Uchronic history IX : the "Kuleshov Effect" doesn't work only in cinema !

by Jean-Jacques COURTEY, Doctor in Economic Geography, Ph. D
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Today, we are going to study about the "Kuleshov Effect", which is considered as a typical effect of cinema. It is directly coming from Film Editing.
This effect is deriving from the famous Russian film Director, Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov (1899 - 1970).
So people intend to think this effect only applies to cinema.
But it's not true in fact. As life itself is like a gigantic movie for every person on Earth, it is obvious that this cognitive bias can also apply to their own life, or more widely...to collective life.

Lev Kuleshov was a very original man, who introduced the role of cognitive bias based upon short term memory, to explain how it was possible to modify the perception a spectator had of a serial of pictures following each other. The key to him was the way the film was actually edited, and obviously the choice of the pictures' sequence. With this work happening after the film itself, you could even create a different film, by using the way human brain is decoding informations, and establishing links between successive images, even they have nothing to do together initially.
Hence, our brain is autonomously and automatically creating a new logic, without the intervention of our conscious mind. This way was of course revolutionary, and this strange psychological mechanism has been widely used by Soviet Cinema for its propaganda...or by other ones equally !


That's why the "Kuleshov Effect" or "K effect" is considered as a very important cognitive bias, involving short term memory. As most psychological effects, it is an unvolunteer effect.
But you can easily understand what Kuleshov underlined, has from a long time been used by other people than film Directors.
Politicians, ideologists, scientists or anyone wanting to lead you thinking a certain way have also been able to use it, even before it was given this controversial name.
We say controversial, because still nowadays some specialists are denying Kuleshov really put on evidence the "K Effect" in 1921, with a big K.

Previously, it was argued that it was his disciple Vsevolod Pudovkine who put it on evidence. But as he was working during all the experiment under his strong presence and direction, this superficial explanation has been removed.
So finally, it has been argued Lev Kuleshov didn't precisely name it this way in his written works, which is a rather byzantine and irrelevant appreciation.
The reality is this intellectual - coming from an aristocratic family -, clearly demonstrated this "Effect" to all the students of his class. And this "Effect" connected to the process of Film Editing, was very logically given his proper name afterwards !
And the British-American Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcok (1899 - 1980), recognized the genious of Lev Kuleshov !


To be specific, Lev Kuleshov made in 1921 a short film about the Tsarist Movie Idol Ivan Mosjukine (1889 - 1939), who became a French-Russian star of cinema - often considered as the First Star of the History of World Cinema !
As an Actor (he became also a Director and a Scenarist), he was filmed in three different occurrences, with the same poker face (unexpressive then) : in front of a plate of a soup, then a girl in a coffin, and finally a woman on a sofa.
When he showed it to his students, they all observed that the expression of his face was different in each situation...which wasn't the case at all actually !

Hence, the Kuleshov Effect is a visual way to induce a certain perception and to introduce "non sequitur" (what is not following the premises) not only in a movie... but also in your everyday life if you don't pay attention.
The artificial controversy made around Lev Kuleshov himself, is just there to divert your mind from realizing it. The Kuleshov Effect is inducing a cognitive bias, and operates wherever and whenever you even don't think about it.
The magic of Cinema is not a vain word !


With the "K effect" we are entering the scope of possibilities. And what you see is just one of them : this point must never be forgotten and have to stay in your mind.
The editing of pictures - with their rearrangement - is thus determining, in order to produce a certain perception or sight-reading, and a pre-oriented understanding obviously. It can then easily induce a special visual effect !
Alfred Hitchcock, the famous British-American Director previously mentioned, admired a lot the fundamental discovery of Kusheshov that he personaly praised : he used it many times for the success of his most famous movies. And to demonstrate the power of his works, he explained it was not necessary for each shot to have a meaning by itself : the meaning was given by the final arrangement of pictures with the Film Editing !

You cannot do so much in front of a heavy repetition of the same images, connected to an insistent sound...especially when it's done several times a day through your TV for instance.
It would oblige you to stay alert and make a flashback to the message (s) you received image after image. As it is tiring and technically complicated, normally you wouldn't have the patience to do it.
It is working beyond your consciousness and your free will (the utmost of cognitive psychology).
The paradox of penetrating intelligence is that it often passes for futile.






Cinema is founded on a great optical illusion. It is worldly in essence, with festivals as prestigious as the 1st festival of Cannes (fixed from 1 to 20 September 1939).
The latter was cancelled on August 29th, 1939 by its initiator, the French Minister of National Education and Fine Arts Jean Zay (1904 - 1944), because of a dramatic event : the announcement of the German-Soviet Pact. This Pact was just immediately preceding the Dantzig incident and the invasion of Poland, already prophesied by H. G. Wells in 1933 in "The shape of things to come" - with the overlooked theme of an ignored scientific council seizing power in the background.
This first Festival was equally the first reading of the geographical and historical events happening at once, with the start of the Second World War for that time.

Through the Kuleshov Effect (sometimes also called "Effect of Recency", in technical words), you litteraly absorb what is shown to you once edited : you "drink" unvoluntarily.
As other striking examples, just watch the pre-selected dark images of the Moon surface, or Mars surface which are always shown to you ! Some specialists are often pushing the funny humour to just enlarge them under the puzzling name of fake hoaxes, and ask you not to see what you suddenly can see : so neither the "Lunar Pitris" nor the "Martian Taïga" are existing. As they explain, there is a "parallax" problem with the supposingly low quality Earthling Equipment. And they didn't change the brand yet !

For what is beyond cinema, you feel often you are jockeyed ...and you could be right !

Of course, if you are aware about that, it is up to you to say : Ha ! Ha ! Not this time, cunning fellows !

You should never forget Freedom, True Knowledge, and Life Enjoyment are the most precious treasures you have to protect in this life.
They are directly echoing your natural right to choose for yourself, your discernment, and your aptitude to the so agreable sense of wonder.
So never give them up... and put the light on !