Abstract

This thesis stems from the increasing ubiquity of cell phones in the cinema. It attempts to register the changes that have occurred in cinema in the wake of cellular telephone technology by considering the narrative, stylistic and symbolic significance of the technology in different cinematic environments. This project focuses on the stalker film, the contemporary Japanese horror film, and the network narrative film through the examples of Wes Craven's Scream Trilogy (19%, 1997, 2000), Takashi Miike's Chakushin ari (2003), and Mike Figgis' Timecode (2000) respectively. Drawing on Avital Ronell's theory of telephonic subjectivity and Tom Gunning's work on the fixed telephone's affinity to film, it is argued that the cell phone's dimensions of mobility, mutability, ubiquity and constant touch have given rise to a new stage in telephonic logic. The case studies in this thesis reveal through close readings, how film exploits this new logic, seizing on the emergent modalities of networked subjectivity and hyperconnected spatial relations to make film more dynamic and socially relevant. Finally it is argued that an examination of this exploitation makes legible the cell phone's social and psychological implications in quotidian life.