Film Criticism as a Way of Understanding Contemporaneity: Ecranomanie by Victor Morozov
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37130/jn93d714Keywords:
film criticism, hermeneutics of media imagery, cinephilia, visual cultureAbstract
Ecranomanie, Victor Morozov’s debut volume (House of Arrows, 2025) consists of a collection of essays that expand film criticism into the vast domain of contemporary visual culture. With a foreword by filmmaker Radu Jude, the volume explores how the analytical tools of film critics can illuminate the political, aesthetic and social stakes of a contemporaneity saturated by images. Written between 2022 and 2025, in the context of global crises like the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, or the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the essays discuss a wide range of phenomena like AI-generated imagery, televised sports, social media reels of politicians, drone footage and advertisements in a style of writing which resists both academic rigidity and the superficiality of online discourse, blending journalistic urgency with theoretical rigour. Despite its fragmentary composition, the volume remains a compelling contribution to our understanding of how images shape contemporary experience.
References
Morozov, V. (2025) Ecranomanie. Bucureşti: Editura House of Arrows.
Gorzo, A. (4 Jun. 2025) “Morozov”, Lucruri care nu pot fi spuse altfel. [Online] Available at: https://andreigorzoblog.wordpress.com/2025/06/04/morozov/ (Accesed at: October 5, 2025)
Rapotan, N. (24 Aug. 2025) “Despre on încercare de hermeneutică a vizualului mediatic”, Bookhub [Online] Available at: https://bookhub.ro/despre-o-incercare-de- hermeneutica-a-vizualului-mediatic/ (Accesed at: October 5, 2025)
