Bazin's "The Evolution of Film Language"

Andrew Bazin’s piece on “The Evolution of Film Language” discusses that changes that occurred in cinema when sound was first introduced. Bazin focuses on an element of film called “decoupage”, which although is not totally defined in this piece, relates to the way that films are edited. Something that stood out to me regarding Bazin’s analysis of the transition from silent films to films with sound that is how some in the film community viewed this as a decline in the quality of cinema. This debate that occurred over the merits of silent films versus films with sound is one that can be seen in various cultural contexts in which people argue over the benefits of modern technology over the desire to uphold traditional methods. Bazin argues that there were many positive developments that accompanied the advent of films with soundtracks, such as new forms of editing that developed and the ways that expressionism played a role in further developing these new techniques. The rise in popularity of films that had soundtracks did not signal the decline of cinema, rather it marked a new era of film. The biggest takeaway that I had from Bazin's piece is that although some will lament the advent of technologies as supposedly "ruining" a traditional art form, there are many things to appreciate (such as new ways to create and appreciate art) that should be acknowledged in this process.