The New Cinema: Reflections on the Death of Cinema After the Digital Revolution

Writing about cinema is no easy adventure, for cinema by its very nature is a visual medium—one that relies directly on moving images and memorable shots. The true pleasure of cinema is only fulfilled through watching the films themselves, rather than through written words, critical essays, reviews, or stories about film history. Those most affected by this dilemma are the writers who have chosen cinema as their field of authorship—those who analyze, critique, and write about and for cinema.
Eight years have passed since the first edition of The New Cinema was published in 2017. During the period between 2017 and 2025, the world witnessed crises such as COVID-19, which played a decisive role in accelerating cinema’s full-scale digital transformation and in reshaping film production and distribution. Movie theaters closed their doors, while streaming platforms flourished. Digital platforms soon surpassed traditional theaters in their reach and influence, leading cinema itself to mutate across every dimension—presentation, distribution, production, and even the very nature of the cinematic work.
The notion of the “death of cinema” is one of the central and recurring ideas explored throughout this book, which is divided into two main sections. The first section, consisting of a single chapter, offers a study of the history of cinema’s digital transformation and its relationship with emerging technologies, tracing how the specter of “cinema’s death” has resurfaced repeatedly—first with the introduction of sound, then with the rise of television. The second section, which comprises the rest of the book, stands as a love letter to cinema itself—to the cinema that had, or so I once believed, already died. That feeling of loss and affection is expressed directly in the book’s dedication.