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Paul V r i l i o was bor n i n

  932 He has been

D r e ct o r of the Ecol eSpeci al e d Archit ect ure

and an edi tor of Espri t

Cause Commune and

Cri t i ques He i s a f ounder

member of C RPES t he

Centr e f or I n t e r d i s c i p l i n ar y

Resear ch i n Peace S udi es

and M l i t ar y St r at egy .

H s books i n cl u de

V t e s se et pol i ti que

Est het i que de l a

d isp ar i t i o n L Espace

cr i t iq u e L Hunzon n6gat d

and La Machi ne de v i s i o n

I SBN   86091 928 5

V RSO

UK : 6 Mear d S r e et

London W V 3HRUSA: 29 Wes t 35t h S r e et

NewYork NY 10001-2291

WARANDCI NEMA

The Logis t i c s of Percept i on

PAUL V R LI O

Tr ansl ated by Pa t r i c k Caml l er

From t he synchroni zed camer a/ machi ne-guns ont he bipl anes of Worl d War One t o t he l aser

s at e l l i t e s of St ar War s the technol ogi es of

ci nema and warf are have devel oped a f a t a l i n t er -

dependence . H r oshima mar ked one concl usion

of t h i s process i n t he nucl ear   f l a sh whi ch pene-

t r a t e d t he c i t y s darkest recesses et chi ng t hei mages of i t s v i c t i ms on t he wa l l s .

S nce t he di sappearance of di r ect vi si on i n

bat t l e and t he r epl acement of one-t o-one

combat by t he r emot e and mur der ous son etl umere of t r e n ch warf are m l i t ar y s t r a t e gy hasbeen dom nat ed by t he s t r u gg l e bet ween

v i s i b i l i t y and i n v i s i b i l i t y s ur v e i l l a nc e and camou-f l ag e. Per cept i on and d es t r u c t i o n have now

bec ome coterm nous .

Paul V r i l i o one of t he mos t radical French

c r i t i c s of cont emporar y cul ture expl or es t hese

conj unct i ons f r om a r ange of per spect i ves . Hegi ves a det a i l ed t e chni c al h i s t o r y of weaponr y

photogr aphy and ci nemat ography i l l u m nat i ng  t

w t h account s of f i l ms and m l i t ar y campai gns .

He examnes i n paral l el t he i deas of s t r at e gi s t s

and dir ectors al ong w t h t he vi ews on war andci nema of wr i t e r s f r om Ap ol l i n ai r e t o W l l i a mBurr oughs . And he f i nd s f u r t h er f r u i t f u l sources

of r ef l ec t i on i n t he h i s t o r y of ci nema a r c hi t e c t u r e

or t he wart i me p op ul a r i t y of s t r i p t e as e and t he

p i n - u p .

Theresul t i s a r i c h and suggest i ve analysi s of

m l i t ar y   ways of seeing and a d i s t u r b i n gaccount of how t hese have now permeat ed our

c ul t u r e :   War saw Beir ut Bel f ast . . t he s t r e et s

t hemsel ves have now bec ome a per manent

f i l m s e t f or ar my camer as or t he t ouri s t -

r e p or t e r s of gl obal c i v i l war .

One of t he mos t o r i g i n al t h i n ke r s of our t i me .

L i b e r a t i o n

Cover designed by Paul Burc her

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7

 Tr avel l i ng Shot over Ei ght y Year s

Thi s s t o r y coul d have begun i n 1854, at t he s i e ge of Sebast opol dur i ng t he

Cr i meanWar or seven year s l at e r w t h t he Amer i can C v i l War , s i n ce i n

bot h c onf l i c t s abundant use was made of moder n t echni ques   repeati ng

weapons, photographi c re c o rd s , ar mour ed t r a i n s, aer i al observati on  

But   have chosen t o s t a r t i n 1904, t he f i r s t year of t he ` war of l i ght For i t

was t hen, a year a f t e r t he W i ght brot hers f l e w i n t he K t t y Hawk t h at a

s e ar c h l i g ht was used f or t he f i r s t t i me i n h i s t o r y , i n t he Russo- Japanese

war  Tr ai ned on t he hei ght s of Por t Art hur , t he f ocused i ncandescence of

war s f i r s t proj ect or se emed t o concent r ate al l t he t orches and al l t he f i r e s

of al l t he war s bef ore i t   I t s beampi erced mor e t han t he dark ness of t he

Russo- Japanese war ; i t i l l um nat ed a f ut ur e wher e observati on and

destr ucti on woul d devel op at t he same pace   Lat e r t he t wo woul d mer ge

compl et el y i n t he t ar g et - ac qui s i t i on t echni ques of t he B i t z kr i eg, t he c i n e-

machi neguns of f i g ht e r ai r c r af t , and above al l t he bl i ndi ng H roshi ma

f l a s h whi ch l i t e r a l l y phot ographed t he shadowcast by bei ngs and t h i n g s,

sot hat ever y s u r f a c e i mmedi at el y bec ame war s recor ding s u rf a ce , i t s f i l mAnd f r o m t h i s woul d come d i r ec t e d- l i g ht weapons, t he coherent l i g h t -

beamof t he l a s er  

Anumber of events combi ned t o make 1904 a h i s t o r i c year   Fi r s t of a l l

i t w t nessed t he death of Et i enneJul es Mar ey, t hat key l i n k i n j oi ni ng

t o ge t h e r r epeat er- guns and r e pe at e r phot ography, whose chr onophot o-

graphi c r i f l e was, aswe have seen, bot h precursor of t he Lum ere b r o t h er s

camer a and d i r e ct descendant of t he Col t r e v ol v er s and c y l i n dr i c al guns  

The mul t i - b ar r el l e d Gat l i ng gun, i nvent ed at t he s t a r t of t he Amer i can

C v i l War , ended i t s m l i t ar y c ar eer i n 1904 at t he s i e ge of Por t Art hur ,

al t hough an e l e ct r o ni c v er s i o n re- ent ered ac t i v e s er v i c e i n Vi et nam

68

TRAVELLI NGS OT  69

I n 1904, t o o, Mar ey s a ss i s t a nt , Geor ges Demeny t hen a member of acomm ssi on worki ng on an i n f a n t r y manual , publ i shed L Educat i on dumar cheur i n whi ch he showed t he usef ul ness of chronophot ography i n

proport i oning t he s ol d i e r s expendi t ure of e f f o r t   f orced mar ches, han-dl i ng of weapons, et c . Demeny l at e r pl ayed an i mpor t ant r ol e i n t he

physi cal t r ai ni ng of t he French ar my bef ore 1914  

Fi n al l y , on 18 May 1904 i n Col ogne, Chri st i an H i l smeyer t e s t e d hi s

` t e l e mo bi l o s co pe , whi ch coul d a l e r t a r emot e obser ver t o t he pr esence ofme t a l l i c obj ect s   t he f orerunner, i n e f f e c t , of radi o-t el emet ry and Wat son-

Wat t s ` r a di o det ect i on and r angi ng Radar )  

f we r emember t h at i t was an o pt i c s p r of e s sor , Henr i Chreti en, whosework duri ng t he Fi r s t Wor l dWar perf ecti ng naval a r t i l l e r y t elemet ry l a i d

t he f oundati ons f or what woul d become C nemascope t h i r t y - s i x year s

l at e r , we can b et t e r grasp t he deadl y harmony t h at al ways e s t a bl i s he s i t s e l f

bet ween t h e f unc t i ons of ey e and weapon And, i ndeed, whil e t he advanceof panor am c t el emetr y r e s ul t ed i n w de- screen ci nema, so t he progress of

radi o-t el emet ry l ed t o an i mproved pi c t ur e : t he r adar p i c t u r e , whose elec-

t r o n i c i mage prefi gured t he el ec t r o ni c v i s i o n of vi deo   Fr omt hecommandi ng hei ght s of t he e ar l i e st nat ural f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , t hrough t he a r c hi t e ct o ni c

i nnovati on of t he wat ch-t ower, and t he devel opment of anchor ed obser-

vat i on b al l o on s , or t he a er i a l r econnai ssance of Wor l d War   and i t s  phot ogr aphi c r e c on st r u c t i o n of t he bat t l ef i el d, r i g ht up t o Presi dent

Reagan s l at e s t e ar l y warni ng s at e l l i t es , t here has been no end t o t he

enl ar gement of t he m l i t a r y f i e l d of per cepti on Eyesi ght and d i r e ct v i s i on

have gradual l y given way t o o pt i c al or opt o-el ect roni c pr ocesses, t o t he

most sophi sti cat ed f orms of ` t e l e s co pi c s i g ht The s t r a t e gi c i mpor t ance ofop t i c s was al r eady c l e ar i nWorl dWar 1 one i ndi cat i on bei ng t he dramat i c

r i s e duri ng t hewar i n French product i on of opt i c al gl as s   f or r angef i nders,per i scopes and camer a l enses ; f or t elemetr y and goni omet r y)   f r o m40t onnes t o 140 t onnes a y ear , hal f t he t o t a l A l i e d out put  

The i d ea of war as f undament al l y a game of hi de- and-seek w t h t he

enemy was proved t o t he poi nt of absurdi t y i n t hose Fi r s t Worl d Warear t hworks wher e m l l i o n s of men wer e ent r enched and i nt er r ed f o r f ourl ong year s   W t h t he appear ance of what came t o be c al l ed sat urat i on

weapons   repeat i ngr i f l e s machi ne- guns, r a p i d - f i r i n g f i e l d guns) f i r epoweral one det erm nedwho woul d be v i c t o r i o us   r a t h e r t han t he di sposit i on of

t r o op s , t he s t r i c t geomet r y of t h ei r movement s  A l e f f o r t s wer e made t o

conceal and d i s p er s e o ne s f o r c es i nst ead of depl oyi ng t hemi n maxi mumconcent r ati ons   Hence t hose endl ess waves of s ac r i f i c i al i nfant r ymen whol e ap t over t he parapets and craw ed t hrough t hemud t o t h ei r own b ur i a l  dead or al i v e, but anyway s a f e f r o menemy eyes and guns  

I f t he Fi r s t Wor l d War can be seen as t he f i r s t medi at ed conf l i c t i n

h i s t o r y , i t i s because r a p i d - f i r i n g guns l ar g el y r epl aced t h e pl et h or a of

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7  W R ND I NEM

i n di v i d ua l weapons   Hand- t o-hand f i g h t i n g and physical conf ront at i on

wer e supers eded by l ong-r angebut chery, i n whi ch t he enemy was mor e or

l ess i n v i s i b l e save f or t he f l a s h an d g l o wof hi s own guns   Thi s expl ai ns t he

urgent need t hat devel oped f or ever mor e accurat e s i g ht i n g ever greater

magni f i cati on, f or f i l m n gt hewar and photographi cal l y reconst ruct i ng t he

b a t t l e f i e l d ; above al l i t expl ai ns t he new y dom nant r o l e of a er i a l obser-

vat i on i n operat i onal pl anni ng

I n t he war s of o l d s t r a t e gy mai nl y c ons i s t e d i n choosi ng and marki ngout   t h ea t r e of oper a t i ons , a bat t l ef i el d w t h t he best v i s u al condi t i ons

and t he great est scope f or movement   I n t he G eat War however , t he

mai n t ask was t o gr asp t he opposi t e t endency : t o nar r ow down t a r g e t s

and t o c r e at e a pi c t u r e of bat t l e f or t r oops bl i nded by t he massi ve reach of

a r t i l l e r y u ni t s t hemsel ves f i r i n g b l i nd and by t he ceasel ess upheaval of

t h ei r envi r onment   Hence t hat mul t i pl i c i t y of t rench p er i s c op es t e l e s co pi c

s i g ht s sound d et e ct o r s and so on   The s ol d i e r s of t he Fi r s t Wor l dWar

may have been a c t o r s i n a bl oody c on f l i c t   But t hey wer e a l s o t he  i r s t

s pec t at o r s of a pyrot echni c f a i r y - pl ay whose magi cal , spectacul ar nat ure

some of t hemcould al ready recogni ze   amt hi nking e sp ec i a l l y of Ernst

J i i nge r Apol l i nai re and Mari net t i Ten year s af t e r t he s i e ge of Por t

Ar t hur, t h i s was t he i naugurati on of t o t a l war , a cont i nuous per f ormance,

al l day and  l l ni ght  

I ndeed, why shoul d t here h av e be en any r est af t er dar k? For t he

enemy s pr esence made i t s e l f known onl y t hrough t he f l a s h of g un f i r e or

t he gl ow f r om t he t r enches and dayt i me bl i ndness was hardl y any d i f -

f e r e nt f r o m t h at whi ch set i n at ni g ht f a l l   As a prel ude t o t he l i ght n i n g warof 1940, her e was a l i ght i ng war , w t h t he use of t he f i r s t t r a c e r b ul l e t s

f l a r e s t hat l i t up no-man s- l and f or noct urnal t a r g e t s; power f ul search-

l i g ht s w t h a r ange of ni ne ki l ometr es, and ear l y ant i - ai r c r af t def encesyst ems   The ol d adage, Thecaval ry l i g h t s t he way, t he i nf a nt r y w ns t he

day nowwel l and t r u l y bel onged t o t he past   As t he f r o n t s et t l ed i n t o

p os i t i o na l wa r f a r e aviati on t ook over t he c av a l r y s f uncti ons and r econ-

nai ssance pl anes bec ame t he eyes of t he hi gh command a v i t a l prost hesi s

f or t he headquart ers s t r a t e gi s t i l l u m nat i ng a t e r r ai n t h at was const ant l ybei ng t urned upsi dedown byhi gh expl osi ves   Landmar ks vani shed   mapsl o st al l accur acy   nd as t h e l andscape of war became ci nemati c, so t he

f i r s t on- board cameras came i n t o t hei r own For onl y t he l e ns - s hu t t e r

coul d captur e t he f i l m of event s t he f l eet i ng shape of t he f ront l i n e t he

sequences of i t s gr adual d i s i n t eg r at i o n   Onl y seri al phot ography was

capabl e of r e gi s t e r i n g changi ng t roop p os i t i on s or t he i mpact of l ong-r ange ar t i l l er y and hence t he c apac i t y of newweapons f or seri al d es t r u c -

t i on

Mar cy s i n t e r e s t i n d i s c l o si n g t he successi ve phases of a body mov e-ment her e bec omes a concern t o expl ai n t he sequence of a sudden d i s i n t e -

23   Camer aman i n t he f o r e - t u r r e t of a Lancast er bomber , 1943  

           

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l r i , r l ~ r , ~ rrr r I l , l i r r , . . .. .

nary it n a V / d r r . r q ¢. r q ~ d qu r ur r v u r r a r r w . ntr r

/ n r r / F un r r l r v . ~ p r r r L pr r , r r i , r l r r l r .

r n able l 0 7rnv   l o r 4 o hr r r m

~ , r r r; , l r r   ~r r r l r r r r r r , r ,  

l l l e R : ndn l r r e L A r I I r I r .Y Cn np g l l l

vu u i l J r L r dri oh u

n I r d dn npp r;~~ ; m wv r

nn, L l ~i  r n n i d r r n ~ r

47  Phot ograph of t he Eart h re l ayed f r omLunar Ob i t er , 8 August 1967  

TRAVELLI NGSHOT 71

grati on of t he l andscape whi ch i s not f u l l y v i s i b l e t o any one person . Aeri al

phot ography, ci nemati c phot ogrammet r y - once agai n we f i n d a conj unc-

t i o n bet ween t he power of t he moder n war machi ne, t he aeropl ane, and

t he new t echni cal perf ormance of t he observati on machi ne . Even t hough

t he m l i t a r y f i l m i s made t o be proj ect ed on scr een t hus obscur i ng t he

pract i cal val ue of t he successi ve negat i ves i n anal ysi ng t he phases of t he

movement i n quest i on i t i s f undament al l y a r eversal of Mar ey s or

Muybr i dge s wor k . For t he poi nt i s no l onger t o st udy t he def ormati ons

i nvolved i n t he movement of a whol e body, whet her hor se or man,but t o

reconst i t ut e the f r a ctu r e l i n es of t he t r enches, t o f i x t he i n f i n i t e f r agmen-

t a t i on of a m ned l andscape al i v e w t h endl ess potent i al i t i es. Hence t he

crucia l r o l e of phot ogr aphi c reconst ruct i on, and of t hose m l i t a r y f i l ms

whi chwer e t he f i r s t , l i t t l e-known f o rmof macro- ci nemat ography, appl i ed _~

not   as w t h Pai nl eve af ter 1925) t o t he i n f i n i t e l y smal l but t o t he i n f i n i t e l y

l a r ge. Thus, as t he Hachet t e A manach of 1916 put i t , t he t echni ques of ^

represent ati on proved t hei r enor mous i mpor t ance duri ng t he war :   s h

 Thanks t o negat i ves and f i l ms i t was possibl e t o re t ra ce t he whol e f r ont . 1Q

w t h t he great est c l a r i t y f r omBe l f o r t t o t he Yset  On t he one hand, t he secret of v i c t o r y i s wr i t t en i n t he ai r by t he bal l i s -

t i c s of p roj ect i l es and t he hyper - ba l l i s t i c s of aeronauti cs ; on t he other i t i s

negat ed by speeds i nce onl y t he speed of f i l m exposure i s capabl e of

r ecordi ng t hat m l i t a r y secret whi ch each prot agoni st t r i e s t o keep by

camouf l agi ng ever l a rger obj ect s   a r t i l l e r y bat t er i es r a i l ways marshal l i ng

yards and eventual l y whol e t owns as t hebl ack- outbel a t edl y r esponded t o

t he l i ght i ng war of 1940)  Just as weapons and armour devel oped i n uni son t hroughout h is to ry

so v i s i b i l i t y and i n v i s i b i l i t y now began t o evol ve t ogether event ual l y

produci ng i n vi s i b l e weapons t hat mak e t hings v i si bl e - radar sonar , and

t he hi g h- d ef i n i t i on camer a of spy sat e l l i t e s . The Duke of Wel l i ngt on once

sai d he had spent hi s l i guessi ng what was on t he ot her s i de of t h e h i l l  Today s m l i t a r y deci si on-maker s don t have t o guess : t hei r t ask i s t o

avoi d confusi ng t he f orms of a represent ati on whi ch, whi l e coveri ng t he

broadest regi ons of t he f r on t must t ake i n t he mnute det a i l s al ways l i a b l e

t o i n f l u en ce t he out come of a con f l i c t The probl em

t hen i s no l onger so

muc h one of masks and scr eens of camouf l age desi gned t o hi nder l ong-

r ange t a r g et i n g; rather i t i s a probl em of ubi qui t ousness, of handl i ng

si mul t aneous dat a i n a gl obal but unst abl e envi r onment wher e t he i mage

( photographi c or ci nemati c) i s t he most concent r at ed, but a lso t he most

stable f o rmof i nf ormat i on.

The camera- r ecor di ng of t he Fi rst Worl d War al r eady prefi gured t he

s ta t i s t i cal memor y of comput er s, bot h i n t he management of aer i a l obser -

vat i on dat a and i n t he ever mor e ri gorous management of t he si mul t anei t y

of acti on and r eact i on    

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 2 W NDCI NEM

Was t he Bofor s p r e di c t o r of t he Second Wor l dWar not t he f orer unner

of t h e ` s t r a t e gi c c al c ul at o r of t he i mmedi at e post - war per i od? I n t h i s an t i -

a i r c r a f t gun, whi ch i mproved on t el emetr y by maki ng t he b a l l i s t i c t r aj e c-

t ory coi ncide w t h t he t a r g e t ai r c r af t at a c er t ai n poi nt i n t i me and space,

t he deadl y r e s ul t was achi eved by means of stereoscopic superi mposi t i on,

i n r eal t i me , of t h e t wo f l i ght i mages on   scr eenThus, t he t h e a t r e of oper at i ons of t he Napol eoni c War s, wher e a ct o r s

i n t he bl oodbath moved i n rhyt hm and hand-t o-hand f i ght i ng wasconduct ed by t he naked eye and w t h bar e weapons, gave way at t he

begi nni ng of t h i s cent ury t o a camer a obscura i n whi ch f a ce - t o - f a ce

conf ront at i on was suppl ant ed by i n st a nt i n t e r f a c e, and geographi cal

di st anceby t he noti on of real t i me  M l i t ar y s t r a t e g y had e ar l i er i nvol ved t he di v i s i on of space, t he bui l di ng

of per manent f o r t i f i c a t i o n s compl ete w th d i t c he s , r ampar t s and scr eens

t h at added up t o what one nineteenth-cent ury general c al l e d   a ki nd of

box of s u r p r i s e s The t went i et h centur y moved on t o t he di v i s i o n of t i me,

wher e t he s ur p r i s e e f f e c t came f r omt he sudden appear ance of p i c t u r e s and

s i g ns on a moni t or, and wher e screens wer e desi gned t o s i mul at e , r a t her

t han di ssi mul at e, a war t hat ever mor e c l o s el y r esembl ed non-st op ci nema

or round-t he-cl ock t e l e v i s i o n   Onl y w t h t he Second Wor l d War and t he

spread of r adi o-t el ephony, however , di d t he s i l e nt ci nema of r a d i o -t el egr aphy f i n a l l y begi n t o t a l k  

I n S eel St orms, publ i shed i n 1920, Er nst Junger dr aws on hi s

experi ence at t he Front t o express t h i s dereal i zat i on e f f e c t of i ndus t r i al i z ed

warf are  

I n t h i s war where f i r a l r e ad y a t t a ck e d s p ac e mor e t h an men, I f l t compl etel yal i en t o my own person, as i f I had been l o ok i n g at mysel f t hrough b i n o c ul a r s  I c o ul d h ea r t he t i n y p roj e ct i l e s wh i s t l i n g past my e ar a s i f t h ey wer e brush-i ng an i n an i ma t e obj ect   The l andscape had t he t r anspar ency of glass 

Thi s t o t a l t r anspar ency a f f e c t i n g obj ec t , s ub j e ct and sur r oundi ng space  

whi ch makes each of t he ant agoni sts f eel bot h t hat he i s wat ched by i n v i s i -

bl e s t al k er s and t h at he i s obser vi ng hi s own body f r om a di stance  i l l u s t r a t e s t he der angement of percept i on i n an envi r onment wher e m l i -

t a r y t echnol ogy i s di s t or t i ng not onl y t he bat t l e f i el d, but also, and

e sp ec i a l l y , t he space-t i me of v i s i o n, wher e t he observati on machi ne and

t he moder n war machi ne are conj oi ned t o such a degr ee t hat J i i n ge r can

say   ` The f a c ul t y of t hi nking l o g i c a l l y and t he sense of gr a vi t y seemed t o

be par al ysed  The r adar operat or l at e r had t h i s same sensat i on of l ooki ng down f r om

  great hei ght ?, and i t was t o cancel t h i s human el ement t hat s ci e nt i s t s

devel oped `TrueMot i onRadar whi ch el i mnat ed any o pt i c al i mage f rom

TR VELLI NGSHOT 7

t hemoni t or   What t he vi deo a r t i s t NamJune Pai k c al l s t he t r i umphof t he

e l e c t r o ni c i mage over uni v er s al gr a vi t y has c ar r i ed t h i s s t i l l f u r t h e r   Thesense of wei ght l essness and suspensi on   o f - o r d i ary sensat i ons i n di c at e s

t he grow ng confusi on bet we ` o c ul a r r e l i t   and i t s i nst ant aneous,

medi at ed representati on  The i n t en si t   yf -automati c weaponr y and t he

new c ap ac i t i e s of photographi c equi pment combi ne t o p r o j e c t a f i n al

i mageof t heworl d, a worl d i n t he t hroes of demateri al i zat i on and event ual

t o t a l d i s i nt e gr a t i o n, onq i nwhi ch t he ci nema of t he Lum ere brothers

becomes mor e r e l i a b l e t han J i i n ge r s mel anchol y l ook- out who can no

l onger b el i e ve hi s eyes hi ghl y meani ngf ul i n ci d en t f r om t he Fi r s t Worl dWar   one whi ch,

c ur i ou sl y enough, r epeated i t s e l f t went y-si x year s l at e r i n a v ar i a nt i t se l f

i ndi c at i v e of t he changi ng b a t t l e f i e l d   w l l conf i rm t he t r u t h of t h i s

ar gument   I n   9 4 t he French and Ger man commands had l i t t l e f ai t h i n

a er i a l observati on and gr e at l y p r e f e r r e d t he use of gr ound p at r o l s   At t he

Bat t l e of t he Mar ne, however , Capt ai n Be l l e ng er, t he man i n charge of

a vi a t i on i n t he f o r t i f i e d area ar ound t he c api t a l , r esponded t o Gener al

Ga l l i e ni s urgi ng and st epped up t he number of r econnai ssance f l i g h t s i n

t he v i c i n i t y of Pa r i s   A c onf l i c t of i nt er p r e t at i o n t hen broke out bet ween

Gal l i e ni , a s pe ci a l i s t i n c ol o ni a l war s who e xc el l e d i n t he use of newt e c h-

nol ogy, and t he o f f i c er s r esponsi bl e f or t he f ront   Seen f r omt he ground,t he di r e ct i on of t he Ger man of f e ns i v e was uncl ear and t he r e p o r t s of

scout s wer e cont radi ctory   al t hough t he gener al s t a f f t ook t hem as

gospel Seen f r om t he sky, t he a xi s or general t h r u s t suddenl y became

apparent, but t he French hi gh command re fused t o accept t he evi dence

and qui te nat u r a l l y set g re a t e r store by h or i z on t a l , per spect i val v i s i on t han

by t he v er t i c al , panor amc v i s i o n of overf l ying ai r c r af t   Eventual l y Ga l l i e ni

i mposed hi s ` poi n t of vi ew on enemy movement s   not i n Par i s , but on

t he Marne   Some wr i t e r s a s cr i b ed t he r e sul t i ng v i c t o r y at t he f i r s t b a t t l e of

t he Marne t o t he Par i s r e gi o n s dense, concent ri c rai l way network w t h i t s

e f f i c i e nt regulat i on of t r a f f i c   Today, however , i t seems at l e as t p l a us i b l e

t hat the happy out come a l s o depended upon regul at i on of poi nt s of vi ew

t hat i s on a d e f i n i t i o n of t he b a t t l e i mage i n whi ch t he c a va l r y s perspec-

t i v e suddenl y l o st out t o t he per pendi cul ar v i s i on of t he r econnai ssance

ai r c r af t  Hencef ort h, as Wnst on Chur chi l l conf i r med, t he general t endency

p r e va i l s over successi ve epi sodes   t i s l i k e t he d i f f e r e nc e bet ween t he

i nvent i on of ci nemat ography and t he i nvent i on of chronophot ography  s i n c e ar med c l a s he s coul d nowonl y be per cei ved t hrough proj ect i on, only

t he phot ogr amme of t he war f i l m coul d reveal t h ei r i nner dynam c or

general l i n e , gr ound p at r o l s bei ng l e f t t o s e rv e as a t a c t i c al c o nt r o l   The

systemof revi ew ng i mages and sequences i n accel eratedmot i on was t hen

appl i ed t o m l i t ar y r evi ews and exer ci ses, on a t r ai ni ng gr oundwhi ch was  

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74 W R N I NEM

no mor e t han a scr een f or proj ecti on of t he war of movement   A one

capabl e of maki ng v i s i b l e t he l i kel i hood of a t t a ck , ci nema became asso-

c i a t e d w t h b a t t l e i n t he same way t hat t e l e s c op i c s i g ht s wer e att ached t o

r i f l e s or t he t i ne- machi ne- gun t o a er i a l warf are  

The B i t zkr i eg br ought home t h i s reversal of perspect i ve i n a r e pet i t i on of

t he epi sode f r o mt he Mame   I n t hecourse of spri ng 1940   on t he 10t h of

May t o be p re c i s e   event s f ol l owed one another w th such r a pi di t y t h at

onl y t he ai r force could grasp t h ei r cat ast rophic di mensi ons   On t he 12t h

of May i n a re p o rt nowkept i n t he French A r For ce a rc h i v e s , Li eutenant

Cher y f r o mReconnai ssance G oup 2/33 ( the one i n whi ch Sai nt- Exupery

served) wr ote as f ol l ows : ` The bri dges over t he Meuse ar e i n t ac t   Overal l

i mpressi on  t he enemy   s advanci ng w t h ar mour ed di v i s i ons i n t he

Ar dennes, and i s meet i ng no re s i s t a n c e  Despi t e t h i s c l e ar - c ut i n f o r -

mat i on, t he French general s t a f f re f u s ed t o b el i e ve t he l i eut enant - observer  

n ol d m l i t a r y axi om ` Ar dennes   n on - s t r a t e gi c , i mpenet r abl e countr y

had st opped t he Magi not Line f r o m bei ng conti nued nor t hward, and

t hus t h e r e coul d be no quest i on of l ending cr edence t o Cher y s h er e t i c al

communi cat i on   The sequel   s wel l enough known   The i s s ue here i s no

l onger t he s c al e of t he poi nt of v i ewbut howper vi ous c er t ai n t e r r ai n i s t o

t he advance of enemy ar dour  The gl a ss - l i k e t r anspar ency of J i i n ge r s war l andscape   s t hus

compounded by t he p i e r c i n g of dense countr y, such t h at a wooded massi f

becomes t r ansparent t o r o l l i n g ar mour ed di v i s i o ns   Thi s i s no l onger

merel y an o pt i c al i l l u s i o n a f f e c t i ng a s ol d i e r s uf f e r i n g psychi c wei ght l ess-

ness ; r a t h e r , i t i s a mot or i l l u s i o n af f e ct i n g s t r a t e gi c t e r r i t o r y t hat o f f e r s no

mor e r e s i s t a n ce t o t anks t han ai r space does t o di ve- bombers  

I n hi s wri t i ngs as a war pi l ot , Sai nt - Exupery uses some ar r es t i n g

met aphors  

A l I can see on t he vert i cal   s c ur i o s f romanot her age, beneath clear, unt r emb-

l i n g glass   I l e an over cryst al f r ames i n a museum I t ower above a great spark-

l i n g pane, t h e gr e at pane of my cockpi t   Bel ow ar e men prot ozoa on a

m croscope s l i d e   I aman i cy s ci en t i s t , and f or me t h ei r war   s a l a bo r at o r yexperi ment

The s ol d i e r s panic-st ri cken di stanci ng f r o ms t a t i c warf are   s t r a n s f e r r e d t o

t he t echnol ogy of l i ghtn ing-war , t o t he t e l e s co pi c l enses and t he st ereo-

s c op i c g l a s s of m l i t ar y photo- anal ysi s, i n a medi umwhi ch seems aqueous,

g l a ss - l i k e, w t h al l i t s phenomena of r e f r a ct i on and d i f f r a c t i o n  

Po s i t i o na l warf are, t hen, had had   t s day   The ext r eme mobi l i t y of

mechani zed armes i mpar t ed a newt emporal uni t y t hat onl y ci nema coul d

apprehend, a l b ei t w t h occasi onal d i f f i c u l t y s i n ce t he g re a t e r speed of

TR VELLI NGSHOT75

a i r c r a f t ext ended t he f l o w of i mages and hi gh al t i t u de s i ced up t he

camer a s mechani sm For t hese r easons, m l i t a r y s ci ent i s t s r e f i n ed o pt i c al

scanni ng met hods, a s si s t e d t he p i l o t s f a l l i b l e memor y w t h a t ape-

r ecor der whi l e await i ng t he onboar d comput er , and made f i l m ng mor e

p r e ci s e by means of a ` hyposcope t hat coul d r e adi l y v i s u al i z e t he ai r c r af t s

v er t i c al   Heavy and cumber some sheet - emul si on was r epl aced by se l f

w ndi ng f i l m c ar t r i d ge s   A r speed/ f i l mspeed a dj u st o r s , i n - f l i ght marki ng

of negat i ves and t he coupl i ngof p ho t o - el e ct r i c c el l s made   t easi er t o i nt e r -

pret document ar y output ~nd t hus f u r t h e ri mpr oved i t s qual i t y  

The l i m t s of i nv es t i g at i o n, i n bot h t i me and space, wer e bei ng pushed

back   The rapi d movement of armes meant t hat t h ei r advance had t o be

det ected at t he f u r t h e s t p os si b l e poi nt w t hi n an a i r c r a f t s r ange, so t hat

t he command woul d have s uf f i c i e nt t i me t o r espond   Gone wer e t he t i mes

of t he f our- ki l ometr e-an- hour i n f an t r y , when i nf ormat i on r emai ned f r e s h

f or a day, a week or even mor e   Now r e p o r t s l o st t h ei r val ue w t hi n a f ew

hour s, or even a f ewm nut es   f t he s ec re t s of war ar e al ways wr i t t en i n t h e

a i r , onl y hi gh- speed t ransmssion al l ows t h ei r i mpor t ance t o be u se f u l l y

deci pheredAf t er t he defeat of France, t he Br i t i s h t ook S dney Cot t on s advi ce and

r eor gani zed t h ei r a er i a l r econnai ssance by repl aci ng t he heavy, weapons-

c ar r y i n g B enhei mbomber s w t h unar med Spi t f i r e s t hat coul d l oad a spar e

f u e l - t a nk   Thi s s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t aeropl ane, perf or mng l i k e a v er i t a bl e

f l y i n g camer a, pref i gured t oday s   vi d eo - m s s i l e s whi ch ar e capabl e of

d et e ct i n g, l i v e or i n pl ay-back, not onl y t he successi on but a l s o t he si mul -

t a nei t y of vari ous a ct i o ns  

t was i n 1912 t hat t he Ger man A f r ed Maul l aunched a powder - f uel l ed

r ocket w t h a smal l photographi c devi ce i n   t s nose cone When   t r eached

i t s hi ghest p oi n t , t he rocket t ook a s i n gl e phot ograph and came back t o

e a r t h at a sl ower speed   a m l i t a r y experi ment whi ch bui l t upon Nadar s

f i r s t a er o s t a t i c p i c t u r e s)   Twent y year s l at e r at RC s l a bo r at o r i e s,

V adi m r Zwor yki n i nvented t he ` I conoscope , t he f i r s t name f or t he elec-

t r oni c t e l e v i s i o n   He present ed   t not as a mass medi umbut as a way of

expandi ng t he r ange of human v i s i on   i ndeed, a nt i c i p at i ng t he P oneer

and Voyager space pr obesby many years, he even want ed t o pl ace a

camer a on a r ocket t o observe i n ac ce ss i b l e regi ons  

Thi s urge t o expand t he r ange of v i s i o n and det ect i on event ual l y f ound

a s ci ent i f i c answer i n t he el ectr o-magnet i c r adar beam whi ch at t he t i me

of t he Bat t l e of Br i t a i n gave t he ai r t he t r anspar ency of et her   Wat son-

Wat t spread out a myst eri ous, i n vi s i bl e scr een i n t he at mospher e, r eachi ng

t o such a hei ght t hat no ai r vessel coul d pass t hrough w t hout bei ng

det ect ed somewher e on t he gr ound, i n t he f o r m of a bl ob of l i g ht i n a

dark ened r oom What had once t aken p l a c e i n t he dar kr oom of N epce

and Daguer r e was nowhappeni ng i n t he s k i e s of Engl and   Thewar r oom

 

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i n London f i l l ed upw t h s e ni o r o f f i c e r s and f emal e a ss i s t a nt s   hostessesone m ght say of a s t r at e gi c of f i c e i m t a t i n g real war who organi zed t hef l o w of ` Chai n Home r a dar i nf or mat i on and coor di nat ed t he R Fcombat f ormati ons   Br i e f exchanges bet ween cr ews and t h ei r ` warhostesses passed t hrough t h e et h er as i f t he coupl es wer e t ogether i n t hesame r oom Dul y warned, gui ded and consol ed, t h e f i g h t e r - p i l o t s wer eceasel essl y f oll owed by t h es e of f s t a ge v oi c es   t was not onl y t he war f i l mt hat had bec ome a t a l k i e   For t he p i l o t s coul d v i s u al i z e

t he audi encei n

t heoperat i ons r oomand punct uat ed t h ei r b r i l l i a n t f e a t s of ar ms w t h e x cl a -mat i ons and comment ar i es   The f emal e a ss i s t a n t s c ont r i but e d t o t h ei rl e ad er s s uc c es s as wel l as t o t he dereal i zat i on of a b a t t l e i n whi ch ghost spl ayed an ever g r e a t e r r o l e - screen ghost s of enemy p i l o t s s er v ed t oc onf i r m t h at t hey had been shot down, and ghostl y r adar i mages, voi cesand echoes came t hrough on t he scr eens radi os and sonars   The p r o j e c -t i o n of l i g h t and waves had r epl ac ed t h e ol d pr oj ect i on of ar rows andj a vel i ns  

A t hou gh m l i t ar y f o r c e depends on i t s r e l a t i on sh i p t o out war d appear -ance t h i s power has ov er t h e years l o st i t s v e r i s i m l i t u d e i n a profusion ofcamouf l age, decoys, j amm ng, smoke- scr eens, e l e ct r o ni c count er-measur es, and so on  The o f f e ns i v e a r s en al has equi pped i t s e l f w t h new

devi ces f or a c onf l i c t i n whi ch o pt i c al and mot or i l l u s i o n have f used i n t hec i n emat i c del i r i um of l i ght n i ng- war   Here what count s i s t he speed atwhi ch obj ects i mages and sounds t r a v el t hrough space un t i l t he momentof t he nucl ear f l as h 

I n t he s pr i n g of 1940, u nl i k e 1914-18, r econnai ssance ai r c r af t had aconst ant short - wave radi o l i n k w t h t he ground, over a r ange t hat woul di n c r e as e f r o m a f ew dozen ki l ometr es t o f i v e hundr ed by t he end of t hewar   I n t he aut umn of t he same year R F ni ght - f i ght e r s bec ame t he f i r s t

t o have onboar d r adar whi ch enabl ed p i l o t s t o see on cockpi t screens aDorni er or Messer schmt t - 110 f l y i n g t hrough t he dark over f i v e ki l ometr esaway   The p i l o t s g i f t of doubl e si ght t hus i ntr oduced a newdoubl i ng oft he wa r r i o r s personal i t y  w t h hi s head up, at mospher i c t r anspar ency andocul ar t a r g et i ng ; head down, t he t r anspar ency of t he ether l ong-di stancev i s i o n   Two m l i t a r y spaces one c l o se and one f ar away, cor r esponded t o as i n gl e bat t l e a s i n gl e war   Lat er t hese t echnol ogi es l ed t o t h e devel opmentof over-t he-hori zon weapons syst ems  

As f or t he ni ght- bombers, whi ch had t o f a ce t he bl i ndi ng l i ght of 200m l l i o n candl epower s ea r c hl i g ht s t hey gradual l y acqui r ed newr esourcesand pr ocedures t o hel p t hem accompl i sh t h ei r m s s i o n   Wher eas i n 1940t he Luf t waff e dr opped i n ce nd i a r i e s t o mar k t he bombi ng area i n Londonand Covent r y, i n 1941 t he A l i es ` Oper ati on M l l enni um us ed i mpactf l are- bombs t o sket ch out i n t he darkness a r e c t a ng l e of r ed l i g h t s f or t heHali f axes and Lancast ers t o r e l e as e t h ei r d es t r u ct i v e l oad over Col ogne 

TR VELLI NGSHOT 77

Subsequent l y t he A l i es devel oped t he magnesi umf l a r e and t h e el ec t r oni c

f l ash whi ch al l owed US F bomber s not onl y t o l i ght up t he gr ound b ut

mor e i mport ant l y, t o daz zl e enemy def ences f or a f ew moment s   Such

i nnovati ons wer e t aken f u r t h e r by SamCohen i n t he Vi etnamWar , when

i t bec ame p os s i b l e t o bl i nd t he enemy f or mor e t han an hour   t he l atest

devel opment i n t hi s l i ne i s t he st u n gr enade used agai nst t e r r o r i s t s i n

Mogadi shu and London .

By 1942 gr ound- based el ec t r o ni c devi ces wer e abl e t o d i r e ct Fl yi ng

Fo r t r e s s squadrons over a ver y l ong d i s t a nc e hel ping t h em t o drop t h ei r

bomb- l oads by day or ni ght and under any weat her condit i ons  The t wo

gr ound s t a t i o ns i nvol ved wer e known as ` The Cat and ` M c ke y Mous e

A r c r af t f i t t e d w t h a speci al r e ce i v e r pi cked up t he c at s beamand l et

t hemsel ves be p as s i v el y gui ded t o t he v i c i n i t y of t he t a r g et   The mous e,

whi ch had so f ar f oll owed t he operati on i n s i l e nc e f r o ma di stance of some

f our hundr ed ki l ometr es, t hen t ook over and, havi ng cal cul ated t he

moment when t he bomber shoul d r e l e as e i t s l oad, t r a n s m t t e d t he i ns t r u c -

t i o n by r adar   l l w t h a mar gi n of e r r o r of a mer e hundr ed met r es  

Thi s sophi sti cat ed e l e ct r o ni c net work coveri ng West er n Eur ope was

f i r s t known as GEE But as i t cont i nual l y i mpr oved, i t s name changed t o

t he c al l - s i g n O OE and f i n a l l y i n 1943, t o H2S by whi ch t i me i t coul d

gi ve p i l o t s not j u st a r a dar s i g na l but 

` radari mage , a l umnous s i l

houet t e of t he t a r g et over whi ch t hey wer e f l y i n g   The bombi ng appar at us

was equi pped w t h a transmtter t h at beamed cent i met ri c waves i n a

per pendi cul ar l i n e t o gr ound l ev el t he echoes t hen returni ng and f o r m n g

on a cat hode screen an e l e ct r o ni c i mage of f i f t e e n squar e ki l ometr es   The

systemwas used f or t he f i r s t t i me i n Oper ati on Gomor r ah, whi ch devas-

t a t e d Hambur g  

The v i s i bl e weapons syst ems of a r t i l l e r y machi ne- guns, and so f o r t h

t hus became ent angl ed w t h t he i n v i s i b l e weapons syst ems of a conti nent-

w de el ec t r o ni c war   No l onger wer e o bj e ct s on t he gr ound i n vi s i b l e t o

pi l ot s who i n t he past had r e l at e d t o nat ural condi t i ons bot h as a source

of p r ot e ct i v e conceal ment f r o menemy f i r e and as a hi ndr ance t h at masked

t h ei r own t a r g et   Ant i - a i r c r a f t def ences benef i t ed i n t u r n f r o mt he u bi q ui -

t ousness of war   t he Kammhuber L i n e f or exampl e, whose operat i onal

c e nt r e was at   r nhemi n Hol l and, organi zed t he Ger man f i ght e r r esponse

w t h an a i r - r a i d warni ng systemt h at cover ed key areas f r o mt he Nort h Sea

t o t he Medi t err anean  net wor k of ` panor amc r a d a r i ns t al l at i on s each

t racki ng   c i r c l e of t h r e e hundred ki l ometr es, coul d cabl e an e l e ct r o ni c

i mage of t he sky t o t he ant i - a i r c r a f t b at t er i es of Fest ung Eur opa   Thi s t o t a l

v i s i b i l i t y c ut t i ng t hrough darkness, di st ance and nat ural o bs t a c l e s made

t he space of war t r ansl ucent and i t s m l i t a r y commander s c l a i r v o ya nt

s i n ce r esponse t i me was conti nual l y bei ng cut by t he t echnol ogi cal

processes of f o r e si g ht and a nt i c i p at i o n  

  

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78 W R ND I NEM

The a i r - r a i d a l e r t systema l s o pl ayed a maj or psychol ogi cal r o l e on t he

Conti nent   Advance warni ng coul d be gi v en t o c i v i l i a n popul ati ons as

soon as enemy squadr ons cr ossed t he coast and t h i s was t ransl at ed i n t o a

f u l l - s cal e al e r t once t hey veered t owards t hei r t ar get c i t y   Wt h t he

compr essi on of space-t i me danger was l i v ed si mul t aneousl y by m l l i o n s

of a t t e n t i v e l i s t e ner s   For want of space t o move back i nt o t h ei r onl y

protect i on was t i me gi ven t o t hemby t he r a di o

The A l i e d ai r assaul t on t he great Eur opean conur bat i ons suddenl ybec ame a s on - et - l um e r e a s eri e s of speci al e f f e c t s an at mospher i c p ro j e c -

t i o n desi gned t o conf use a f r i g ht e ne d bl acked-out popul ati on I n dar k

r ooms t hat f u l l y accorded w t h t he s c al e of t he dr ama v i c t i ms - t o - b e

w t nessed t he most t e r r i f y i n g ni ght -t i me f a i r y t h eat r e hel l i s h d i s p l a ys of

an i nvadi ng ci nema t hat r epr oduced t he Nur ember g a r c hi t e c t u r e of l i ght  

A ber t Speer or gani z er of t h e Nazi f e s t i v i t i e s at Zeppel i nfel d wr ote as

f ol l ows of t he bombi ng of Ber l i n on 22 November 1943  

The r a i d o f f e r e d a spectacle whose memor y cannot b e e r a se d  You c on s t a nt l y

had t o r emember t he a pp al l i n g f a ce of r e a l i t y i f you wer e not t o l et yoursel f be

e nt ra n c ed by t h i s v i s i o n  Parachut e-r ocket s - `C hr i s t ma s t r e e s as Be r l i n er s

c al l ed t hem  suddenl y l i t up t he sky ; t h en came t he e xp l o s i o n whose g l a r e was

e ng ul f e d by t he smoke o f i n ce nd i a r i e s   On every si de countl ess searchl i ght sscoured t he ni ght and a g ri p pi n g d u el began when an aeropl ane caught i n t he

pencil of l i g h t t r i e d t o make i t s escape   Somet i mes i t was hi t and f or a f ew

moment s bec ame a b l a z i n g t o r c h  I t was an i mposi ng v i s i o n of apocal ypse 

H t l e r s a r c hi t e ct was wel l pl aced t o measur e t h e s mal l di s t anc e f r o m t he

h el l of i mages t o t he i mage of hel l :

For t h e Nur ember g Pa r t y Congr ess i n 1935 I used 15 ant i - a i r c r a f t search-

l i g h t s whose perpendi cular skywar d beams f or med a l umnous r e c t a n g l e i n t h e

ni ght   W t hi n t hese wa l l s of l i g h t t he f i r s t of t h ei r ki nd t he c on gre s s u nf o l d ed

i n al l i t s r i tua l   t was a f a i r y - l i k e decor remndi ng one of t he glass c as tl e s

i magi ned by poet s i n t he M d dl e Ages   I nowhave a st range f e el i n g when I

t h i n k t hat my most s uc ce ss f u l a r c hi t e c t u r a l c r e at i o n was a phant asmagori a an

unreal mrage  

Not a mr age but ra t h er a d r e ss r e h ea r s al f or t he war a hol ogr aphi c

harbi nger whi ch used mat eri al av ai l a bl e t o t he ar my f or mor e t han t h i r t y

years  

Tr anspar ency ubi qui t ousness i n st a nt i nf ormat i on   i t was t he t i me of

t he great ` command oper as wher e i n London as i n Be r l i n s t a g e- d i r e c t o r s

moved t he naval and ai r f l eet s ar ound  ` The headquart ers t ransmssi on

c e n t r e was a model of i t s k i n d wri t es Speer  

TRAVELLI NGSHOT 79

Fr om hi s t a bl e i n t he conf erence r oom H t l e r was abl e t o command al l t hed i v i s i o n s on t he f i e l d s of b a t t l e  The wor se t he s i t uat i on became t he mor e t h i si nstr ument of moder n wa r f a r e served t o u nde r l i ne t h e d i v o r c e bet ween r e a l i t yon t he gr ound and t h e f a n t a sy whi ch presi ded over t he conduct of o pe ra t i o ns att hat t a bl e  

Commander s wer e nowa bl e t o e xe r c i s e t h ei r aut hori t y w t h a m n i -mum of go- bet weens   H t l e r acted t he warl ord by radio-t el ephoning

or d er s t o hi s g en era l s and depri vi ng t hemof i n i t i a t i v e but i n t he end t hewhol e system of communi cat i ons i n bot h camps wor ked t o str engt hent he supr eme commande r s contr ol over hi s subordi nat es   Power was nowi n a d i r e ct l i nk - up  I f as t h e s t r a t e gi s t Se Ma put i t an ar my i s al waysstr ong when i t can come and go move out and back as i t pl eases we havet o say t h at i n t hi s peri od of war t he comngs andgoi ngs wer e l e ss t hose oft roops t han of t he output f r o m det ect i on and t ransmssion equi pment  

V sual or audi ovi sual t echnol ogy now began t o r epr oduce not onl y t hef orced mar ch or d i s t a nt i ncursi on   as i t di d i n t he 1914 18 war but t heact ual movement of arm es w t h aut o mat i c f eed-back and ret ransmssi oni n real t i me   How e l s e can we under st and t h e i nt r o duc t i on of PK uni t s i nt he Wehr macht or t he A l i ed armes use not j u st of war corr espondent sbut of t h ei r own ci ne- commando uni t s   howe l s e but by t he need f or ever

mor e advanced medi at i on of m l i t a r y a ct i o n so t hat t he p i l o t s ` g i f t ofdoubl e s i g ht coul d be ext ended t o a hi gh command at once absent andomni present ?

I n maki ng a t t ac k u nr e al i ndus t r i al warf are ceased t o be t h at hugef u ne ra l appar atus denounced by mo r al i s t s and eventual l y bec ame t heg re a t e s t myst i f i cat i on of al l   an appar at us of decepti on t he l u r e of d et e r-rence s t r a t e gy   A r e ady i n t he G eat War as we have seen t he i n dus t r i al i z -at i on of t he r epeat i ng i mage i l l ust r at ed t hi s ci nemati c di mensi on ofr e gi on al - s c al e de st r u ct i o n i n whi ch l andscapes wer e cont i nual l y upt urnedand had t o be r e c on st i t u t e d w t h t he hel p of successive f r ames and shot si n a ci nemat ogr aphi c p ur s u i t of r e a l i t y t he decomposi t i on and r ecomposi -t i o n of an uncert ain t e r r i t o r y i n whi ch f i l m repl aced m l i t a r y maps 

C nemati c der e al i z at i on nowa f f e ct e d t he very nat ure of power whi chest abl i shed i t s e l f i n a t echnol ogi cal Beyond w t h t he space- t i me not ofordinary mort al s but of a s i n gl e war machi ne   I n t h i s r e al m sequent i alper cepti on l i k e o pt i c al phenomena r e sul t i n g f r o m r e t i nal pe r si s t e nc e i sbot h o r i g i n and end of t he appr ehensi on of r e al i t y s i n ce t h e s eei ng ofmovement i s but a s t a t i s t i c al process connect ed w t h t he nat ure of t hesegmentat i on of i mages and t he speed of observati on c ha r ac t e r i s t i c ofhumans   The macr o- ci nemat ogr aphy of a er i a l r econnai ssance t he c a bl et e l e v i s i o n of panor am c r a d a r t he use of s l ow or accel erat ed mot i on i nanal ysi ng t he phases of an operati on   al l t h i s convert s t he commande r spl an i n t o an ani mat ed car t oon or f l ow-chart   I n t he Bayeux Tapest r y i t s e l f

 

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8  W R N CI NEM

a model of a pre-ci nemat i c march-past, t he l ogi s t i c s of t he Nor man l and-

i ngalr eady prefi gured TheLongest Day of 6 June 1944  

Now   t shoul d not be f orgot t ent hat i nducti ve s t at i s t i c s devel oped f r o m

t he c al c ul a t i o ns t h at Mar shal Vauban used t o make duri ng hi s l ong and

r e pet i t i v e j ourneys t o t he same pl ace at di f f e r en t t i mes   On each of t h es e

t r i ps Loui s XI V s comm ssi oner- gener al of f o r t i f i c a t i o n s bec ame a ki nd of

` comm ssi oner f or d i s p l a y s Theki ngdomparaded bef ore h i s e ye s o f f e r -

i ng i t s e l f up f or gener ali nspecti on  Thi s was not j u st a t r o op must er f or t he

l ogi s t i c al b en ef i t of t he of f i c er i n charge of army compor t ment ;   t was a

f u l l - s cal e review of t he count r y , a medi cal examnat i on of   t s t e r r i t or i al

corpus   I n st e ad of t h e ordi nary s i t uat i on i n whi ch s er r i e d ranks used t o

pass back and f o r t h bef ore t he wat chf ul gaze of t he k i n g s admni str at or,   t

was t he countr y s p ro v i n c es drawn up as on parade, whi ch wer e passed i n

review by hi s i nspector - gener al   However , t hese r epeated t r i ps whi ch

caused t he r e gi o na l f i l m t o un w nd , wer e nomor e t han an a r t i f i c e or c i n e-

mati c t r i ck f or t he s ol e b en ef i t of t he i t i n er a nt observer   A one as he

wat ched t he s i t uat i ons and sequences d i s s ol v e he gradual l y l o st si g ht of

l o c al r e al i t i es and ended updemandi ng a r e f o r m of f i s ca l l aw i n f avour of

admnist rati ve nor ms  

St a t i s t i c s bri ngs us t o t he dawn of pol i t i c al eco nomy, whi ch r e s t e d on

t he p ers i s t e nc e of t he si gn and of dom nant t re n ds not on t he mer el ychronol ogi cal succession of f a c t s   t   s t he samemovement of i d ea s whi ch

l ed f r o m t he Enl i ght enment t o phot ogr aphi c recordi ng, Muybri dge s

mul t i pl e chamber s, Mar ey s chronophot ography and t he Lum ere

b ro t h e rs f i l mcamera, not f o r get t i ng Me1i es, t he i nvent o r of t h e my st i f i -

cat i on of mont age 

W n s to n Ch ur c h i l l t s wel l known, b el i e ve d t h at wher eas epi sodi c

event s used t o have g re a t e r i mpor t ance t han t endenci es, i n moder n war s

t he t endency had gai ned t he upper hand over epi sodes  Mass phenomena

do i ndeed el ude i mmedi at e appr ehensi on and can onl y be per cei ved by

means of t he comput er and i nt ercept i on and recordi ng equi pment whi ch

di d not exi s t i n ear l i er t i mes   hence t he r e l a t i v e charact er of Churchil l s

j udgement )   We shoul d t h e r e f o r e concl ude t hat t o t a l war has made an

e s se nt i a l c ont r i but i on t o t he r i se of pr oj ec t i on equi pment whi ch can r eveal

and f i n a l l y make p os si b l e t he t o t a l i t a r i a n t endenci es of t hemoment  

The devel opment of   secret weapons, such as t he   f l y i n g bomb and

s t r a t o spher i c r o ck et s l a i d t he b as i s f or Cr ui se and i n t e r c o nt i n en t a l

m s s i l es as wel l as f or t hose i nv i s i bl e weapons whi ch, by using vari ous

rays made v i s i b l e not onl y what l ay over t he hor i zon, or was hi dd en by

n i g h t but what di d not or di d not yet e x i s t   Her e we can see t he s t r a t e gi c

f i c t i o n of t he need f or ar mament s r e l y i ng on a t o m c radi at i on - a f i c t i o n

whi ch, at t he end of t he war , l e d t o t he   ul t i ma t e weapon

As we saw i n t he   r st c h ap t e r many epi l ogues have been wr i t t e n about

TR VELLI NGSHOT 81

t he nucl ear explosi ons of 6 and 9 August 1945, but f ewhave poi nted out

t hat t he bombs d r o pp ed on H r o s hi ma and Nagasaki wer e l i ght -weapons

t hat prefi gured t he enhanced-r adi at i on neutr on bomb t he di rect ed- beam

l a se r weapons, and t he c ha r g ed - p ar t i c l e guns c ur r ent l y under devel op-

ment   Mor eover , a number of H roshi ma survi vors have repor t ed t h a t

s hor t l y a f t e r i t was detonated, t hey t hought   t was a magnesi umbomb of

uni magi ned power  

The f i r s t bomb, set t o go of f at a hei ght of some f i v e hundred met r es,

pr oduced a nucl ear f l a s h whi ch l as t e d one f i f t e e n - m l l i o n t h of a second,

and whose bri ght ness penet r ated ever y bui l di ng down t o t he c el l ar s   t l ef t

i t s i mpri nt on st one wa l l s changi ng t h ei r appar ent col our t hrough t he

f usion of c er t ai n m ne r al s al t hough protected s u rf a c es r emai ned curi ousl y

unal t ered  Thesamewas t hecase w t h clot hi ng and bodi es, wher e ki mono

p a t t e r s wer e t att ooed on t he v i c t i ms f l e s h   f phot ography, accor di ng t o

i t s i nvent or N cephore N epce, was si mpl y a met hod of engravi ng w t h

l i g ht wher e bodi es i n sc r i b ed t h ei r t r a c es by v i r t u e of t h ei r own l umnosi t y,

nucl ear weapons i nh er i t e d bot h t he dar kr oom of N epc e and Daguer r e

and t he m l i t a r y s ear c hl i ght   What appear s i n t he heart of dar kr ooms   s no

l o nger a l umnous out l i ne but   shadow, one whi ch somet i mes, as i n

H r oshi ma, i s c ar r i e d t o t he dept hs of c el l ar s and v aul t s   The Japanese

shadows ar e i ns cr i b ed n ot as i n f or mer t i me s on t he screens of shadowpuppet t h e a t r e but on a newscr een t h e wal l s of t h e c i t y  

A- bomb, 1945 ; H-bomb 1951   Kor eanWar   Af t er t hewar everythi ng

speeded up: f i r epower r e f e r r e d not j u st t o f i r e ar ms but t o t he j e t - p i p e s of

f i ght e r ai r c r a f t   The sound b ar r i e r was cr ossed i n 1952, t he ` heat b ar r i er

i n 1956   As t o t he l i ght ba r r i e r t h at was f or l at e r   I n t he s k i e s St r a t e gi c

A r Command bomber s were i n const ant r eadi ness and A r Def e nse

Command i n t e r c ep t o r s spread t h ei r protecti ve umbrel l a f or t he e ve nt u al i t y

of a Sovi et l ong-r ange at t ack   The danger was   l l t he g re a t e r i n t h at t he

USSRexpl oded i t s f i r s t hydr ogen bomb on 12 May 1953  

For t he Uni t ed St ates t was becom ng an urgent mat t er t o have new

i nformati on-gatheri ng met hods at   t s di sposal   nd so i t was t hat East man

Kodak came up w t h   t s Myl ar- based f i l m and Dr Edwn Land of HyconCorpor ati on w t h t he hi gh-r esol ut i on camer a - bot h of whi ch l a i d t he

b as i s f or r egul ar a er i a l r econnai ssance over t he Sovi et Uni on   The sequel i s

wel l known  Oct ober 1961 saw t he begi nni ng of t he Cuban c r i s i s w t h t he

t h r e at of a t h i r d worl d war   On 29 August 1962, a U- 2 aer opl ane came

back f r o ma m ssi onover Fidel Cast r o s i s l a nd w t h f i l m evi dence of Sovi et

m s s i l e i ns t a l l at i ons   Thi s spar ked of f t he conf ront at i on bet ween

Khr ushchev and Kennedy whi ch, a f t e r several mont hs, l ed t o a h o t - l i n e

l i nk - up bet ween t he t wo heads of s ta te an i n st a nt i nt e r f ac e bet ween t h ei r

operat i ons r ooms  

  

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82 W ND I NEM

We shoul d r emember t h at t he U- 2, s t i l l i n s er v i c e over I r a n and t he

Pe r s i a n Gu l f , i s f i t t e d not onl y w t h photographi c and el ec t r o ni c s ur v ei l -

l a nc e syst ems but a l s o w t h a t e l e s co pi c col l i mator or   c i n e - d r i f t i n di c at o r

whi ch al l ows t he spy p i l o t t o f ol l ow ground cont our s at a hei ght of mor e

t han t went y-f i ve t housand met r es  

A so i n 1962, at a t i me when t he r e wer e a l r e ad y t en t housand Amer i -

can a dv i s e rs i n V et nam t he f i r s t el e ct r o ni c war i n hi s t or y was devi sed at

Har vard and M T  I t

began w t h t hepar achut e-dr ops of sensor s al l al ong

t he Ho Chi - M n h Tr a i l , and cont i nued i n 1966 w t h t he devel opment of

t he el ec t r on i c   MacNamar a L i n e , consi st i ng of f i el ds of a co us t i c

  Acouboy, Spi keboy) and sei smc   Adsi d, Acousi d) d et e ct o r s spr ead al ong

t he Laos access rout es, ar ound US ar my bases and e sp ec i a l l y t he Khe Sanh

str onghol d  

At t h at t i me Harvar d Pr of essor Roger Fi sher devel oped t he s t r a t e gi c

concept of a   l a nd - ai r dam , r e l y i ng on up-t o-t he-mnut e t echnol ogy t o

k ee p an ef f ec t i v e wat c h on enemy movement s  t woul d use i nf r a- r e d

devi ces and l ow l i ght i ng t e l e vi s i o n, combi ned w t h t he most advanced

means of a eri a l destr ucti on such as t he F-105 Thunder chi ef f i ght e r , t he

Phant om j e t and t he Huey- Cobr a h el i c op t e r gunshi p  Tr anspor t ai r c r a f t

  t he Dougl as AC 47 and, above a l l t he Hercul es C- 130) were convert ed

i n t o f l y i n g bat t er i es w t h t he l a te s t e l e ct r o ni c equi pment   l a ser t a r get e r scapabl e of gui di ng bombs w t h absol ute preci si on; a ni g ht - v i s i o n and

i mage- enhancer system and comput er- contr ol l ed, mu l t i - b ar r e l l ed

M ni gums, descendant s of t he ol d Gat l i ng gun whi ch coul d f i r e si x

t housand r ounds a m n u t e  

W t h t h i s sophi sti cat ed al e r t - s ys t e m made necessar y by t he f a ct t hat

enemy movement u su al l y t ook pl ace by n i g h t , t he bl ack-out was a t h i ng o f

t h e pas t , and dark ness t he f i ght e r s best a l l y , whi l e t he day l i ght t h eat r e

a l s o bec ame a darkened ci nema f or t he shadowy combat ant s   Hence t he

Amer i cans f r e nz i e d e f f o r t s t o over come t h i s bl i ndness by havi ng recourse

t o pyrot echni c, e l e c t r i c al and e l e c t r o ni c d ev i c e s , most of whi ch empl oyed

l i g h t i n t e ns i f i c at i o n, phot ogr ammet r y, t her mography, i n f r a - r e d scanni ng,

and even s pe ci a l l y i nvent ed i nf r a- r ed f i l m A l t hese weapons syst ems

r es ul t ed i n a new staging of war, massi ve use of s yn t h et i c i mages, andaut omati c f eed-back of dat a   They a l s o gave r i s e t o chem cal def o l i at i on,

wher eby i t f i n a l l y became p os s i b l e t o empt y t he screen of pa r as i t i c

veget ati on

I n Oct ober 1967, t he Nakhon Phanome l e ct r on i c s ur v ei l l an ce c ent r e i n

Thai l and was picki ng up, i nt e r p r et i ng and di spl ayi ng on scr een dat a sent

f r o mground-i ntercept ors and r e l a ye d by Lockheed Bat - Cat aer opl anes   I n

t hese o f f i c es , t he new nodal poi nt of t he war , an I BM360. 35 comput er

aut omati cal l y s or t e d t he data, produci ng a ` snapshot whi ch showed t he

t i me and pl ace when t he i n t e r c ep t o r s had been acti vat ed On t he b as i s of

TR VELLI NGSHOT 83

t h i s i nformati on, a na l y s t s drew up a schedul e of enemy movement and

passed on t o f i ght er- bomber cr ews t he ` Sk y s po t combat dat a t h at enabl ed

t h em t o go i n t o act i on w t h t he great est di spatch and p r e ci s i o n   Most

i nt e r e st i ng f r o m our p oi n t of view however , was t he pi l ot l e ss Dr one, an

a i r c r a f t w t h a w ng- span of approxi mat el y t hr e e met r es whose camer a

could t ake t wo t housand p i c t u r es and whose onboar d t e l ev i s i o n coul d

broadcast l i v e t o a r e cept or s t at i on 240 ki l ometr es away  

I I I pl eut mon dnib, i l p l e ut mai s i l pl eut des yeux mort s ,   wr ote Apol -

l i n a i r e i n 1915, r e f e r r i n g t o enemy f i r e W t h t he advent of e l e ct r o ni c

warf are, t hi s f i gur e has become out of dat e   Pr o j e ct i l es have awakened and

opened t h ei r many eyes   heat- seeking m s s i l e s, i nf r a- r e d or l a s er gui dance

syst ems, war heads f i t t e d w t h vi deo- cameras t hat can r e l a y what t hey see

t o p i l o t s and t o ground-cont rol l ers s i t t i n g at t hei r consol es  The f usi on i s

compl et e, t he confusi on p erf e ct : not hi ng now d i s t i n gu i s h es t he f unct i ons

of t he weapon and t h e ey e; t he p r oj e ct i l e s i mage and t he i mage s p r o j e c -

t i l e f o r m a s i n gl e composi t e   I n i t s t a s ks of det e ct i on and : a c qu i s i t i o n,

p ur s u i t and d es t r u ct i o n, t he pr o j ec t i l e i s an i mage or `s i g na t u re on a

scr een, and t he t e l e v i s i o n pi c t u r e i s an ul t rasoni c pr o j ec t i l e propagat ed at

t he speed of l i ght   The ol d b a l l i s t i c proj ecti on has been succeeded by t he

proj ect i on of l i ght , of t he e l e ct r o ni c eye of t he gui ded or ` v i d eo m s s i l e   t

i s t he l i f e - s i z e pr oj e ct i on of a f i l m whi ch woul d have overj oyed Eugene1 r o m o , t h e i nv ent o r of t he t r a v e l l i n g pl at f or m and even mor e Abel

Gance, who want ed t o l aunch hi s camer as l i k e snowbal l s i n t o t he Bat t l e of

Br i enne  

Ever s i n ce s i g ht s wer e superi mposed on g un -b a rr e l s , peopl e have never

st opped associ ati ng t he uses of p r oj e ct i l e s and l i ght , t h at l i ght whi ch i s t he

soul of gun-barr el s   Recent i nvent i ons have i ncl uded t he phot on a c ce l e r -

ator and t he l i ght i n t ensi f i e r , and now t h e r e are t he l a s er weapons,

d i r e ct ed beams, c ha r g ed - p ar t i c l e guns, and so on  Not cont ent w t h b ar r e l -

mount i ng, t he e xp er t s have i ns er t e d a s i g ht i n g devi ce i n t o t he i nner t ube

of a r t i l l e r y i n or der t o i mprove per f ormance   At b a l l i s t i c and aerodynam c

r e s ear c h l ab or a t o r i e s i n bot h France and t he Uni t ed St ates,   h yper b al l i s t i c

f i r i n g t u nn el s n ea r l y a hundr ed met r es l ong can l aunch scal e-model s of

  r e - e n t r y b od i e s t h e p r oj e ct i l e s bei ng t e st e d) at a speed of 5, 000 met r es asecond   C ner adi ogr aphi c f l as h equi pment , w t h a capacit y f or 4 m l l i o n

i mages a second, i s t hen used t o v i s ua l i z e t h ei r pat h i n t he bor e of t he

gun . Thi s t akes us back t o t he or i gi ns of ci nema, t o Mar ey s f i r s t chr ono-

photographi c r i f l e whi ch had a l e ns i n t he b a rre l and a c y l i n de r f or movi ng

r ound t he l i g ht - s ens i t i v e p l a t e  

S nc e Vi etnam and t hr oughout t he seventi es, t he medi ati on of b a t t l e

has gr own ever mor e pr onounced   At t he t i me of t he Kor ean War a USAF

Sabr e alr eady requir ed mor e t han f o r t y ki l ometr es t o t ur n a M g-15, but i n

Vi et nam   as i n t he S x Days War a Phant om needed an i nstr ument -

 

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8  W R NDCI NEM

backed f i r i n g syst e m i f i t was t o have any hope of b r i ngi ng down a M g-

21   The Phant oms t ar get i ng system subsequent l y l ed t o t he ` F i r e and

For get concept and t o t he Over - t he- Hor i zon weapons syst ems whi ch

al l ow an a t t a c k t o be conduct ed of f t he f i e l d  

The di s in te gr a ti o n of t he war r i or s per s onali t y i s at a ver y advanced

st age Looki ng up, he sees t he di gi t a l d i sp l a y   opt o- el ect r oni c or hol o -

gr a phi c ) of t he w ndscr een c ol l i mat or ; l o ok i n g down t he r adar scr een, t he

onboar d comput er t he r a di o and t he vi deo scr een, whi chenabl es hi mt o

f o l l ow t he t e r r a i n w t h i t s f our or f i v e si mul t aneous t arget s, and t o

moni t or hi s s el f - nav i gat i ng S d ew n de r m s si l es f i t t ed w t h a camer a or

i nf r a- r e d gui dance syst e m However t h i s war of t he waves had some

maj or dr awbacks, as Col onel Br ought on, an F 105 Thunderc hi ef pi l ot i n

Vi etnam has expl ai ned :

The radi o c h at t e r was r e a l l y pi c ki ng up about t h i s t i me - i n f act ,   t was so

dense w t h al l t he M g andSamwarni ngs andeveryone shout i ng d i r e c t i o ns and

commands t h at   t was al most i mpossi bl e t o i n t e r p r e t what was goi ng on  Thi s

i s a real pr obl emand once   t s t a r t s ,   t j u st keeps get t i ngwor se and worse andi s

al most i mpossibl e t o stop   you see somet hi ng t h at you knowyou have t o

t e l l ot her peopl e about i n a desper at e hur r y t o prot ect t hem and t o protect

y ou r s el f ,and

t het emptati on

i s t o bl u r t i t out as qui ckly as p os s i b l e w t h out

usi ng t he pr oper cal l s i g n   The r e s ul t i s t h at everyone i n t he ai r i mmedi atel y g et s

ashot of conf usion andwonder s who i s t a l k i n g about whom 

Such confusi on was of t en exacer bated by poor weat her con di t i o ns i n

Nort h V et nam

The weat her ov er t h er e i s t he t h i c k es t I have ever seen and when you ge t i ns i d e

one of t hose bi g t hunder- bumpers you ar e i n f or a good r i d e   Most cl ouds you

f l y t hrough have t h e i r share of bumps but t he v i s i b i l i t y i n si d e   usual l y good

enough so t h at youcan si t on t he w ng of anot her a i r c r a f t and f l y f ormati on of f

hi m You j u st mai ntai n t h e pos i t i on you want and when he t urns or r o l l s hi s

a i r c r a f t , you r o l l r i g ht al ong w t h hi m You have no i d ea wher e you ar e i f you

ar e on t he w n g, but t h at i s up t o t hel eader   The o nl y t i me youget i n t o t r o ubl e

on t he w ng i s when you t r y t o f l y p os i t i on and a l s o t r y t o out guess t he l eader  

Thi s u su al l y w n ds up i n a c as e of s pa t i a l di s ori ent at i on c al l e d v ert i go I f t h i s

happens youcan be s i t t i n g s t r a i g ht and l e vel andswear t h at you ar e cocked up

i n a 60-degr ee bank goi ng si deways   I t i s a most d i s t r e ss i n g sensati on and

somet i mes al most i mpossibl e t o get r i d of   You canshake your head and h ol l e r

at y o ur s e l f and somet i mes   t won t go away, andi t can be f a t a l   For a real

t h r i l l , I r ecommend you t r y t h i s t y p e of f l y i n g on a bl ack ni ght  

The wei ght l essness t hat Er nst J5nger f e l t d ur i n g a r t i l l e r y bar r ages i n t he

Fi r s t Wor l d War i s r eproduced i n t h i s account   However t he confusi on of

sensat i ons i nvol ves not a pani c - st r i c ken t e r r o r but a t echnol ogi cal v er t i go

TR VELLI NGSHOT 85

or pur e l y ci nemati c dereal i zat i on, whi ch af f ec t s t he sense of spati al di men

s i o n   Ti ed t o hi s machi ne, i mpr i soned i n t he cl osed ci r c ui t s of electr oni cs,

t he war pi l o t i s no mor e t han a mot or- handi capped person t e mp ora r i l y

s uf f er i ng f roma k i n d of possessi on anal ogous t o t he h al l uc i n at o r y s t a t e s

of p r i m t i v e war f ar e   We shoul d not f orget t hat t he f i r s t s t i mulant s were

devel oped i n r esponse t o t he needs of L uf t wa f f e p i l o t s  

Nar coti cs were t o become t he pl ague of t he US e xp ed i t i o na ry corps i n

V et nam Fr om t hg begi nni ng, t hey s uf f er ed f r om t he hal l uc i n at i on of

t echnol ogi cal combat - del i r i um whi ch bl ur r ed t he di s t i nc t i on bet ween t here a l and t he i magi nar y   I n t h i s war of i mages, Br ought onwr i t es :

Unfort unatel y, t he gr oups known as phot o i n t e r pr e t e r s ar e not al ways of t he

hi ghest l e vel of s k i l l or exper i ence, and t h e i r eval uat i on q ui t e of te n does not

agree w t h t hat of t he men doi ng t he wor k  I have bombed , and seen my t r o o ps

bomb on s pe ci f i c t a r g e t s wher e I have wat ched t he bombs pour i n andseent he

t a rg e t bl ow up, w t h wall s or s t r uc t ur es f l y i ng ac r os s t h e area, onl y t o be

f ragged r i gh t back i n t o t he same place because t he f i l m di dn t l ook l i k e t hat t o

t he l i e ut e na nt who r ead i t way back up t he l i n e   I have gone back on t h es e

t a r g e t s and l o st good peopl e andmachi nes whil e doi ng so, andf ound t hem ust

as I expect ed, smash ed   But who l i s t e ns t o a stupi d f i g ht e r p i l ot ? °

Peopl e used t o di e f o r a c oat of ar ms, an i mageon a pennant or f l a g ; now

t h ey di ed t o i mpr ove t he sharpness of a f i l m War has f i n a l l y bec ome t he

t h i r d di mensi on of ci nema  

I t i s acur i ous f a c t t hat muc h of t he newmater i el - hel i copter gunshi ps,

ms s i l es , t el ecommuni cat i ons, d et e ct i o n syst ems - was bei ng produced by

t he Hughes A r c r af t Company whose celebrat ed f ounder , Howar d

Hughes had dir ect ed a f i l m i n 1930 about a F r st Wor l d War bomber

crew   He l l s Angel s)   Thi s schi zophreni c magnat e who died i n 1976 bui l t

an i ndus t r i al empi r e by ass oc i at i ng ci nema and avi at i on, and Hughes

A r c r af t r emai ns t oday one of t he l argest compani es i n t he Uni t ed S at e s  

I n 1983 f or exampl e i t was worki ng on i mpr ovement s t o t heT Wn t i -

t ank m s si l e s gui dance system i n t r o duc i ng an opt i cal t r a ck i n g devi ce t hat

al l owedm s si l es t o be preci sel y ai med des pi t e t he pi t c hi ng and v i b r a t i ng o f

t he hel i copter f r o m whi ch t hey were f i r e d   But i t was also devel opi ngequi pment f or i n - f l i g h t ent ert ai nment , maki ng   t possibl e f or i nf r a- r e d rays

t o c ar r y musi c and f i l ms t o t he passenger s of r e gul ar ai r l i n es and busi ness

j e t s  

Af t er t he V et namdef eat , Pent agon s ci ent i s t s and i ndus t r i al i s t s di d not

give up t hei r dr i v e t o per f ec t el ec t r o ni c warf are   The MacNamar a Line

was t r ans f er r ed t o t he south of t he Uni t ed St ates - or , mor e preci sel y, t he

border w t h Mexi co - w t h t he supposed ai m of d et e ct i n g i l l egal

i mm grant workers   As f or t he ant i - per sonnel i nterceptors, t h ey g av e b i r t h

i n 1971 t o a w l d pl an sponsored by t he Nat i onal Securi t y Agency f or t he

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devel opment of a personali zed t racki ng devi ce t h at coul d be used by t he

po l i c e   Thi s e l e c t r o n i c   t r a ns p on de r , as i t was known was desi gned t o

r e cor d t he d i s t a nc e, speed and pat h of an off ender s move ment s and t o

t r a nsm t t h e i nf ormat i on several t i mes a m nut e, vi a r e l ay - r ec ei v er s , t o a

c en t r a l scr een- comput er   Havi ng checked t hese dat a agai nst t he permt t ed

i t i n er a r i e s, t he comput er coul d i mmedi at el y a l e r t t he po l i c e i f t he person

wear i ng t he ` t r a ck i n g bug went el sewhere or t r i e d t o r emove i t   A t hough

t he o r i g i n al i d ea was t o use i t f or p r i s on er s on p aro l e , t h i s systemof e l e c -

t r oni c i ncar c er at i on f i n a l l y enabl ed a ki nd of pr i son r e f o r m The cel l woul dbe r epl aced by a t i n y bl ack box, by conf i nement t o t he shadows t hrough

t he s t a ge di r e ct i on of everyday l i f

I n 1974, spurred on by t he oi l cr i s i s t h i s process of de r eal i z at i o n

acqui r ed f a nt a s t i c proport i ons w t h t he boom i n m l i t ar y f l i g h t and

combat si mulat ors, whi ch ef f ec t i v e l y t ook t he p l a ce of t he ol d ` home

t r a i n er The product i on of s ynt h et i c ` d ay l i g ht i mages had meant t hat at

l a st p i l o t s coul d be t r a i n ed w t hout i nt err upt i on i n al l aspect s of a combat

mssi on, coveri ng t he cust omar y phases of navi gat i on, penet rat i on and

att ack   n i n st r u c t o r coul d t each t h em not j ust t o pi l o t an ai r c r af t w t h

i nstr ument s but t o p i l o t a s eri e s of s t a r t l i n g l y r e a l i s t i c i mages   Thi s m s e-

en-scene of war l ed a f ew year s l at e r t o an event t h at went unnot i ced 

namel y,t her ecogni t i on of an equi val ence bet ween si mul ator t i me and real

f l i ght t i me   f we bear i n mnd t he s t r i c t n es s of c er t i f i c at i on pr ocedures f or

aer opl ane pi l o t s , we s ha l l b et t e r under st and t he i mpor t ance of such a

deci si on 

Today, t echni ques have i mpr oved s t i l l f u r t h e r and a `dogf i ght si mu-

l at o r , consi sti ng of t wo s ph er i c al c ab i n s, can si mulat e an at t ack by t wo

enemy ai r c r af t   t shoul d be not ed at t hi s poi nt t hat si mulat i on has l ong

s i n ce spread t o t he ot her t wo br anches of t he m l i t a r y   The Sper r y Cor por-

at i on   one of t he mai n manuf act ur ers, t oget her w t h Thomson of t h i s

t ype of equi pment   pr oduces f or ar mour ed uni t s as well as f or t he navy

and t he ai r f o r c e   Mor eover , w t hi n t he East - West f r amewor k of d i r e ct

non-aggr essi on t hat has r e s ul t e d f r o mt he s t r a t e g y of nucl ear det err ence,

m l i t a r y manoeuvr es have a l s o gradual l y t aken on t he aspect of l a r ge - s ca l e

e l e ct r o ni c games, a Kr i egspi el requi r i ng whol et e r r i t o r i e s

overwhi ch t he

var i ous procedures and ma t e r i a l s of moder n war are reconsti t ut ed  

I n t h e Nevada Des er t , a speci al p r ac t i c e r ange known as ` Red Fl ag has

been c r e at e d t o si mul ate exposur e t o a Sovi et def ence system Authent i c

Sovi et s ur f a ce - t o - a i r m s s i l e s and accompanyi ng r adar equi pment  

whet her I s r a el i war boot y or ol d s up pl i e s t o Egypt   hel p t o r e - c r e a t e a

p er f e ct l y r e a l i s t i c e l e c t r o ni c envi r onment of r adar beams, f i r i n g proce-

dur e s, r a di o t ransmssi ons, and so f o r t h , whi ch t he Amer i can cr ews ar e

t rai ned t o recogni ze and t hen ne ut r a l i z e   The a er i a l f o r c e par t i c i p at i ng i n

such e xe rc i s e s i ncl udes an  W S f l y i n g contr ol - t ower and an Aggr essor

TR VELLI NGSHOT 87

Squadron made up of ai r c r af t whose f e a t u r e s are s i m l a r t o t hose of t heM g- 2 1 and M g - 2 3   S m l ar l y , i n t he Moj ave Deser t i n Ca l i f o r ni a , t heAr my s Nat i onal Trai ni ng Cent er si mul ates war i n t he mos t l i f e - l i k e way  

Thanks t o ` M l es t h e Mult i pl e I ntegrat ed Laser Engagement Sy st em , t hes ol d i e r s weapons on bot h s i d es p r o j e c t l a se r or i n f r a - r e d ra y s w t h a r angeand t r aj ec t or y r oughl y compar abl e t o t hose of real ammuni t i on   Thevari ous t ar get s , f i t t e d w t h s i l i c on p l a t e s, ar e l i nk ed up t o ` b l a ck boxesBot h t h e t r oops . e nd t h ei r weaponr y a l s o carry s ens i t i v e pl a t e s on t h ei r

mos t vul nerabl e s u r f a c es , so t h at when one i s hi t by a l aser beam t hem cr o-pr ocessor i n t he bl ac k box c al c ul a t e s t he i mpact and communi cat esi t t o Headquar t er s, whi ch t hen adds up t he s cor e   host of other si mu-l a t i o n devi ces and speci a l f i l m e f f e c t s compl et e t he pi c t u r e  

I n t he same or d er of i d ea s we shoul d ment i on t he Ta c t i c a l Mappi ngSyst em a v i deo- d i s c pr oduced by t he Advanced Resear ch Pr oj ect  r my 

By speedi ng up or s l o w ng down t he processi on of f i f t y - f o u r t housandi mages, and changi ng t he di r e ct i on or season as one m ght s w t ch t e l e -v i s i o n channel s, t he vi ewer i s abl e t o bui l d up a cont i nuous pi c t u r e of t hesmal l Col or ado t own of Aspen   The t own i s t hus t r a n s f e r r e d t o a s o rt ofb a l l i s t i c t u nnel f o r t a nk - pi l o t s , who use t h i s met hod t o t r ai n i n s tr e etcombat   Let us not f o r get t h at t he Dykst raf l ex camer a made by JohnDykst r a f or t he f i l m St ar War s   a camer a i n t he s er v i c e of a comput erwhi ch r ecor ds i t s own movement s   was ac t u al l y descended f r o ma p i l o tt r ai ni ng system

The same ki nd of t echnol ogi cal s pi n - o f f l i e s behi nd t he SP CEcamer a, an aut omati c t racking systemt hat t wo Fr enchmen devel oped f ort he ci nema on t he b as i s of an ant i - a i r c r af t r adar pl at f o r m Thi s new- st yl ec amer a , w t h i t s power f ul t el ephot o l ens, can f o l l ow t he a c t o r s spontan-eous movement s w t hout any d i f f i c u l t y , even l ocki ng on t o t he f a ce o f a j etpi l ot executi ng a l ow al t i t u de f i gur e   The f a ct i s t h at once t he ener gy c r i s i shad made t he si mul ati on i ndust ry pr o f i t a bl e, t he pace of t echnol ogi cali nnovat i on grew mor e f r a n t i c t owards t he end of t he s ev en t i e s andcul mnat ed i n t he aut omat i on of t hewar machi ne 

The compl exi t y of manoeuvr es, t he ever g re a t e r ai r speeds, t he assi s-t ance of s at e l l i t e s,

andt he

n ec es s i t y f or ground- att ack ai r c r af t t o f l y super -s oni c al l y at very l ow a l t i t u des event ual l y l ed t he engi neers t o aut omat ep i l o t i n g i t se l f   On t he F- 16   AFT1 , f or exampl e, devel oped by Rober tSwo rt z e l , t he pi l ot never t ouches t he c on t r o l s but n av i g at e s by voi ce   I nr e t u r n , an on- scr een displ ay keeps hi mi nf ormed of hi s f l i ght pl an and` f i r i n g pl an and t hrows up on t he w ndscreen t he ant i cipat ed a cc el e r a t i o nand count down t i me , as wel l as t he ki nd of manoeuvr es t h at t he p i l o t w l lhave t o execut e   For t he f i r i n g oper a t i on, t he pi l ot has a speci al s i g ht i n g-hel met l i nk ed t o a l a s er and i nf r a - r e d t a r ge t i n g system  l l he has t o do i sf i x t he t a r g e t and g i v e a verbal i ns t r u ct i on f or t he weapons t o be r e l e as e d  

 

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Thi s r ev ol ut i onar y appar at us desi gned i n 1982 f or t he Uni t ed St ates A r

Force t he Navy and NASA combi nes a number of advanced t echno-

l o gi e s part i c ul arl y i n t he f i e l d of l as er - ta r g et i ng   The Eye- Tracked

synchr o ni zat i o n system f i x es t he pi l ot s gaze however sudden t he move-

ment of his eyes so t hat f i r i n g can pr oceed as soon as bi nocul ar accom

modat i on i s achi eved  

Fi n al l y t her e i s t he ` homng i mage whi ch j oi ns t oget her an i nf r a- r e d

r ay and an e xpl o si ve p r oj e c t i l e f i t t e d w t h a speci al devi ce  Thi s devi ce a ct s

i n t he manner of an eyepi c ki ng

up t he i mage of t he i nf r a- r e d- l i t t arget  

The pr o j e ct i l e t hen makes i t s way t owards t he i mage - and t hus t owards

t he t a r get f o r d est r u ct i o n   w t h al l t he ease of someone goi nghome  Thi s

system whi ch i s att ached t o t he l a t e st ms s i l es once agai n i l l u st r at e s t he

f a t e f u l conf usi on of eye andweapon  

We can now underst and bet t er t he concern on bot h si des t o perf ect

weapons t hat ar e as undet ectabl e as a submer ged submar i ne - St eal t h

bomber s `smart ms s i l es i n vi s i b l e not j u st t o t he human eyebut above al l

t o t he pierci ng u ne rri n g gaze of t echnol ogy   I n t he 1980s t her e was a

signi f i cant s h i f t or `conversi on i n gl obal str ategy as East -West c onf l i c t

passed i n t o Nort h-Sout h con f r o nt a t i o n  Not w t hst andi ng t he t ensi ons i n

t he Mddl e East and t he Eur om s s il es c ont r over s y m l i t ar y space i s bei ng

s hi f t ed and organi zed around t he oceans i n t he Pa ci f i c t he I ndi an Ocean

and t he South At l ant i c   I ndeed t he Mal vi nas War can be seen as ar ehearsal f or a nucl ear c onf l i c t i n t h e us e of Amer i can and Sovi et s at e l -

l i t e s Br i t i sh nucl ear submar i nes andFrench m s si l es capabl e o f de st r oy i n g

hi g hl y exposed surf ace-ships   But i t was al s o a war of e le ct r o ni c counter -

measur es - naval decoys whose mai n f eat ur e was t o superi mpose upon

t he i ncomng m s si l e s opt i cal or i nf r a- r e d r adar i mage an ent i r e l y manu-

f act ur ed i mage t hat woul d appear bot h mor e i mport ant and mor e at t rac-

t i v e t han t he real shi p as wel l as bei ng e qu al l y c r edi bl e t o t he enemy

m s s i l e   Once t h i s was achi eved t he m s si l e s aut omati c nav i g at o r l o ck ed

on t o t he centr e of gr a vi t y of t he   decoy- i mage- cum shi p- i mage and al l

t hat r emai ned was t o expl oi t t he s pect r e of t he decoy t o draw t he m s s i l e

f ar over t he shi p   The whol eo pe r a t i o n l ast ed bar el y a f ewseconds  

One coul d go on f or ever l i s t i n g t he t echnol ogi cal weapons t he

panopl y of l i ght - war t he aesthet i c of t he el ec tr o ni c bat t l e f i el d t he m l i t ar y

use of space whose conquest was ul t i mat e l y t he conquest of t he i mage -

t he el ec tr o ni c i mage of r emot e det ect i on  t he a r t i f i c i a l i mage produced by

s at e l l i t es as t hey endlessly sweep over t he sur f ace of c ont i nent s dr aw ng

aut omat i c maps ; l i f e - s i z e ci nema i n whi ch t heday and t he l i g ht of f i l m

speed succeed t he day and t he l i gh t of as t r o nom c a l t i me   I t i s s ubli m nal

l i g ht of i ncomparabl e t r anspar ency where t echnol ogy f i n a l l y exposes t he

whol e worl d

I n t he summer of 1982 t he I s r a el i pr event i v e war i n Lebanon bapti zed

  TRAVELLI NGSHOT 89

` Peace i n Gali l ee drew on al l t he r esources of t he s ci e nt i f i c ars enal  r umman   Hawkeye ai r c r a ft - r adar capabl e of si mul t aneously l oc at i ngwo hundred and f i f t y t arget s f or F 15 and F-16 f i ght er- bomber s ; andbove a l l t he r emot e- pi l ot ed ` Scout aut omat a w t h a w n g- s p an of l e sst han t wo met r es whi ch wer e massivel y and syst emati cal l y depl oyed f orhe f i r s t t i me i n t he hi s to r y of bat t l e   Thi s t oy c r a f t wort hy of Er nstJunger s C as s Bees was a v er i t abl e Tsahal s eye f i t t e d w t h TV camer asnd t hermal - i mage syst ems  As i t ski mmed t he r oof t ops of t hebesi egedc i t y of Beir ut f l y i n g over t he most exposed Palesti nian d i s t r i c t s i tr ovi ded i mages of popul ati on movement and t hermal graphi cs of Pal es-i ni an vehicl es f or I s r a el i anal ysts s i t t i n g at t hei r vi deo consol es mor e t hanhundr ed k i l omet r es away  

I n t he aut umn of 1982 t he Uni t ed St ates est abl i shed a m l i t ar y highcommand f or space and announced t he i mpendi ng l aunch of an e ar l y -warni ng s a t e l l i t e   I n t he s pr i ng of 1983 on 23 Mar ch t o be preci se Pr e s i -dent Reagan pai nted a pi c tu r e of an a nt i - b a l l i s t i c - m s s i l e syst e mmpl oyi ng nucl ear ener gy enhanced r ays dir ect ed beams and chargedar t i c l e s 

Last summer on 5 J ul y 1983 an Amer i can KC- 135 ai r c r a f t f i t t e d w t hl aser system shot down a Si dew nder m s s i l e t r av el l i ng at 3 000 k i l o -met r es an hour  

Scan   Freeze f r ame

 

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94 W R N CI NEMA

d a ci e r Pari s 19703  I n Cahi ers du ci nema   No 311) , Samuel Full er argued that i t was i mpossibl e t o f i l m

t he Nor mandy l a nd i n g because you c ou l d n t d ec en t l y f i l m yards of i nt e st i n e on a beach Apar t f r o m t he fact t hat dead peopl e do not t a ke wel l t o bei ng phot ographed   see t he

pi c t u r es of a ss as s i n at i o ns or t r a f f i c accident s), Ful l er s w t t i c i s m suggests t hat m l i t ar y-

i n du st r i a l f i l ms cannot d ec e nt l y be horr or f i l ms, s i n c e i n one way or anot her t h ey ar e

i ntended t o embel l i sh death   Moreover , t he A l i ed l anding acutel y re- posed t he probl emof

document ar y r e al i s m Today everyone knows t hat t h e r ewere not yardsof i n t e st i n e on t he

Nor mandy beaches and that t he l a nd i n g was a r emarkabl e and t e c hn i c al l y d i f f i c u l t oper -

a t i o n - not becauseof Ger man resi stance   whi chwas v i r t u al l y non-exist ent ), but becauseof

t he adver se weat her and t he compl i catedNor mandy countr yside   Thus, i n order t o mak e upt he number s, t he A l i ed commander s t hrew t h e ir men i nt o o pe r at i o ns l i k e t he stormng of

Hoc Point , whi chwer e as s ui c i d al as t hey were spect acul ar   I n 1962, when Zanuck made hi s

f i ct i o na l document ar y w t h f i f t y stars, 20,000 ext ras andsi x directors, t he a ct i on t ook place

on t he l i e de Re or i n Spai n, where t hebeaches wer e   grander t han t hose of Arr omanche  This i mmo r t a l i z at i o n of a ba t t l e t h at hadnever happened ensur ed t hat TheLongest Daywas

a great b ox - o f f i c e success.

4   P V r i l i o, Bunker a r chi o lo gi e Pari s 1975  

Chapt er Fi ve

1   Br ownl ow Hol l ywood, op   ci t . p 80.

2  I b i d . p  81  3  On Rosavi t a, see G l l o Dorf l es, Le kit sch Pari s 1978  4  Test i mony of Rudol f Hess   Speer, j o ur n al d e Spandau, p   401  Fer n Andra, an

Au st r i a n l i k e H t l er ,had been a popul ar act ress i n si l e nt f i l ms   Theci nema had changed i t s

name t o t heA r i um5   Ar nhei mp oi n t s o ut , however , t hat t he abstr act desi gn of t he swast i ka drewheavi l y

upon a powerf ul   expl anator y context He rec al l s t hat when H t l er made a v i s i t t o Musso-

l i n i Rome was covered over ni ght w t h swast i kas and an I t a l i an g i r l excl ai med i n horr or  Rome i s c r aw i n g w t h bl a ck spi ders . V s ua l Thi nking op ci t . pp   143- 44  6   Vogel , op   ci t   p 176 7   S g na l 1941   T hi s magazi newas t he French edi t i on of Be r l i n er l l l u s t r i e r t e Zei t ung

whi ch appear ed i n most European l anguages i n cl u di n g En gl i s h  8  See Ant hony Cave Brown, Bodyguard of L ie s London 1976 .

9  The hi ghl y dr e am l i k e q ual i t y of Harl an s r emembr ances makes t heman i rr epl ace-

abl e t est i mony on ci nema a ccord i n g t o Goebbel s  

10 Quot ed i n J MacGover n, Cr ossbowand Overcast London 1965, p 21.

11   I n a memor andumof 28 August 1945, Pr esi dent Tr uman ordered t he conceal ment

f r omt he p ub l i c of al l i n f o r ma t i o n r el a t i ng t o t he t echni ques, met hods and resul ts, bot h past

and pr e se nt , o f any code-breaki ngdepart ment . TheA l i es hada number of good r easons f or

ac t i n g i n t h i s way, par t i c ul ar l y t he f ear that awar w t h t he Russi ans woul d r e qu i r e U t r a and

so on t o come back i n t o s er v i c e

Chapt er S x

1   I n January 1940 t he Br i t i s h M n i s t r y of I n f o r ma t i o n publ i shed a memor andum on

t he st a t e of t he ar my s phot ography and f i l m depart ment s   I n fact i t w shed t o c a r r y out a

r e v ol u t i o n by hal t i ng d i s t r i bu t i o n of m l i t ar y documentar i es t hat were consi dered t oo s t a t i c

and t echnical and therefore i ncapable of a ssist i n g t he unpr ecedented war e f f o r t   The great

phot ographer Ceci l Beat on was t o play a domnant r o l e i n i mpl ement i ng t h i s r e f o r m We

shoul d r emember t hat i n r esponse t o t h e n at i o nal i z at i o n of t h e Sovi et ci nema, an e f f e ct i ve

document ar y school had been f ounded i n 1928 w t h t he support of men l i k e Rudyar d

K pl i ng, t h e s en i o r c i v i l servant S ephen Tal l ents, and t he f i l mmaker John G i e r so n  Thi s

movement , whi ch was concei ved as a p ub l i c service and enj oyed s t a t e subsi dies, made a

Chapt er Seven

NOTES

1   To a l a r ge extent naval b at t l e shad l ong a nt i c i p a t e d t h i s t ype of practi ce.  Antoi nede St - Exupery, P l ot e de Guerr e, Pari s 1981  3  A Speer, An coeti r du Troi si emeRei ch and L e j o ur n a l de Spandau For t he Amer i cans, t he abst ract ness of t h ei r r ecapt ur e of t he Pa ci f i c i slands madeci nema directi on a necessi t y - hence t he i mport ance of t he camer a cr ews comm t t ed t o t heampai gn.

5   The commssai r e aux mont r es was t he o f f i c er responsibl e f or i nspecti ng weaponsndequi pment under t heAnci enRegi me6  I t s r a i n i n g my soul , i t s rai ning, but i t s r a i n i n g dead eyes . Gui l l aume Ap ol l i n ai r e ,r om  Lanui t d av ri l 1915 i n ` Case d Ar mons , Cal l i grammes, Pari s 1918  Seet hereport of t he semnar   Leci nemagrande v i t e ss e - i nstr ument ati ons et appli -ati ons , ANRT Pari s, December 1981  8  Col onel

Jack Br ought on, Thud R dge Phil adelphia andNewYork 1969, p   110 I b i d . pp  92- 93 10 I b i d   p 98  

95

consi der abl e i nternat i onal i mpact . I t al s o l e d i n di r e ct l y t o t he f ormati on of t heCr own Fi l mn i t , t he l argest pr oducer of Br i t i s h pr opaganda f i l ms duri ng t he war , whi ch was based i nhe r e qu i s i t i o ne dP newood St udi os. Cavalcant i was i t s d i r e c t o r u nt i l 1940  I an Goodhope Colvi n, F l i g ht 777, London 1957, pp   48- 49  Cave Brown, Bodyguar d of L ie s p 603 4  Paul Scanl on andMchael G o ss , The Book of A i e n London 1979, unpagi nated  Quot ed f r o m   Madei n USA , Cahier s du ci nema, Apri l 1982.6  I b i d  7  Andrew S r a t t o n, i n N gel Cal der, ed. Unl ess PeaceCome, Harmondswor t h 1968,98

 

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94 W ANDCI NEMA

d a ci e r , Pari s 1970)  3. I n Cahi ers du ci nima   No  311) , Samuel Full er argued t hat i t was i mpossibl e t o f i l m

t he Nor mandy l a nd i n g because you c ou l d n t d ec en t l y f i l m yards of i n t es t i n e on a beach

Apar t f r o m t he fact t hat dead peopl e do not t a ke wel l t o bei ng phot ographed   see t he

pictures of assassi nati ons or t r a f f i c accident s), Fu ll e r s w t t i c i s m suggest s that m l i t ar y -

i ndustr i al f i l ms cannot decentl y be horr or f i l ms, s i n c e i n one way or anot her t h ey ar e

i nt ended t o embel l i sh death   Moreover , t he A l i ed l a nd i n g acutel y r e-posed t he probl emof

document ar y r e al i s m Today everyone knows t hat t h er e were not yards of i n t e st i ne on t he

Nor mandy beaches and t hat t he l a nd i n g was a remarkable and t e c hn i c al l y di f f i c ul t oper -

at i o n  not because of Ger man resi stance   whi chwas v i r t u al l y non-exist ent ), but because of

t headver seweat her and t he compl i catedNor mandy c o un t r y s i d e  Thus, i n order t o make upt he numbers, t he A l i ed commander s t hrew t h e ir men i n t o operati ons l i k e t h e s t o r m ng of

Hoc Point , whi ch wer e as sui ci dal as t hey wer e spect acul ar   I n 1962, when Zanuck made hi s

f i ct i o na l document ar y w t h f i f t y s t ar s 20,000 ext ras andsi x directors, t he a ct i on t ook place

on t he I l e de Re or i n Spai n, where t he beaches were   grander t han t hose of Arr omanche.

Thi s i mmo r t a l i z at i o n of a bat t l e t hat had never happened ensur ed t hat TheLongest Day was

a g r e at b ox - o f f i c e success  4 P V r i l i o , Bunker ar c bi ol o gi e, Par i s 1975  

Chapt er Fi ve

l   Br ownl ow Hol l ywood, op ci t . p  80  2  I b i d . p   81  3  On Rosavi t a, see G l l o Dorf l es, Le kit sch, Pari s 1978  4  Test i mony of Rudol f Hess   Speer, j ournal de Spandau, p 401   Fern Andra, an

Aust ri anl i k e H t l er , had been apopul ar actr ess i n s i l e nt f i l ms   Theci nema had changed i t s

name t o t heA r i um

5  Ar nhei mpo i n t s o ut , however , t hat t he abstr act desi gn of t he swast i ka drew heavi l y

upon a powerf ul `expl anatory context He r e cal l s t hat when H t l er made a v i s i t t o Musso-

l i n Rome was covered over ni ght w t h swast i kas and an I t a l i an gi r l excl ai med i n horr or  ` Rome i s c r aw i n g w t h black spi ders . V sual Thi nki ng, op   ci t . pp   143- 44  

6. Vogel , op. ci t . p  176 7   S g na l, 1941 . Thi s magazi ne was t heFrench edi t i on of Berl i ner I l l us t r i er t e Zei t ung,

whi ch appeared i n most European l anguages i n cl u di n g En gl i s h.

8  SeeAnt hony Cave Brown, Bodyguar d of Lies, London 1976  9  The hi g hl y dr e am l i k e q ual i t y of Harl an s r emembr ances makes t heman i rr epl ace-

abl e t est i mony on c i r t e r na accor di ng t o Goebbel s 10   Quot ed i n J   MacGover n, Cr ossbowandOvercast , London 1965, p  21  11   I n a memor andumof 28 August 1945, Pr esi dent Tr uman ordered t heconceal ment

f r o m t h e p ubl i c of   l i n f o r ma t i o n r el a t i ng t o t he t echni ques, met hods and resul ts, bot h past

and present, of any code- br eaki ng depart ment   TheA l i es had anumber of good r e a so ns f o r

a ct i ng i n t h i s way, p ar t i c ul a r l y t he f e ar t h at a war w t h t heRussi ans woul d r e qu i r e U t r a and

so on t o come back i n t o servi ce 

Chapt er S x

1   I n January 1940 t he Br i t i s h M n i s t r y of I nformati on publ i shed a memor andumon

t he st a t e of t he ar my s phot ography and f i l mdepart ments   I n fact i t w shed t o c a r r y out a

r e v ol u t i o nby hal t i ng d i s t r i bu t i o n of m l i t a ry documentar i es t hat were consi dered t oo s t a t i c

and t echni cal and therefore i ncapabl e of a ssist i n g t he unpr ecedent ed war e f f o r t . The great

phot ographer Ceci l Beat on was t o play a domnant r o l e i n i mpl ement i ng t h i s r e f o r mWe

shoul d r emember t hat i n r esponse t o t he n at i o nal i z at i o n of t he Sovi et ci nema, an e f f e ct i ve

document ary school had been f ounded i n 1928 w t h t he support of men l i k e Rudyar d

K pl i ng, t h e s en i o r c i v i l servant S ephen Tal l ents, and t he f i l mmaker John G i e r so n  This

movement , whi ch was concei ved as a p ub l i c servi ce and enj oyed st a t e subsi dies, made a

Chapt er Seven

NOTES

1   To a l a r ge extent naval b at t l e shad l ong a nt i c i p a t e d t h i s t ype of p r ac t i c e  Antoi nede St - Exupery, P l ot e de Guerr e, Pari s 1981 .3 A Speer, Au coeur du Troi si eme Rei chand Le j ournal deSpandau  For t he Amer i cans, t he abst ract ness of t h e ir r ecapt ur e of t he Pac i f i c i s l a nd s madeci nema directi on a necessi t y   hence t he i mpor t ance of t hecamer a cr ews comm t t ed t o t heampai gn  5. The commssai r e auz montr es was t he of f i c e r responsibl e f or i nspecti ng weaponsndequi pment under t heAnci enRegi me6   ` I t s r a i n i n gmy soul , i t s raini ng, but i t s r a i n i n gdead eyes . Gui l l aume Ap ol l i n ai r e ,r om  Lanui t d av r i l 1915 i n ` Case d Ar mons , Cal l i grammes, Pari s 1918  See t h e r e po r t of t hesemnar   Leci nima grande vit e sse   i nstr ument ati ons et appli -at i ons , ANRT P ar i s December 1981  8  Col onel Jack

Br ought on, Thud R dge, Phil adelphia andNewYork 1969, p 110I b i d . pp   92-93 .10  I b i d . p 98.

95

consi derabl e i nternati onal i mpact   I t also l ed i n di r e ct l y t o t he f ormati onof t he Cr ownF l mni t , t he l argest producer of Br i t i s h propaganda f i l ms duri ng t hewar, whi ch was based i nhe r e qu i s i t i o ne d P newood S udi os Cavalcant i was  ts d i r e c t o r u nt i l 1940.  I anGoodhope Colvi n, F i g ht 777, London 1957, pp 48- 49 Cave Brown, Bodyguard of Lies, p  603.4 Paul Scanl onandMchael G o ss , TheBook of A i en, London 1979, unpagi nated  Quot ed f r o m   Madei n USA , Cahier s du ci ni ma, Apri l 1982  6  I b i d  7   AndrewS r a t t o n, i n N g el Cal der, ed   Unl ess Peace Come, Harmondswor t h 1968,  98