Tom Gunning’s “Cinema of attractions” as the proto-pattern of contemporary interactive cinematography

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to prove the continuity between the key principles of Tom Gunning’s “cinema of attractions” and the mechanics of contemporary interactive cinema, analyzing how the logic of spectacle, direct appeal, and affective impact is technologically reinterpreted in the era of digital media. The article proves that the central mechanics of interactive cinema “the point of choice” functions as a modern attraction. It is determined that the principle of “exhibitionism” is implemented through an interface that destroys narrative immersion and demonstrates its own constructedness. The affective impact is created not so much by the visual spectacle as by the psychological tension of the act of decisionmaking itself. It is analyzed that the mechanism of “limited agency” is not a drawback, but a key aesthetic technique for creating an attraction effect. It is also stated that the transformation of a public, shared attraction into an individualized, private, and data-driven algorithmic choice.