Reflexivity and modern expressionReflexivity is defined as the circular relationships between cause and effect, meaning that there is never a true cause or effect because they are interchangeable and cannot be defined. . This theory of relationships is one of the defining aspects of expression in modern culture. We see elements of reflexivity in modern art, film and literature, notably in Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo and Italo Calvino's fiction Invisible Cities. These two creations of modern culture explore their own themes regarding human nature while highlighting how they express their themes through their respective mediums. This embodies the reflexive nature of every artistic conception: medium and content are in a circular relationship. Modern expression cannot be complete without reflective tendencies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayBefore starting Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, one notices that the chapters are in a somewhat confusing and disorderly order, but what alludes to us is that this mode of organization was planned. Calvino uses the Fibonacci number, which serves not only as a means of organizing the chapter, but also as an introduction to the thematic material. The Fibonacci sequence of numbers is formed because each number after the first two is the sum of the previous two; reflected in the chapters, we see that each chapter, its categories and thematic ideas presented, build on each other and become more complex, challenging and allusive as the fiction progresses. The cities begin to blend together as the human experience is tested and we begin to follow the Fibonacci spiral toward an ending that creates an even more suggestive reference to the golden ration of the Fibonacci sequence: there is no endgame in life, we live. a time that constrains, and we can do nothing about it except continue living. The gold ration is life, it is what constrains life which makes it live. Invisible Cities is an excellent example of modern expression with reflexivity, not only because of the organization of the fiction, but also because it transforms the narrative into an elusive version of prose and fiction. communicative memories. With the format of a story in mind, we can easily see that Invisible Cities breaks the mold as Marco Polo attempts to tell Kublai Khan about the cities of his empire through a new form of storytelling that approaches mystical realism and prose poetry. The idea that Marco Polo is creating a travelogue for Khan about his empires is very difficult to see in the histories of the cities themselves, because he explains the cities by mixing physical features with ideas of existence, not as a true travel guide and explanation of existence. cities. For example, "Cities and Names 2" describes Leandra's city as a city protected by gods of two different species, whose species constrain the city itself which I defined as two different definitions of time. In explaining the relationship between the two gods, we also come to recognize the physical characteristics of the city as seen through the eyes of each of the species of time. This magical realism which connects the real world and the ideas which create and constrain it, making them interchangeable. Now that we have concluded that the organization and means of recounting Marco Polo's adventures are both reflexive with the ideas theyconvey and both highlight the Through the means of storytelling and the medium itself, we can examine the actual content of the story. Because magical realism is used to depict each city, the true idea of ​​the city has already become a figment of the imagination, because the city itself does not exist without the foundations on which it was built, but these foundations do not necessarily make the city what it is. “MinceCities 4” revolves around these ideas as we visit the city of Sophronia, the city made up of two half-cities. One of the cities appears as a carnival of fantasy and imagination, and the other, the harsh life of reality The idea that cities and the foundations on which they are built are interchangeable comes into play when Marco Polo informs us that the carnival is the permanent part of the city and that the city of reality is the. half that uproots itself and moves and becomes part of the other half -the cities. This means that reality and imagination are also two interchangeable ideas, creating a new unknown between the point where imagination ends and the. reality Having examined how modern writers embody the reflexive characteristic of modern art, we can now turn to modern cinema for similar connections Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo is above all an example of mastering reflexivity. between the plot and the production process itself. This use of film to convey the plot depicted in the cinematography itself has been called "pure cinema". There are now links between the filming, the story and the characters. Understanding the vertigo that grips our main character, Scottie, is key to understanding the film because the filming techniques show the severity of vertigo and acrophobia and allow us to see the things Scottie does. A prominent example of this is Madeline's death scene as Scottie chases Madeline down a spiral staircase and is forced to stop due to his acrophobia and dizziness. Every time Scottie stops on the steps to look down, the camera zooms out, creating the effect of dizziness, as Scottie would see. Each time he stops, the dizziness gets worse until he is forced to stop out of fear, letting Madeline fall to her death. We also see connections between vertigo and the plot of the story as Scottie follows Madeline in her car at the beginning of the film. With every turn in the winding, steep streets of San Francisco, we see the plot and setting begin to transform, depicting the complexities of the plot in a dizzying visual. Vertigo also uses different cinematic decisions from Alfred through the nightmare sequence of Scottie pushing away his fears. overboard and drive him crazy. This dream sequence begins with blue flashes that hint at a deep emotional problem in Scotties, followed by haunting images of Carlotta's bouquet of flowers and of Carlotta herself. Then it shows Carlotta's grave and we see Scottie's face falling through the abyss surrounded by green and purple lightning until Scottie's body falls towards the roof where Madeline committed suicide, then to through him, falling through an endless white abyss. This visual representation of a dream is crucial to the character development of the Scotties, but also to our understanding of the effects of guilt. We now have representations of dreams, creations of our own imagination, which blur the lines between what reality is and what creation is, as Calvino did in Invisible Cities. Alfred Hitchcock does..