Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera

Dziga Vertov’s, Man with a Movie Camera (1929), is a positive fixture of human relationship with technology despite the new apocalyptic standard in Hollywood. The films that address technological advancement in postmodern examples are more often than not plagued by negative human impacts on environment and health. After exploring a positive feature of, Man with a Movie Camera, this relationship will be further explored. Vertov acknowledges the camera as a character, debatably even the protagonist of Man with a Movie Camera. This central mechanical eye is assumedly wielded by Vertov’s brother, Mikhail Kaufman. Both Mikhail and the camera are frequently depicted following and producing the action together. Constructivism, art as social utility, …show more content…
Not only does this solution apply to humanity’s relationship with its natural environment, but also serves as remedy to bad diplomacy between humanity and industry. The first shot of Mikhail in the film as cameraman with the camera slung over his shoulder follows a shot of the car he climbs into coming to pick him up. The first shot is taken from a rooftop and shows the car winding through the streets, from near bird's eye view. This is a recurring perspective in the film: near bird's eye vantage down onto a swarm of people and trains. Another similar shot shows a hand cart passing over a man lying flat while operating a movie camera, this is also taken from birds eye view with many other carts visible. These shots are frequent enough to parallel the frequency to which the shots peer into the workings of the assembly line machines. They are close enough so that movement fills the frame. A comparison emerges between the people that fill the streets and the machines which workings make up so many other similar perspective shots. Vertov crafts this bond to show the ant the ant hill. This comparison also presents a solution to humanity's soured relationship with invention. If humans view themselves as far more equal to the machines and materials they utilize it produces a path for survival. If a person views their workplace as a construct as their smartphone is a construct they may be more concerned with the conditions under which that smartphone came to be. Caring for the circumstances of one’s own life to an equal extent as all other’s lives goes beyond progressive. The message that Man with a movie camera presents is equal treatment among humans, but also equal treatment for matter. A revelation that isn’t positive for the future of oligarchy, but is for the future of

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