting. You have to show the emotions of the character based on your voice and mainly the motion of the puppet. This is a little similar to shadow puppets since they both use puppets but shadow puppets seem harder to do. The audience for each of the storytelling are different too. Hand puppets are more for children while shadow puppets are more for older people. Shadow puppets might be harder to understand for children. I have seen a few shadow puppet shows when I was a kid and I did not understand what the story was about.

One form of limited storytelling I’ve seen was on You Tube is sand art https://youtu.be/_jfS2rybDOg. A camera would be faced with a large lit box. The room is dark, and the only thing you see is the sand and artist’s hands. The artist would get a handful of sand and use different movements pouring the sand, placing it sometimes, and using their fingers to make illustration. The art form kind of work is a little bit like charcoal where the artist can put more in certain places to make shadows or pull back to make lighting. The only thing I can think of for me the only limited storytelling is comic strip or little flip book animation sort of like the ones you see the captain underpants books.

If I was an audience member at one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows in 1797, I would be reacting the same as everybody else In the room frightened and scared. All those people at that time weren’t really exposed to watching something so different on new media. This is all new to them and sometimes new things are scary even if they’re not going to hurt you. so, my reaction would also be the same terrified and afraid but after the emotions, I would be very curious since it got such a strong reaction from me.

 I think a form of entertainment that would recreate the same emotions today would be the virtual reality headset. it’s such a new technology in today’s age and when you put on a VR headset everything is fake, but your mind will think it’s real. if you’re climbing a mountain or walking on the edge of a building in VR your brain will automatically think you are doing this in real life and you will end up swaying and becoming afraid.

In 1797, “Fantasmagorie” was a cutting-edge kind of entertainment that employed special effects and projected pictures to produce illusions and spectral appearances. For spectators at the time, who had never witnessed anything like it before, it would have been an entirely unique and thrilling experience. The phantom figures that appeared and vanished on the theater’s walls and ceiling would have astounded and maybe terrified them.

There are various types of entertainment available now that might evoke comparable feelings as “Fantasmagorie.” A contemporary haunted house or haunted attraction might be one illustration. These employ comparable strategies, including animatronics, live performers, and unique lighting and sound effects, in order to elicit feelings of dread and tension. These encounters can be extremely strong and emotional, and some individuals go to these events intentionally to be terrified.

I remember back in my senior year back in 2019 high school and one teacher named miss Nisa, she was our English teacher and took us to broadway to see come from away, which was my first oral storytelling/play of all time, as I was watching the actors do their thing I had really like what they were doing on stage and everything beyond. Furthermore, to play as it get closer to the end I could feel I had a really deep connection to their story, and to which I wanted to see more but I never got a chance to go back. In addition that oral storytelling will live on in my mind forever.

Secondly have seen shadow puppetry plays before that tell a story about how heroes from my country fought for our freedoms, which is amazing, it is just the puppet was ugly and not well maintain.

Another oral storytelling that resembles the cave painting was way back in my childhood years when I and my friends sit down at a bonfire to tell those oral stories and as we told each other stories, we each has to krik krak then as we said we drew something to moves to show it, just like the cave painting.

In the late 1700s, many people witnessed death firsthand due to the French Revolution, leading to a fascination with la mort. But people had yet to see optical illusions of the “Fantasmagorie” caliber, or any at all! If seeing is believing, Gaspard Robertson wanted you to believe you were in the presence of the departed by utilizing optical illusions, mirrors, and smoke. Being an audience member at one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows would have been absolutely terrifying. Seeing ghouls and hearing them play harmonica would’ve made me an assured believer in the afterlife. “Fantasmagorie” proves that although terrifying, people have always enjoyed horror’s rush and heart-stopping effects.

Those who enjoy similar effects today tend to frequent haunted houses during Halloween or even haunted mazes. You may prefer a more immersive experience, such as an escape room. I am a fan of escape rooms, as they add the extra element of solving a puzzle while several optical illusions and sensory effects happen in tandem. If you find the right escape room experience, your heart may jump out of your chest as a closet pops open or a piano begins playing.

I will never forget my first Fantasmagorie-esque experience. I was about seven years old, and my grandmother and mother insisted I would love the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. Not two minutes into the ride, I squeezed my eyes shut as hard as I could. I had witnessed enough after the mirrors of haggard women whose eyes followed you as you ran down the hall to the awaiting carriages. Towards the end of the ride, a voice came over the loudspeaker warning us of ghostly hitchhikers that would surely follow us home if we weren’t careful. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw myself staring back at me through a mirror, but I was not alone. What was sitting beside me? A hitchhiking ghost.

Prompt 2- In China, shadow puppetry is one of the greatest storytelling back in the days, but we also have Chinese performing arts. it tells a story through martial arts, folk sing, and dances. during my childhood in China, I had seen it once. it was an unforgettable experience; I remember going with my grandma, the theater was not smell but not too big, it was full of people, the chairs weren’t even enough. I went to a lot of threaders in the past but that was my first-time seeing people use martial art to tell a story, it was really fun, haven’t once turn my eye away. summary to shadow puppetry, the story is based on Chinese legends and history.

Being an audience in the “Fantasmagorie” or any phantasmagoria show would scare me into thinking it was real, and I would react with fear mixed with fascination. France’s end of the 18th-century era was right after the French Revolution, and many people like Robertson were fascinated with death, ghost stories, and the supernatural. Many were genuinely frightened by the ghostly images and tales of terror, and I would be among those people.

When you see such an illusion that strikes you as real for the first time, you don’t expect it, which increases the shock and spookiness of the whole show. Robertson went to many lengths to make people believe that this was real. The “Fantasmagorie” show was more than the moving images of the Fantoscope that he invented; He wanted to create a frightening environment. The performance took place in a dark theater, lighted by a creepy candlelight, eerily sounds played on a glass harmonica, as he narrated tales of phantasmagoria (ghost stories).

I believe there are ways to achieve the same level of fascination and fear in today’s era. In most of them, you have the surprise element, but it’s lacking the – is this real? A sensation that Robertson’s show had.
You can get scared by horror movies, Haunted houses, Escape rooms with horror themes, and more.
When thinking about an illusion that can create the same uncertainty of what’s real and what’s not, I think about really great magic shows or mentalist performances. Even VR experiences can definitely make you feel diluted.

Prompt 3

Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” happened at a tumultuous time. The French Revolution had just happened, the French Monarchy had just been abolished, everyone saw the king and queen get their heads chopped off, the new government wasn’t doing too well, and political dissidents and regular folk are getting their heads chopped off. In addition, there was a whole bunch of diseases to contend with; smallpox, typhus, cholera, dysentery, tuberculosis, syphilis are some of the more common ones. This is the time period where women had 13 children and they were lucky if 5 made it to adulthood. As such, death was a constant companion.

I’d venture that modern people are feeling what the 1797 French audience felt about their daily lives. US politics and economics aren’t looking too well. Two geriatric men are probably going to fight over the presidency next year. There’s a bunch of fighting going on at the international level. Important political reporters are getting unalived. COVID-19 is a fact of life that we have to live with at this point. A bunch of diseases (like measles) are making a comeback because of disbelief in science. Basic necessities (like water) is rare for some people. Technology is our constant companion.

So when Robertson rolls up with his “Fantasmagorie,” I imagine it is an escape. It’s new and scary in the same way technology is new and scary. There is genuine fear, but it is thrilling. Technology is developing so fast, and it’s always doing new scary things as much as it improves lives. Robertson’s spooky ghost show in a rundown church probably is most visually and aurally similar to horror movies, but today’s “Fantamagorie” is probably most closest to VR games today. There’s at least one game which requires the person with the VR set to diffuse a bomb, which probably summons a similar emotional experience to those who experienced Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie.”

My reaction to the “Fantasmagorie” show in 1977 of Gaspard Robertson would have been surprised and fascinated by his work style. Other forms of entertainment that I think can cause similar emotions today would be haunted houses or visiting places with supernatural urban stories related to ghosts, monsters, or others.