TEXT/SCREEN/TEXT

Henrik Haukeland, TEXT/SCREEN/TEXT, 2024. Audio Visual, 45:03 minutes

Text: Michaela Sarah Fischer, THE POWER OF WORDS

TEXT/SCREEN/TEXT is an experimental piece of writing that reconstructs the language of cinema using found images—screen captures of title cards and on-screen messages that embody the textual language and typography of film. These images, sourced from a diverse range of genres and eras, serve as the building blocks for new sentences and ideas. Through deconstruction and reconfiguration, the work uncovers the cultural biases and limitations embedded within cinematic language.

Here, cinematic language encompasses not only the literal text that appears on screen but also the broader visual and narrative elements that shape a film's meaning. This interplay between text and imagery influences what films express and how audiences interpret and internalise these expressions. The choices made within cinematic language—whether intentional or not—define and constrain narratives, reinforcing certain cultural ideas while marginalising others.

Expanding upon the literary cut-up technique, as pioneered by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, this composition employs text fragmentation and recombination as a means of revealing latent narratives. Initially applied to printed media and audio recordings, the cut-up method is here extended to the textual elements of visual media, enabling a deeper exposition of its cinematic language.

Burroughs perceived the cut-up technique as a form of divination, suggesting that "when you cut into the present, the future leaks out." This idea lies at the heart of TEXT/SCREEN/TEXT, which examines how the language of Hollywood, with all its excess of violence and its internalisation of the male gaze, has shaped societal ideas and cultural fantasies over the past century, crafting a collective vision of our future.

Typography also plays a crucial role in this exploration, not merely as a visual design choice but as a medium for encoding cultural messages. The aesthetics of typography work in tandem with cinematic language to shape and limit the ideas presented. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model—which explains how media producers encode messages with intended meanings, and how audiences decode those messages based on their own cultural contexts—the work illustrates how typographic choices influence audience interpretation, revealing the complex relationship between text, image, and narrative.

For example, the use of bold, jagged fonts in horror movie titles is not merely a stylistic choice but a deliberate encoding of fear and tension to the film’s content and subject. These typographic elements signal to the audience what to expect from and how to interpret the film, priming them for an experience of dread even before the first scene unfolds.

By deconstructing and reassembling the language of film, TEXT/SCREEN/TEXT encourages a critical examination of the narratives we consume and their influence on our perceptions and ideals, prompting a deeper reflection on the power of media to transform and re-shape the social body and, as a result, our collective future.

While the work utilises a comparable experience to cinema as a means of audience engagement, it does so in a manner that encourages critical reflection as opposed to subconscious consumption, challenging viewers to identify the cultural messages already encoded within themselves.