Screen Boundaries as Movement

Abstract

This chapter lays down the starting point for conceptualizing the postscreen by articulating the screen in terms of its boundaries, rather than a surface filled with light. It clarifies screen boundaries as not merely the formal material edges around a lit surface, but an active interplay of movement between actual and virtual boundaries. The essence of the screen, then, is not so much in what it displays but its relational paradoxes between what is shown and not shown, hidden and revealed. A transformative space arises out of the paradoxical interplay, resulting in affective engagements with love, pleasure and information. However, interactivity diminishes the authority of screen boundaries, paving the way for the post-screen of eroded screen boundaries.