Elements of a history of sociality in an era of audiovisual remediation
To accompany is, at the very least, to stand by the side of the person who is going his or her way. It is an act of presence between "being" and "doing" involving forms of availability and sensitivity that go beyond task assignments, care protocols, and social skills. Knowing how to accompany and knowing that we are accompanied is the foundation of the ontological trust of the vulnerable beings that we are. But this availability, this sensitivity, this knowledge is forged, refined, lost. The hypothesis we make is that mediums have a role to play, insofar as they offer an imaginary experience of accompaniment. In cinema, the viewer who encounters a vulnerable character may or may not be led to accompany him. Devices, scenographies and aesthetics are at stake. Comparing the concrete gestures and situations of the accompaniment with their imaginary experience allows us to explore the emotional and moral complexity of this attention to the other and to oneself. A tenuous but undoubtedly essential form of consideration and vigilance is transmitted between filmmakers, characters and spectators. It is also part of a cultural history of sensitivities to vulnerability, and more broadly, a history of sociality in the era of its audiovisual remediation.
This year's Martin Walsh Memorial Lecture will be delivered in French with simultaneous translation into English.