In 1895, the Lumieres flabbergasted their audiences with pictures of people leaving work and trains pulling into stations. These were things they saw in everyday life, but to see them in a theater was new and astonishing.
Within a couple of years, however, the audiences were no longer interested. Now they demanded something at least mildly exotic: lions in zoos in London or scenes of Siamese royalty in Scandinavia. Here we have a picture of a procession Rome -- not impossibly far away, but a once-in-a-lifetime trip for much of the audience.
Notice the hidden assumptions in movement, already in place and still in use more than a century later: people going elsewhere move from left to right.
Within a couple of years, however, the audiences were no longer interested. Now they demanded something at least mildly exotic: lions in zoos in London or scenes of Siamese royalty in Scandinavia. Here we have a picture of a procession Rome -- not impossibly far away, but a once-in-a-lifetime trip for much of the audience.
Notice the hidden assumptions in movement, already in place and still in use more than a century later: people going elsewhere move from left to right.
