La télécommande

Not without controversy, director Peter Greenaway declared in 2007: “Cinema’s death date was 31 September 1983, when the remote-control zapper was introduced to the living room, because now cinema has to be interactive, multimedia art.” The filmmaker was highlighting the need to rethink all media for them to survive in the digital and interactive age, which could potentially be fatal for traditional theater experiences. The remote control we see in this display case, for example, now includes buttons giving us direct access to certain platforms. The idea of distance or remote control, a pillar of television viewing practices as it moved away from linear habits, enhances and facilitates access to a growing number of content options, while normalizing multitasking and encouraging stillness. Functional for choice and control, like an extension of our bodies—much like cell phones—it becomes an integral part of our consumption rituals, following Marshall McLuhan’s concept. But how far can freedom of choice and control really go when, in the age of algorithms, content is often already curated for us based on traces of our previous consumption?ç To learn more: https://encyclo-technes.org/en/parcours/all/multi-channel-transition