This article traces a research arc from analogue investigations of the Lebenswelt to the emergence of AI Cinematic Realism. It shows how Kracauerian tropes migrate across media, shifting realism from indexical redemption of physical reality to synthetic emotional plausibility while preserving phenomenology as the core method and evaluative standard.
Realism Without a Trace — an excerpt from AI Cinematic Realism
This essay traces the historical link between cinematic realism and the photographic trace—from the Lumière brothers to Kracauer and Bazin—then examines how AI-generated images rupture that foundation. It argues that AI cinema replaces indexical truth with plausibility, reshaping how realism and trust are understood.