Kayla Salyer, Benjamin Reflection

After being in class, I got to thinking about the disconnect we have in film compared to theatre. There really is something more tangible, or real in being able to make eye contact with a performer. Although you can make a deep connection to the characters in film, I don't know if you can actually make a connection to the film itself. I do find myself in the world of the film, truly feeling as though they are my friends (not in a crazy way), but that I really do know their characters as if they are real people. The one main problem with this that I have, is the other viewers of the show. Whenever I watch my favorite shows, I always think about the people watching it from somewhere else. I think about all the different scenarios in which people all over the world sit around a TV to watch this one episode. A part of me likes this, it makes me feel connected to the world. Another part of me feels as though it is far less personal. I feel a disconnect because of the mass reproduction. Although I know this is necessary for film to thrive, it shows the big difference between film and theatre. Even if there are crowds of people watching with me, I am there, in the moment. I don't feel as though I am just another black and white photocopy pulled from the machine, I feel as though I am experiencing something real, original. Even if there is no such thing as original.
Thinking about original, the thing that pops into my head is the Mona Lisa. When I was younger, I always wondered why the 'original' thing was better, "Why is that better than the poster? They look the same," is what I always thought. It is interesting that one copy of something that is original can be worth far less. The more copies you make, the less valuable it becomes. It is the same thing with money. Money isn't worth anything to an alien. Money is only worth something because it represents something scarce. If we printed out more money, it would be worth less. This is a very simple way to show how mass production affects us today.
Although mass production has numerous benefits, it is interesting to simply look at the value of something. The fact that just because something is scarce, means that it can be worth more, is fascinating to me.