Thoughts on Fuller's Introduction to Expanded Cinema

One topic I instantly latched on to while reading the introduction to Expanded Cinema was how Fuller perceives the world. It sparked a creative thought pattern in my mind. He mentions how humans refer to things as being "up there" like the sky, or "down below" from up in space. It is the same for objects to the "left" of us, and those to the "right." Do these descriptions truly exist, or are they things we as a society made up in order to better understand the world around us? Fuller says it himself - "without the infinitely-extended lateral plane, the words up and down are meaningless." He notes that humans still think and view things superficially; we view things as "solids, surfaces, or straight lines," but he claims that "science has found no 'things,' only events." Why, then, have we become so accustomed to perceiving the world in this way? We have related certain "frequencies" to the five senses, others to weather conditions, and some to "things," and so on and so forth.

Fuller also briefly discusses the different frequencies and wavelengths of what is known as "light." He states that "all electro-magnetic waves can be beamed as well as broadcast", and that is exactly where projection design comes into play. As designers, we are able to manipulate our surrounding areas to create a temporary, new reality. Place a person into the REVE, for example. All of a sudden, he is immersed in a room with a 180 degree projection surrounding him. For a few minutes, he forgets the world around him and becomes one with whatever is being projected onto the screen, whether it's a nature setting, a geometric design, or a short movie. By adjusting someone's peripheral vision, we are able to create a new, imaginative world.

In reference to the "womb," "ignorance," and "new-dawning awareness," technology has greatly developed since the time this introduction was written. We are in a new era; people have more information at their fingertips today than they did even just ten years ago. He writes that "man wants to understand," With more information, technology, and research opportunities being available to us today, we are able to expand our horizons even more and finally come out of the dark, unknowing, mysterious womb and experience an awakening.