The role of the imagination mechanism in the perception and representation of the cinematic image from a neuro-psychological perspective
The role of the imagination mechanism in the perception and representation of the cinematic image from a neuro-psychological perspective

Summary/Abstract: The present paper tackles the role of imagination in the perception and construction of the cognitive representation of the cinematic image, zooming in to what extent the complex cognitive mechanisms involved in the imaginative process contribute to the understanding/interpretation and completion of film images. While watching a cinematic film, each onlooker mentally builds distinct, unique pseudo-realities, using one's own imagination, knowledge and experiences, reconstructing for oneself a variant of the film narrative. Distinctive and original because the perception and interpretation of the visual and stylistic details of the image are different from one onlooker to another. Such differences are due, on the one hand, to neuro-psychic differences or to those related to the performance of the perception mechanism and, on the other hand, to quantitative and qualitative differences of the individual cultural background that directly influences the entire mechanism of imagination. Because imagination represents the mental capacity to construct cognitive representations, mental schemes or images, new ideas or scenarios, which are not perceived sensorially (see visual and/or auditory film)straight from the reality depicted by the images and sounds of the film, the outcome of the processes underlying this mechanism generate more or less similar constructions among individuals. Neurally speaking, this process involves complex interactions between multiple brain regions and operates by using cognitive resources shared with perception and memory.

• Details
• Contents