The art film, affect and the female viewer: The Piano revisited

Abstract

The art film has rarely been a genre of interest to reception studies. Often circulating in marginal exhibition venues and attracting a relatively small, elite audience, it lacks the mainstream film's cultural presence and potential for broad impact, thus appearing to have little to offer to research on film viewers. This essay will explore the art film's special importance to reception studies by investigating how one of its major currencies-the spectacular, enigmatic, and captivating image-elicits powerful, lingering affective responses. If we grant that there is something elusive about the cinematic moments viewers find most compelling, the art film allows us to investigate the imagistic basis of film response and recollection in a genre known for its ability to conjure memorable visuals. To analyze the connection between these "arresting images" and affect, I revisit Jane Campion's The Piano (1993), a film that has attracted passionate reactions from female viewers. Focusing on the film's final scene, in which Ada imagines herself tethered to her piano at the bottom of the sea, I reflect on the relationship between this arresting image and affective response as it is negotiated intertextually through the viewer's past experiences, including her experiences with other films that negotiate questions of female identity.