CHAPTER 6 Watching Others Die: Spectatorship, Vulnerability and the Ethics of Being Moved lane Sears work, that dyn was bor nexpresible and unshareabe The framework which this afforded allowed us w review the prabler (of representing dying within mainstrcam lm culture where it wa expressed, albeit distorted In the last wo capers Uhave show shat there isa Gncmatic Language of dying Ut rich and mace bat heaily censored nevertheless. suppress, stil: the hanaity and brutal ity of badly decline wo promote the si ural and pit Fata. of late capa culture Such normative fantasies, which cere un the triumph, betterment and frit of Hallas rina il ab ell as {inthe motso-gonn deaths of ters, are ake, urn, em tity politics A the fl cologial weight of thee fata became cha thir grammar of dying was revealed a fandamcntlly race bound, Dang in ct inexpremtble i cncna, then, but the Language Bn Forges frit fs partial an partisan, andthe grammar predetermining W necropelit In this chapter, I move om to the question of the unshateabit of ying, of Hs place as profoundly personal experience that camnot be and shared in bs, thers For Scart. inexpresibiity ‘rere mutual dependent: the madegoa of language, through silted and sie ummaaton, kept imide, introns. tote imac langage peat eas that Llve sown that there in i ying bs ‘exteriorised within and through this medians, then follows that fl aso Allows pain and dying vb dared in,on- and ff-rcen, Given the impr. tance ofthe affective rier to lin — ow ta come mage, mone, {is emative — spectatorship cade thought of as ssmbalisng shares {ity ull Thi stn 0 itch attention wo sheaf 9 ly the rimacyof the audience — as | dca inthe book intreuction these ‘she cat ng om my tex but tres the busses, and wih tthe gency of spetarsip, ts pei pine and vaceral aii1% 9TH AND THEE MORNE HENGE vom within the camsraied socabary of mainstream film. Jost a the “ncmatclnguage of dng snail taboo, ad hited an pei, ‘enabular, wits share will cet be dine aed quale swell, ios ght be av Nlio Landsberg argued, s technology that could gen «rate cmathy hat hw dice te i Keermpathy enough, a a ter and han experience, to dosti the pecans response wo other allen, form brulee the fraught, an constants eenforced, distances separating ‘he healthy and the fa thne sm ascendancy and thow i dete, those ‘siching a others die? And what wou o shoul thes bride flr or rub! fo turning the quest of ptr tbe mg age a ‘ings thi chapter explores hw comvess the experience of dng 10 sll it tobe shared The emphasis here om this sense of shared expe Dee arclanimhsphetnecmsubyecteom-andlseeen, What sharing cans or cd mican willbe explored as we reconcile the imblaness and recriptivenesinerent in this relatimship to reckon with the neces iy caked qocstiorm sorrounding ont ivebseeca in etic’ ath, The se ofthe Keclings genratd through ction fms various dea: ins with death ~ ther productivity for, of foreclosure af, thousht or sci-comscinasnens — has Beem 4 recurring if submerged, heme om this Tank stead av Unasigated range of aecting texte or other eras I these representations of self-endangerment of dving. we saw how semti- montis manazed, indeed, el orchestrated, i the wersce ofthe sa. ‘gon I eavanly ue Hollywond,n the resistant aesthetics ad ebative ‘Marke of Paredue Now, that an ethically empathic, ether than pe eripvely cmv, spectatrthip was gestured towards, ven if thi spake more to the truth of sublterian than suicide: Such a spect ship seemed onsite, to, within a pos-#/11 senility detected im the tld fw explored in Chapter 3. Mat wider problem of ethical fil criticnm emerged there. "The outrage and empathy generate in and through Hot! Randa suggested erating with comply and respon sity bt, i epctioon of conan and abwotory al, might mead be deemed unethical "The problem is withthe Wa ater atthe ‘emte ethical the relentless, the alvass eventual return tothe same od story that i the pretes and payee af the Western spectator. This ‘rabem st strictly what [ale Choaliarah calls the marian emotion ‘of wunierm humanism, the caring only for people hike us, but « more invidins and na lew common version oft: the wipistc uncomcioun of smexeem humanism which cares for those note un order, uma, twslve ar save our souls? This unconscious finds «natural home in ls wont. Unease with the ethical a warines ofthis unconscio hral, fote what follows a they have what's gone before wateanse o 17 msintream tion lm disavow, distor and dsplaccs dsing. and, in doings, t comm the vals, aves the conscious and the deat Feat tf the spectator, this chapter secs an altertive. Kd this ott light lly wood further but to understand more fully hat is at stake, and what i posible, im our encounter with dying on screen. With the shi ing lndseape of film cultures, the cer spreading medstnston of man sallering, and the remarkable motivational penta ofthe moving image as evidenced by YouTube's Kory 2072 thi sccm an expels timely urs. In seching this alienate, [oc ie hat, eather tha tr away from death, rather than den‘. deform or degrade ts realities, turn towards dvi real dving, and dll there, This excludes therfore the shockumemtatcs ot mond Bin with their ec forage of dad pple for dying. These atest wo the appt fr watching death, an appetite then to extremes in snuff an, more recent “reaction vides’ While mond thas hee varioaly celebrated iit wbversion or ven profundity ms czmphasts on the mainstream and, mote special othe banal pete them rom study ere {Vall group of daumentane of real Ising frm the heck i ms enquiry insta Dyone (Michact Racer, 1976), Near Dest (Fredrick Wiseman, 1999); Dyne wt Grace (Allan King. 2003) Siverfate Life: The ice from Here (Peter Fridman and To Jon, 2003) ad Hew fo Da Oregon (Pct Richardson, 2011) These ate ot mainstean tin ie and they are not Hollywood products tn the age of oxt-auteur’ and the ‘acumentary 2 aol commis thi dan’ go without saving The fare not marginal re ther. Many of them have non awards are made toy directors note and have been sien widely, whether a Festivals ot ‘on television * Neither i this «complete Hist. The ast cae has seem 3 pe ae rede ot ehe fale erate? end-of-life wes that centre om dying and even show it” Directly linked to current debates, and kal moves, surrounding aint ding in the Wet, this surge ste within 4 more pronouined addressing of morta fay and death practices in the public sphere. This addres sa result of AIDS perhaps, and shifts in vss colure, bat certains of demeraphic changes extended fe expectancy and the socal and financial crsey attending the expanding aged population TThoogh these films are non-fiction, they are mo devoid of ama or theatricality ofantas At the same time, an the fringes ofthis eroup is {numberof avant-garde feature fms that chronicle real dving ever a» they employ marhelyaeatheticrepisters to da so. Lsehtnne Over (Wins Wenders, 1980) and dle (Derek Jarman, 1995) ar especially toting in their Blurring of autobsograph, tography and fiction * Theirs138 De ¢ra8 ayn) HE MONG IMAG et theSreative treatment of actuait wy mach asthe “ruth of art Tne cach has ben cstinguise fr its etal rhe intervention. ‘We smight ake note th vers ceasnal fcon film ~ outside the confines of Hollywod, of curse tha posides the highly realise portrayal of kath even if simulated. Maurie Pala’ La gfe onserte (1974) stands ‘out init commitment to the bly and boring dtl of ding, a doce lite Sicha telesnon ln Hi (201) i ts deption of the ratalities ‘of honpitaation. Kathe shan polarise feo and non-fiction fil her, Tarn, nthe spin of davuretry shoot, ein tei “angled re= pit! wnat samp oat this hes gene dchae, o apo trdern fuzziness cate ty Hl, ba aca and recunsier this tangle ‘ith ach fil im itsthorms negotiation of rath” an fantasy and eth. ition or fchinalatin, ete, Becomes not a question of simulated oF fn-simalated death of ordinary oe special fleets, but ofthe ruses and reawurances attending them Inced, the mythic or palliative proparions fF pus ile atenion 0 gene oF smdastal dives; a combina Sits ncead ‘Vist Sobhac, in er seminal ety the this af filming death row parallel het tion and motion ln evasion of Sarah CGaoper and Libs Sato, bower, bh ertiog thi the eee a8 chica lim critic, found that ack format’ treatment of rama or pain {capable of generating ethical might and implieatednes Simul Henjamin Nows makes a powerful case far ever ftom fin’ profound cxponure of death Ta a diferent vein, Recmer's Dying was hers ‘tice fir eepeating cin fi softening of death in, arn othe thimgs is sense of tact and good taste in dang with a taboo sujet’ ‘Slr, the real dsiag dcumentaie. have als een found tall tedemplive taectnies Janet Mashn's review of Near Death suggested how the diiculy of is sues let a calmer resolution © Kins lem thas becn spoken of i sisters. Michael Koreskyremarhe hat the ‘eral ching becomes of tranquility, ever elation’ and even Whened the journey to Kubler Ross's mode.” Gu Pevere saw Done a Grace imately ay ‘an erbrace of life!" The extent to which this seteme anton the journey res the narrative or the spectators needs ‘minimises the fim's potency, wil be attended to ace where propose a Aiferert context tor such pois. Meal, oy point het is targve against the polarity of ftion and non-fiction "an only real things are ‘meaningful’ — and fora continuum of spectatorship "Hi alo to note the spectre f the heroism, grandeur or inetability of confronting death 1A often conceived a sirtunus or spiritual bt ural ines, ‘experince forthe ln-maker and ausience and as Noys reminds, even 4 OFS 19 ‘hc crite Say Aue write that “Po De ca he ought watch, bat ‘when t's over, sou fel privileged o ave tae pat and Dyin a Gree Jus been considered transcendent’ Is presses this peut that ‘um pursuing i this chapter bot not without snp othe consolation ‘orself-comvmendatin that shaping can herald From thisclleton of documentaries focus on Allan King’s renult il Dying ut Grace ~Iphnible the dctitve fim on death and fora set of what | hope ae cauaging reawim. Not only ds i opera 4 counterpoint to both Hollywood and to dee cinema, but i offer a ‘extraordinary commentary on the capacity of thn te represen ding 10 ‘express it and to share it, and todos etic, sat i, sith am exe on ‘eter still, an cart the expericce oi sng and to ur (Aepriseged) Partin its eon, Ihave abo fixed upon King because of the sheer lack a Scholarly attention that his ls have bn ive rete this gras this study broader parpove io, ‘Dyong at Grace tone ofthe fie “actualy deans’ directo by King A hugely important Canadian film-maker, King i teitiely unk vthin international il, an il sie, arenan He has cn varhoul acca. however Jean Reno clle him we of the great ih a ‘roehing today Joh Grierson was ah ader of is work, and his st fal-lengc documentar, Harrendale (1967), has bem considered evolu tiem Vii won meron seers ed, bi oigand productive ‘ater, he headed the Directors Gui of Canada an rcv its Lei ‘chicvemene Award in 2006." There ae various canes of King’s obscurity, Forest might beth bis work and cates eres fixe an the nial the heal and on the ‘Canadian, Beyond the familiar marginalisation of Canada within a Nort American imaginary. and Kins “rete regina self-awareness itis ‘lear that bs prorticn did't he withthe matnstea iy saute {ntcrnational tage. Indeed, rich of his work wus made for, and Funded boy, Canadian tleision, and reecve limited alternative distribution ™ He was always apen about his divergence fom the aesthetic investments of Hallywoon Thera ee by of ert ast pe ernment pale a ‘Yet he can abo be distinguished from his ‘cet cinem’ peers Denis Tim, who called king ‘cinema vert’s forgotten man’, remarked that0 bE STHE ASO THE tov IN the gravitated to harsher subjects than his American elleagus’." For Michal ores, his lin ‘stand from the Bhd forthe wher sense ‘of drama’ Firs ed in this documentary movement King’ Satinal Ke reales with much i co Cans contemporaticn ehewhere, Frederick Wiseman, in pi tase a number of films tha, ike Rina’, went inde si the an observational syle to ec thera and often unset at fen therein. Za Polis (1987), Which wok plac ina mera instition iy Masaachastts, was probit fom exibition to 2 general am fice for twenty-lour sears Av Man Roncal motes ee tats that, ‘Wiscman reveals ate fot always pleasant and he has thus had 0 spend {a comuesaie tie court fighting again censors and for freedom ‘of dirbutin’ King sas, sinlal, « controversial Bure. Dewy bing commisioned by CHC. the Caradian Broadcasting Corporation, arrendate was bane a ts ba Langage and wouldn't ar on television for thrty-one years What isnt, hs method in I hse Charge (1983) saused an ethis-orented uproar within the Canadian fil conan. Th greatest paral an isinction, tie drawn between Wiemann ‘King core with thir observational Jocumentarcs om dying. Wireman s Near Deu asin hour epic sc in honptals intone care uni Dying ‘Grace far mare ace and commercial es fate length and wa funded by, and screened on, TVOntano. Though some might disaeree tha Wiseman’ ile are anthing other than non-aligned, Seth Feman Jha argued that anit hs sn sina sujet, thee ese Being sade, no eres of illains’ im King’s work.™ Adam Nayman, a similar ‘ein, notes that Kns lim are nde fe with stolen moments, and yet fine never Fels as ame smetines dics with Wiseman) that an hing ‘png ahem avay from the people om screen what allows wil lus imate how King’s now-polemial, nom epic and on-diminshing treat amet of ding. andofpectatorhip. distinguishes Dyn at Grace from his eet and tory Holywood and explore what eis distinction rice for ‘va derstanding the watcha and sharabst f dmg om im, Against 3D: Un/Special Effects and Intensive Care Where denial, distortion and displacement characterised the represent tiom of dying in maimsream fon fin the opposite true of Dye at ‘Grace. nsead, King peovides an unlinching and mtaphor ee rend of five peoples inal days at Toronto Gace Health Center. His commitment ‘stothe individuals eaperience. He caperes athe than anes death His style confront: it fates head-on and up to ts top. "Phis confrontation will prove neither frontal mot slips, sa Levinas terms, noe hore In itsimpolse or promise, Instead, twill be shown wo pride ach, even ‘unsialled, efecto upon the potentiabty of ou experienc of dng on ‘seen: is profound and (unbpeclffests he il starts wth lex oma black sereen a prokoge and diatom fr “Tis filmi about the experience of dying.” The sown "Vie patient ina palliative care matd fr the terminally il agreed to bare heir ‘experience i the hope that it would he etl othe ising” The subse ‘quent frames deate the fil these fe, to thet family an cmd and tothe staff at Grace. As ell ay redresing what Joho Tercit calls Comempaorary culture’ “paacity af experience” when comes to ding the ist ite dstis King’s intent and perhaps senate: experiance fall here. What the ites make primary is that the experience Using adits lessons are omc bythe ding thermalen. Tn dec the objet sats usualy accorded thew insead, thet sas as subyts, as svete ‘centres ofthe narrative, and the denial f objec tcation ad dhamatna tom nderrtethe Hn” Phe ik aba sugges tht the loin of sng ine for the living they are nal or he gic ing fo he sur Te behind that for an unprinted and wnspected group eewher. In this 3s Diag Grace ska wth ancomvenion apr in place of drt fia accreditation, the lm centres ss “charac ita the trvursa ‘of bereavement, dsing i be a gift wo the audicoce. The experience of ying ives and is anes van experince a voeapeience. This not to undermine the autho ofthe dying nasal or w stress aan. he acy ofthe spectaor but emphasise dying st thot ‘of a sarichaw social Allan Kelchear, «frolic commentato an the topic tins i aa Shared tof vert sal exchanges betcen ing ‘One of my objectives het, sn this bk nie Hoa, wt expand he nse ad TRU Hr the sharing ofthese exchanges, and the range of paricipansimsoved ‘want inatat ciems (atleast) an the spectator as noteworthy but a Lnowing condinates inthis exchange, Cinema has always plaved 2 toe, let monty derivor, im death's calorie 1st spot a than a stock house for 4 "surplus of representation’ that am aiming: Implicit in the pening ite, wo, the consent ofthe in ‘ilo that Bing made Caserta with t ames and reope then the hot topics history in tha leymaing and documes theory but my ethical appmoach 4 shaped hy other things Tea nove fr these asics to the question of prilege, sovereignty and ‘Rcountablty, an understanding of ow the spectator pete in, fmpacted by, and responsible forthe suffering and vulnerabty oftheWer ECT AND FH MOVING IMAGE caer eg wai without — and this eri cllapsing that under Standing int slic rensurancs oF discourse. Necrpolitcaly and Snatch ethical i rico in Levinas fast ploy’ which deine subetty mits eae the or eather than the sll this mode, the subject i constcted rreaghrespona ligt che other (and, ape, co iso er sletaity) and ws am ‘ligation arbang ran the ters difference alten" This obligation {ss formative Hecase alerts underpins imtemubctivty ands inher= tls compromising This obligation “arses ro oe mst primary, and Cini, smplhation in the ethers potential death: the murray “np thtfames sel intrest ‘Cnr fs siken sis of this diferent eda apron in her focus om ils hich might "ent the elective mechanism that woul refer one back ww nese or one’s own wor, anda her use of Lavina “hose srk ts concerned wth a inabiy ao rece leit wo the self- se * Kesher, the, the wa in wich King poids the experince ff dying ah enesperenc, ground ithe intersubjective encounter i which death at stake and the other st be reduce to the sae. ‘Atte the dedication fads, the ambtent sound ~ ofa machine's beep pervading the ward, of work behind Joes bck in aver the ack sree before the image appears. nur pushes an emp wheeled stretcher along the corr aa enters 4 honpital roan, With another mune’ belp, ‘he tgs the ig we of recently deceased patent, The bal ppm 2 ubite phasic hae an four pepe if it om tothe stretcher which to turns whl to the it and take tthe more. ‘Thee axis provide the eet sequence bata a second prologue to the Him “They Bend the film's narrative and iasate ts excoing ofthe conventions of tab, semviment, and narrative, The ln tart ale the ln ede: atarte hee alt ey character journey 1 the pen after death and the est sep in the disponal of the tals The period before death cmc the we wate amd wait a Eas breathing craves, There isa beginning and end here but costa looping one Death Rappens but only as part ofa eel. This i taboo treahing fare in its sighting the unseen and Ueparune fom narrative Tt there is mone wit. We early gett se cinpcs an when we os tleison a eas, these never ad, ae always pristine, and arly in mation "The naked fect and line of grey, asthe nip pans over the hea, prove neither spectaculir me eiahised corpo righting sight ssnhed by a gut of effects other diversions. Death introduce ‘hough the banality, and mena our, of disposal, performed by ures ‘who are al participants in the event The the is bein iy this sed Prologue instates the interpersonal or evexperience a dying. Wake PA ike sagen, imtrduces the plac if tia within this cope As the drawer in the mortuary else, one mare sas God Bless 94 tina the tw women eave, she als, “Light a elon the ere es dark. "Phough thismarks the end tthe sure, an the caro heal i cannot help but repaint the events «puting ty bed the ticking the ‘Gad bless you" and the lights aut. Sleep, wf cura wok what has ‘ham achieved childs not who was spoken and dhere'l bene wai ‘nthe night Iu the enexperience of dying. comiructd here i oer in vith usemse uf what can be tho wet ofa persona itanaiation ho the tmine’s ‘chara’ drows upon, and forth, a smeccning of thing. This ‘maternal moment resonates with ili set, unlike Lely wna’ tet ‘men of verinal less iy subordinated w, not constitve of ding Tes ok im won anc etre that jar with the setting and ever the ‘kd metalic Functionality ofthis inement mortuary carats wit the Softer furnished, windowed ward above. There ist spt images ‘Sow ton or cut-wans, t0 romance or infants he dei Farther, mt snecping family members dominating, and drcting, the well of felig ason-sereen surrogates Instead, human abou an sentient, calla habitual and even poetic, tnt the ln but meer take precedence fag ook at dying The acre says black sans proper wth an establishing shot ofthe hotles a This the frat of several cuts to the Tanto sting, the pers ance ofthe city, and tothe cycle of senso an day and wiht. Locating ‘sing bth phssclly ua! temporally, such Sees repeat the drupe ‘of linearity aod again intermaingle Hy poignant a recurring ope the enduring withthe fini, the univer withthe loc the munlane ‘eh the poctc, and Blanks with sme taer HN sentiment The ‘manocusting of wrth around watcha sof cours, the challenge of Aeesmentare and expecially ire cinema! with it distinctive las to ‘eracitying prcfrsed the term actualy drama’ or his brand ot for Ins ns o toni fc. Eprienc sal but experince cao bes tot, without human or poste rwomance, Fitna dos ot cantest truth, then, but enhances. Wictinalsaton ts Bwte i hn texhnique forthe hares othe rest fanciful eiting but wb as the impoxiian ‘of a mre figurative ten langage. Thi, a Ve begun to demonnteate ie sule and suborinate in Phang of Grace bt portant nevertheless. mt ty pgs aa sha f the citscape, and ts person sation, wich afin actuality a ier dean without peg it there are sme ater dices th few scan after this and then the fils in\ nurse’srevording ofthe evening tepun operates quasi oF foe rowed wene-oner ‘Th clearly 4 dc, allt canal one, and ma ‘athe than capeicnc driven tari sere y is place i fe world he ward. Iv athe word it saber inal and degetc "That sit ok narative porpne rng we with portance ration, the hierawed wace-anct Beep dhe emphasis plan. care hr than cure Ths ie 4 major Weak wih the recovers mamentam af the fo film discus in Chapier 2 ad the way that cae tll — as aceoptance, seli-atrment, frity provides the cute for dying in (Chapter 8 addition, he emphasis om palliation, on ear father than areca nurse rater than dors, eps the ciexperience i the socal change af Jpn ever present Hat the burrowed siceover al ope tes av counterpoint hal is ging on seen: provides anor er of personal tasalaton, When the mare decide Jose's death a peace arent caine a all hat this is what we've wate She sur by ating how Josce mas aking fa pn ri and continues ‘with im then twas a rapa dslie with reapatry srs a he peaceful ist heath mer the cane apo the now dead Jnce' ace, which the atl a deride a eal Pining, nvitahs, tthe pacity of eypericns” andthe relativity of peaceful, the fi til rain winder the mall fo apd death The an inal, hoped, well-trained a unavoidably madeate claim amet but fer alone the experience that seen far frm sere That nt tay that Joe's ath wast peace ny that tis pon sible to Au and hard to Believe). Ad whem this surety combines with the ater sit of a mase fing the jast-dead Richard int a mae t peace ene cli the open Hw, reps he Beal a Was Weare, ‘eapite ts profesional, reminded ofthe mine cova a cof” tng transitions of ies cine. Rin reveal the cerent yet Cccaperenee of ing hu without them competing andi ser, witha rdgement. Neither the spectator toe by these dle take, Mary Is Gran suggested of Wiseman's Nex? Dev that encoun the ‘ener to oa tween conficting views of [Dr Weis and hy exten sion, ofthe entre media stl." Thiet what Ring alter, however, Dyime at Gra's dramas or fetionaisation domo ine elation al tha a sea embrace of iret pnitoms, ‘Comtting Fas deine, Mares Jason has mated a solar tension thei. She writes that rh ore eee th Pane ef a pane Wateiye ons pn 16s ter uth oa mc pig a bes eta a 4 Shan Nay tna along hee acum nde yb King we riders, Pl pay, within his gg piture bat he _ncither privileges mr disparage at any pat, the rlpnogs content, Kin Jud great sympa for sci’ nstiiatins but ab aed agin them san then he sts his files Dyin af Grace there ae 0 be a Tew mig ings. The peaceful or beautiful death certains mot wha 6 om lr or ‘promised either in the hospital or by thei. The ie Bears the tein ‘berween the spiitual and the banal, he itera andthe figurative, which sre fn throughout The he ays 6 Buta, eo, po to. state of salvation tained by its participants an w the lt of Gol While this spiritual, and spritualising, itrprtation might grate upon a healthy seepticinm of redemptive thre, Tan, ete vo what Ice earlier the “pote of cine nis rate po fandty, and what King hime, and ina purls secular restr. termed the ae in his expericnce Jose mind fan reasured bx, King’s secular thd corte comtarnca, As een put i, [hen we art In some sort of paradise, King. ike Thomas More in the onal ope, isotem cages abt apprsing of the place * There ome prinounceds fhguratie moment in dhe ln, where King includes an aiitonal creative loursh in ple of sustained shse-ups ‘Hoy Greenway, the youngest on the ward, hasbeen clase to deat for somne time, Ina rate extended sequence im his rom, and focused «his poner, Ned, as wll as hin, we recive a iterminalts kn, sicealy ‘scone of Ned in darss, Major Bobbie reaing fom the Bible, stra brea,‘ Thete arto imi hte noah about through the eanvergence of these, an the fics 00 the palpable pain of Neu ad strug of Loyd This then ie we really witness the serine the wy anil the Him ct ass ‘om insie the room. The muse of Lowa sbreathing and Hobbs reading Ides he cut, however, and contnies a another qua voe-oer abe ‘ew the or patients in tit hospital roo a8 wel as the carder The cadence of the rasping breath an Bible passe works re ike 4 sourderack inthis strangely and singularly aesthticaed sequence. fur, we are simply relieve to beaut of the soaring an searing emtional fxperince of watching Loyd and Nel At the same rime, the smell of Sentiment st allowed to veri the expcrence of the fin, This ‘crt editing of equnce a sound, the, specal eter ut ne thatdines, ater than determin, the tac, shatter ond, un ‘sci The tli provi, bsrver not aa neither coli com Pete The weundtrck contin: the eoeyperience hist stopped i st Fs esd ur fae Ww fce with Loyd ana Ned aera nm reget Wear cing, rather tha seeing it But more than itt peiege wun ina simp swap for ssn ov replace Hopd ith Richard Ela ov ensiunnse with dying Ioated om the want amd with tothe inhabtans. This ace bese the facet faces ‘efcan i thal tern to. Phoagh it nas never dite rame-hlling ‘teagan bak at either Llu ar Ned's face the bi of these “sural of cree aio onsvnelrodous sound renders thei {stun outed the ri of she ll af sano or darinance ofthe face Var Levinas, the sina hear, mbichsmmomel the sito obi ‘ioe mote ha the Merl oe comstruin human fae *elypresion, oF the fice, evel mages the face [iss from whic al mesg, {Th akliton, ftom the kane take ofthe corridog, ike the tank of the ward them vst the ther dg inva an! th creates a sense ‘Geri, Thinscrves naa the eal of voldaity the revocable aa tia of the dividuals made clear we we each one i tht be each fing ever chose thei wn lst wight. Nether isi, exacts, Towmend ses a0 a pot-AIDS ermterporary culture where Seath impels} the reimagining of eorwnunity” "The po ‘of witnessing st what Kin’ i summons ther though not ware Tate to Tommi’ pint we have here the connecting cf humanity, ‘scamaectedncn though shored vulnerability. This onnectednem level, ‘rather than pees, the individual i is 4 commanity of (strange) ‘equ Wine we kno a rls iui ae no was eee a the time of leat but petit permeating every anpect of death and dying’ ‘that who and where you are has a great del of influence om how you ‘he Dyn at Grae seems to contest this, The five individu have ended Up ina honptal that ser ten on making soa iy ireevant Theres eal backgroud stor tothe characters ther than snippets revealed through their cnserstion, ‘This tightened focus is sported by the aly attention to thei aie’ coming purely in thir presence le dilerences in clase and eneamstancearccnulen ann the sla ahead, while this might prove Ciace’s sont aloes another ly ‘of Fetonaisation tthe Bl, mre public his timc the fantasy of equa iy im death The un/special sequence of Loyd and Ned ae contains a power- ful and rarely sccm message of religions tolerance fori fs the ding gay ‘mam and his parinee who benchmark dying at Cire, who nt expt animate the convergence ofthe personal and grand arrative Prominent forthe reasons already stated, this sequence abo represents the hub ot idpot af he il fr loan the hil of ive deaths Mowe than th show, is dsinetion defies the rider Jackson had noted, for here we have sil religiogs man Lloyd was the pastor forthe Metropolitan Community Church ~ and, in the abxence of homepboba, an emblem fo the best side of religous ‘Linn perhaps. King’s commit and soexperince of dings and the heights of his ong age, ate a hited, ‘an, man brace of difference. While icant he frgoren that Tos Js immany ways, the owst convention weber af the ward ~ white Anglo-Canadian, mille clas, tlignis, married” — in normativity fs ofhet bythe range of circomstanes rapeseed fy the others: the ‘outlaw’ Richard the tage Joyce, the Halan-Canaian Carll, an the ‘uom-tuclar fais ofall” The centring of Ls ere, ab ct by ‘the fact that, unlike each the ws, es ol Wo speak ain thin a father than having prise ete the mnt abe” trough The Moving Image Drying at Grace provides ected privilege character oF sicupint Instead of identiieation with o abjxtiication or abjctiation of the ving. we ae simply moved through and, most porta here, nove bby whats going om. This moving enge ape setae wt through tg playing oF palling but through somthing slower, stile aa, he ding feel, ksn regulated. Hida seers tobe riveting over most othe ims ‘course ard the sine declines ad ie sing flows its we sta thm mae” ns Jaco he i tm In “acta” Neihes fs there, then, a vented, reid, erative voice: the a futhoralimpeint are dispatched, and overhelmed, bythe precedence fof aa arevord an pombe ‘Our being move by he sn a signal of sympathy ot empathy, of Ata care compassion. And itt hic oe sculpting sentiment in the nerve of tchet se or public opin He politcal ends. Such Ching, 2 Tl continue to clarify below, ate the armarnents of unconscious ely sam ofthe constant retuen tthe concer the Western self cautioned aginst abore: Instead, thiy moving image an encounter ith what ‘rant well aw ie, bt haw fat tere it thin etn of the ‘nape | vant to conser a number of ways tha his ind of encounter has ben thought abut mar tance a ern oF tens that aedus ecatr insight ino th capacity of cinema to share death with us With the ever speating modatinaon of ulferingy and ts tty, this em 2 presing concer fo lm wes. Such a erm anus avoid commending or return him a her Sel ater tha of the term might provide intimacy but ot at heexpenac of objectivity, Hight Ievulbectise but ever exclusive uncral and aleays particu. Hight als ultimately, speah othe petit im andl therefore comtend with Cnc conventional retoic a well Inspeaking of Dmg a Gra, Kin mad clea thatthe experience and the Kew ot dying were inherent inked, that one must put} oneself the eaperience in same emotionally vivid way, 0 one an come 10 terms with i" We ate pu ito, we enter, the experience through the ttnereatimal moa ‘The paring dow of Kim-mabing at hg aes ad ‘tone with ba access fre) sec events mess us inthe world ft the ard and the ding inividal We are pris to highly personal “romehut wth dcrtian recalling my dacunsion i Chapter the bien ete tem ntact and Ftan thet dignity ut witout preteng their cmboued sulncrability There's mo suppuration of stench but the lm ‘scorpoeal the cloe-ups and long takes chronicle the air on Richard's {ace the stroke of Carmelas hand each inhalation of Fda's uml er st. This itimate hut divoteresed engagement with the individuals ~ bar the extended sequence of Ned and Tlond, the fm resis singularising salfriog and even this scene comsciounly cured ~ is “emionally ‘ivi became of the place ofthe penonal aed ua/ypecial fects within it ‘the Bets emerging through the nara’ and Major Habit’ pec, and other, edited, sequences of lve a are sate bat dante, the experince of Using on-screen dos not mene rss ot prone Ths gate aie a absorp without co piom fundamental Hadced, st ceil imports fn ongoing ay well as hin theme Our own dings promised, of ‘oars, the wages of time the cy uted bythe second predage’s ‘orp. bythe seasonal shots of Trento and passage of night and day but 1 by the machine's beep urctuating thet wit fae ininitode Hut the experience of ding docs not became our we fort doo wok he tw redace their experience ous: we ea share ini without Aen seh ic or owning it Its a cnexperence though we have very different parts toplayItisan embrace, nota eeling, of dillerence. Tn and through that embrace, through the mis of distance and companion that hee ame {King’s trademark’ we fee the magnitude ofthe events without tai in theo our om interes WATCHING OTHERS DIE Ww allwood, in contrast strives for sameness in its procagoniate: Aram close oem with, thems i thie tmnt Aun Larder ts made some interesting points about sameness al ech feling net Aisinetion of spectator eenpathy trom sempuths. Hapathy for her tical because operates ‘beyond the mwmedacy a wes en Nant ad Aesres'! Is encouraged by what she ell ‘pret cmon’ the way in wehich the cinema spectator an the hey example in mrarnit culture, “suture irs or herself nt a larger history [and takes om a more per sna decpl felt memory fa pant vent through whic horse dad on live’® Sympathy, however, docs samething cs ats ss thal for st 1 ‘is worth quoting Landsberg at nth Rete for she makes lear the pital reverberation of thew Rope: tue preumen wear eee the Wheee Lanwiberg wares af spmpty's tele mechan, empaths as ve suggested alr, achieves the same kind of co-opt bu on 4 ferent schedale: 1 no iret: indeed it delaed and eps ‘umtextal but the focus rebounds events regardiew. Where sympa thy’s eet to selfs fosive and tranyparcnt empaths we sa it the discussion i Chapter 3s quiter, rebut, charged, instead with reo imperalm ce neocomialism, Ssonpaths car iy self wadulgnee ‘openly in more blatantly marci, tt pays selina tl. The ‘co- ar geapaitcal price the sare. Far Landsberg, thew new pro {hcticincd meworics ight sore asthe round for uncipecel aliances cron chase ifr’ set this bak ha are that hile ru, these alliances are sl, if not more, problematic Striving faethe niveral, I've delayed evil alysis i this chapncr, though it goce without sasing that thal flim crticnm is inherently political Levinas fist philosophy fist polis if yu ik, marked the sont take ofthe imcstaly mid ditlerene between the self and the other. In more common vem, we mith rere the omstant “asymm of power between the comfort of spectrin thee Using rooms [ats and the vulnerability of suferers om the spectator! feimcma of| television screen'** Watching others ie always involves a romounced imbalance’ the gare mas not be pes aly = Dying at (Crave dos ot constant the wall gae fin fi, and King anticipatedan aience in pllative care but either 6 tom this cusp of death 1 ‘ary iting her to how the Costes normative) ding india in King’s il rveive exellent teatiem which they ate eattemey pv lege, the Boge picture, 10 have aces to. They is hard 0 6 a8 ‘pave the sn that place of the sb, in Levinas’ it pinay, stich always dep onthe "usurpation of paces Belonging the other man liom T have aca opprewed trv, o driven out ina a third ror hut a mich beter experienc, i ot death, than so many Ihave (rom starvation, enh nar abuse ete) Sa, while Dyan at Grace Ccnfounds the cincatielmguage of dying, fem mainstream fantasies, itil provides Torun for seeing Jeath, and experiencing it umroubled Tugel bs cis or ration, race, or gener oe ober sail pecans TMhbindi ocypericnce i alvays already political therfore, and almays slr thls charg Theor ms are ether, though Fe indflof the echo Giorgio Acumen made the important distinction of the abject figure of the im dealin his ses on the deathly workings of rove pom Describing dhe Muselmann of the concentration camp he wrote amd abel alan, he has passed into anther work! without memory andvthout git” While the five ling individuals im King’ les inhabit ye, an aso as FU aru fskon one rp for ethic iterpre tation theirs nt ate that des ao deserve to be Hive (r,t he fev ov ter as put 7? They hase wot en reduced to this tate Thvothers ae notated frumeewhere. Neither has the (neropalitial) ‘stem cat them out, renee hr eth and right and rendered them naman. Ra life then echoes this ther ierent asymmetry nt jas hetven the spectator andthe eat dead in Dye a Grace but wee them apd the near dead of 4, the Holocaust I this wa wines, the chal eter a it poli put, ne rp enable et, lle. The imprint of srvercien power Joes ofcourse, mark the dramas of dying of ven the ‘oes? citizen — ef aluass subject hence the eit ‘aleney of Azaeben's work - but ruc, By degree” Palit though always alreay a pla, receden, and he fall eg of the potentiality of the moviimage can come the fore ‘With snpathy dispatched empathy awed, an anymetry rousing, ‘what farther ways might there be of understanding the powerful feng ender and the borers rose, by watching ethers def popular i her Le Botanshi-inflenced work of repr sentation of sulin it Western news medi, promotes “connectivity land “soldat” to describe an prin ethieal, spt she speaks in similar vermin —f pity she has ‘specific focus an agenda, He anaes of nev prs of isan st fering’ refgure the public yphere in ordr to plfrate haan espemses to global ealamity, Dying at Grace, however, i not 3 window on distant suffering, oa geopolitical cheer, but the question of the tance tetwcen the ick an the well the subjects) screen and of, mais farsdamental Indeed, though the gente and als ifr, the shared ld scape af the ethics of watching ther de renders Chouharahs an well ax exer’ work from differen dixipnes, bith cimpelling and compulory amen “Connective” setully beidges the distance between inion ‘without preadice or pron, ann sofas” Jens i the pola and emit edge, even a8 it keeps things fae eincal Rut Choalarahs the by ow fair lem of one eeu of connects ‘ring pipe H ot conmctiity tthe “ater” sx the see ‘that count the purpane of mediate experience, but he conti fellow spectator. a areereaial lop. In respane, she ponder, 4 ure impersonal pty that might stall the nate Holding ack ‘humanitarian response to self sane concer and comstuct, insta & ‘enmopalitan public as her ideal, "Tar tro being denial pit per Sonality i necessary condition far the cinmopobtan dsption #8 {ar at prfers the value of detaches judgement the inmate rte of ‘cman Nel and Loyd’ tg scene, Kina’ communitarian i forged detachment ond ntinaey 8 ‘evigation wf abwolutealonenen and inclsive experience — ana rj tefl a5 well as judgement. In this ws, Chuan ads the erica Tour contest to the allectivty a Later asus bu sans Serie at Ain i dcr orig depo of weenie Tier meditation om the ethics of sunray, Ama Pick ai utiies connectivity, bat an embodied connectivity, 10 propose a ‘ereturey fort’ of film and fteratare. For Pik, ‘ercatrchines the etn of ‘Sic forthe materi vulnerability describing eannctivits "She draws ‘on Simone Weil work, and speciicall er notion of ‘conte’ 0 desi fate eur connection with the Hes and Moos sunerabty of Beings! ‘Thowgh he intrest in the trwhled vulnerablitofife (andthe genocidal pawonsasncatd with ts fone om the hunan/non-human dni thon and min ks moto ierspecies but intaspeces, nahn nec -npolitis, her dsetsion i laminating nevertickes, Kalo recals Tura Tanner's emphasis upon the shared ulcraiity of cbament” cu “Thoth As I dincnsed in elationtomarily dbasomed in Wester culture but exposed trough the defence Iams ofthe ding” Where the terial illness lms Chapter 4 mere shor confirm ths disavow, Dying at Grace posses the potenti ity ot compecte iced oF exposure that Pick and Tanner allo Vor ich the embod contact of onncetiity i achieved through an tring “innocent” tothe extent chat it secs whe remaining unattached {omscsted mits et» Thi ater gaze then lave neal Implitly imipervnal and outside asymmetry, set forged in a shared fmbadient. Where Esngocd presionly that spectarship was never the will a neutrality 2 the expense of the bods pit, self ceansing wu. Netter well mr male, mor bjctfsing oF ulvn, this ga cnt cay canal ing Kr of com neva wetirnetan! powe, and isin, re the caren, the tars and beating! 4 Semoral® And i exceeds the contours of if, ax the ssond pF tht rmakesconone contact neertless. Such, mcs cet, The were’ bosch cuits Deyo the nih hing the car des otha eaty vary * eis this sense, rete. Such mts ali cacets the Coto nr; fr the Gl stats With the ne ‘Where ssmath i feting as dhe ober nd empath i ecg forthe uber, we a cing es ands the ther. This tcing involves competion plus emotion without nats sm ond with shard vulerabiliyo exposte. Dyne at Grace, I hieve 1 thi sense of Teting with ot jm. Previous discussions of the «thks of ypectatorsip, inching ms oven, have focus on the mitacinenatici of cunten far iat ullrng and hw they err the ped and ac rsclf-cermcsoun ntale through disrupting the seaksantan and scenes, of cb celebration of (sth ctr dicts of My af and Bet i sel reflexivity, this iy by rast ishing. It sisrandes the spectator’ safety net in rte that are ft more radical rrraive. Such tactics have been shown, to, to ema hei st made clear) Dependent. 36 they ron, aosurpriing, Decincmatcnn, in Grace, aint abv, breaks with numero fic cnn Teast those attending death, bat i alo inva a pronounced doing of ils bask ut ontological tenets Ineaptaring dying, dias a cuexperience, bt slo and most i fn unre the very contract of cinema undeting spectatordip Sbchick sete that documentary fim fale o secure an record death ba i Dying at Grae, tot jt We Bil manent thai cap tured that constitutes death but individ’ ext fom the world mer and gradated jours.” The the living is other werd, a procs happenin stages i, rsore than this a the term eatin dead being hep ‘Hist, t pomennts a degre (cardiopulmonary tessetatin) ndterminacy (rather tha itais). Tn Dying at Grace det isthe won't be direct decline of the iia with ad mighty and with rallying en rte ts so a fina nl furlong that is marked by he cessation of cognition, shen the dying individual ‘xcacy and even subjectivity reed We receive varia visi ofthis save of raw ie im Dring at Grace but tis especially marked in two hey aces: the deine of Joyce and the death of Fla which canes the lm, where the former works a Kind of prerequisite for theater As Joyce pracy ever loner ta death id bank, Inthe dle of them, we si with her sometime and this progression Ircomes mote fied to thatthe erptinew and impenetrabiliy af her gaze ate eahancc by the Fetlectin of the window ght in er passes Immetile and apa, this shot endows Joyce with presence, compromising hee human subjectivity further Compare but not evacuated, the defaniarsing of dear outa ce docs chums herom DEATHE AND FE MONEE IstNGt the dng subjects hore: we arto seed on the caeaperenc, the vce ‘fH ana ding tal or that Bat ows “poste asa fs bar urnannines’* Wher, fr Pick, thi prolact ofthe blank gaze is integral tra creatures cunnestiis, here the defariansation ards, dir Vicor Shiloh, a prodtve stranment fram the ethersie nor. temas ws to wea el again and ates ~ beyond what ne sss andthe prannyf vin ~ the very pote of cinema tha parsing The Hunk and Mind state ora ie in Dyin at Grace ineiably affected, i mk Jeermined, by drug treatments. The perhaps medicated bsahacs™ ,howeves, potent spy asa counterpoint to Helly ond expressionism buts the inisiduals involuntary intra, a withdrawal ‘har ruptures the conventional presuppositions cincma, What I mean by ‘his sth ou Tong stare at aif contravenies ad confounds the une Seine an ome rght ad, eth, centract underpinning spectator: the spectator andthe fil have been defined, historical, by a ray of Hooke onl wap of ie bt hin cea to ald tr ia ing i. owndatiomal lm theory in the 19705 sw xpcetatrship as a tat agreement, + Hind of contact, between spotstor and film qpotace: the spsctatrs forge’ they ate wating a iy and he lan ad iene te characters org they are inane. Im mute expt paychaanayt {al terms, both parties davon the fanny they cover aver the absent teal with et of appeaing and tractng image —w dale fll Acco w Christian Mtr he priipe player nth cal for the fet ‘shism of cinema, the waconsciodsagrecment rans inthe two directions: watch it, but i dant watch me watching i, Neverthe, it knows tha ay watching Tithis was, the telatiooaip between the spec tacle and the spectator revealed a an] stive complicity wh werk, ‘oth ways Ths comratua namie, and ative complicity, om the par ft the hln’'s subjects, canslate, erty and ethically, in Dye uf Grave suo the cams ofthe dri tothe lm beng made, swell athe choice ff the spectator to watch, And the ane underpinning Fetish, tran lates from the ger fea, hence dana a death in mainstream io films, he overt ‘coming terms’ with there, Ti agtate the Guest ‘of consent further, me are reminded by Schack thatthe sprains sansent exp, and thal, heightened when watching someone it" the newton rence of a shale death. he tery ach of ooking tthe fi ethualy charged" Tn Dyn at Grae what happens thee moments of rm Tie, of with drawal, of Manes 6 thatthe sng individual stops “Lng” that Tm etching, In doing 4 cha opens ap between the contac ‘blizationy ofthe fl, the cocxperence andthe proses of death, he ‘cmiractual dynamic falters, the reassuring (tishitic) mal comic ‘ed, The spectator is eft without ychic a tha sca Th hax alflords a ypace wih is soon filed possibly seandainspleasutes ‘xplaton cinema but operates hete as the yey site ofthe poten and ancl expire ‘What is more the dying individual stops bing ale to acknowledge the spectators ot mln to rexiproate in a mre cunscis way the Fight bouncing af Joyce's lasses forcefalimage of this her deus sion ofthe rare dacunentatcs thot atally prone an thi ison of real dying, Sobchac singled ct the "humane gaze of Roch s Drone and Friedman and Josin’s Silverlake Le‘Marhe by its stoned ra tio, the humane gaze eras isl icy with the direct gaze of Sty dyn human sub, who os tek "The tks ae Tome ina fly but the dying indivals i ths wbservational documentary evo dies the camera diel. "Ths ate al olen shit in profile orale, tnd rarely, cente-trame ot foal, tn ee comeing long take of a teaching death, ir ability 0 sustain Wi, rather than citi which has long passed, contracts that een the rebound of breathing eases, ‘This scene provide a interne culmination othe i and tealnaton ‘he point, an paignaney, of motes’ Phere ss, however, more than “an agreed-upon compli” between the dying subjects and the film maker” Indeed, King does wot depend upon this hanune ing bach for his eical approach. His purchase on humanity exces Sibehack's stnetion of thet Bis s,s sports, a ether proven, frat leat heightened, through consent a tesprcis. Arguing forthe seaturlines of the blank eave, Pick feats the retured lok within the narnia economies Hoking™ and an so dng. renun ws the linger sakes and broader sweeps, of mainsiream culture “uraniy tnd persed in im ar ary comsituted va. the network of soul mimcrce hy which the self replenishes sts pow ay through another's ooh. ‘he spectre slim ger stil, his sot wo esa Sibhack’s dscwiem tall, nor least becanseitappeare before the sagen decamen- tare abut ding that Kings lm was part of Whit mare, Sferate Fide wasn mans ways the breakthrough fil, ard now has ben wiley acknowledges sch Hu where Sobehac fuses, mecesanl an Funan) ethically constituted through that dct gaze bak, Kina’ film represents exciting pst of cinema proving something el Something mt wo much revelatry as wovonditona nt crossing the aldinona fonder between the subjects on- and off-screen taking thatnes ial step and then seme: of Feng towards but thou the othe Seraph nh he Wi ee, Where» Peery Phelan argc af Sdcelake Efe, the representation ‘of yng allows at ist earn a egher vocabulary for the presen ferme” for Har this "herr serve ofthe vale oie, al ie, [oust tale hold. inorder oppine ssc Thin chapter hay evened the rte of cinema tn bate ds with wana aa tha ean tm inerpesonal, uranic and therefor, ethical trins Such terms re tute the witable place of pits wth hist pico ty plain ‘th: wn the illerem ways sm wi human physi vulerabty i tate acne the lobed the erst that hie he sence, nso we come bak we Scurry wh seth very sila sense tthe high stakes ofthe expression of pain and, I sill , f dying he failure express pin (and din) «wills work tall its appropriation and conflation with hse! form of power; camversely, ‘the wicca expres of ther will abeays werk eo expose and make ‘amps shat appropriation and conan Dg at Grave ke ther dco cl dying operates in stark opositim « ths necpolitial appropriation and contin bu aso tw Mello! which i terbuted, Thretore, and agai and in Contrast 4 dehused form of power. Though this seems x hats indicoment of Sacchanie hot cathartic effrs, oF ul the putin andcepnnsng mc fis ouput, the shoe does fit and expecially wth those films that 0 ‘xplicil inca the raramar of dina, sch as Mender Bal tn Kins Sl istad. death "spp a al pornographic etal epg and the Bam] oer an big eritghe of our Fitz, pop-culture denial ths primal aman eve yg at Grave panes the debe poner of the idiomatic and redemptive tact to,se wf evading, and rystifing deah oF sustaining its wondrous inet, it renders ral and nance and even hnowable We ofers, perhaps, nota based but a sort of sacred Feconition of H's ale a matesal and rerparal on Grace confounds consent and the humanity othe gare, co founds thes in ordct wo exci and revitaive ther, Where the unre ‘quite act ofthe dying individuals theif" noted of those opening tits, teas the prelude wo the il, the spectator of Dying at Grace reciprocation of spectators a shating,pot-consent and uncon wareinse orm as Die 7 Siniomal, represents a zane of eas contact between the self and othcrs tvhere cinema alfrds individuals an unscripted ena of thi place in the ‘wo an elation 0 the rest of humanity: the awe of espn, sel usc but never selindulgen. I alo represents radial departure frum pesos cbs W squares with Levinas ana, whi pets tins communion beyond the vss or frontal eld, ana depend pm always ready political comciounnens, But it als beaks with wach work, by Dadler, Cope, or Sato, oy, tha faces en with watching the ‘tural, new ot“unesceptional”vcraiity of ers rather than that animated by ait, necropolis violence oe interpersonal pai," ‘this, the ethics af pectatorhip and the penta of ciner i al timate for the representation a Ung unital within the wath ‘fart rather than the traumas of story opis