Are You Experienced?

Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord, 1974).As Harrison Ford’s beet-red Hulk ravages the Tidal Basin, the lights on the cannons flanking the screen glow Tide-detergent orange. It is a warning to pull down our plastic face shields, if they aren’t already in place. The assembled sweepstakes winners, social-media influencers, and members of the press trill with excitement as we are pelted by jets of mud, the grand finale of “The Collateral Stain Screening,” a Tide brand activation including a sneak preview of Captain America: Brave New World (2025), presented in “5D.” The first three Ds are, of course, dimensions—height, width, and depth—though this screening has no 3D component. The fourth dimension, sometimes thought of as time, is a mathematical concept on which Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is based; it gives its name, for whatever reason, to “4D” film, a theatrical presentation system that can involve moving seats, wind, water, smoke, smells, and flashing lights. The fifth D, in this context, must be dirt. The screening was inspired by a cycle of Tide commercials in which civilian bystanders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe find themselves caught in the crossfire of superheroic battles, incidentally soiling their clothes.“Feel blown away in 4DX,” the Regal Cinemas marquee promises of its proprietary 4D protocol, “as motion, wind, water, smells, and special effects thrill you in your seat!” Employing three of the four classical elements (the good people at Tide closed the loop by adding earth), 4DX addresses itself to four of the five senses (taste has, thus far, been neglected). As for whether you’ll “feel blown away”—it depends on what you’re looking to get out of an evening at the cinema. “I’m in the movie,” a promotional poster declares: A man with mouth agape grips the armrests of his cinema seat, which kicks up sparks as its rear corner skids against the ground. In the video extension of the ad, his chair hurtles after a cop car in hot pursuit of a turquoise Trans Am, leaving him to dodge speeding bullets while breathing in exhaust fumes. Troublingly, he is still slack-jawed as unsanitary droplets of water from a crash-impact attenuator hit his face in slow motion—and the revolting power of this image alone, sans smoke and smells, is an intriguing provocation. If such a sight already has us reaching for a sick bag, what more can the current vogue for haptic seat technology offer?“Are You Experienced?” is the spring 2025 edition of the Notebook Insert, a seasonal supplement on moving-image culture. This week, we’ll publish five thematic features on the cinema of the senses—past, present, and future. From Lugné-Poe’s fin-de-siècle scented cotton swabs to the short-lived glories of AromaRama and Smell-O-Vision, from railfan amusement-park attractions to Apple Vision Pro Immersive Videos, and from the utopian aspirations of mid-century expanded cinema to the Instagram-baiting contemporary art museum, our contributors appraise the promises of extra-audiovisual contrivance—whether reneged, delivered upon, or deferred. Plus, five artists deliver visions of gimmicks to come.In this issue:“Doors of Perception: Cinematic Sensations as Attractions” by Tom GunningA cinema of taste, smell, and touch has been a recurrent fantasy of modernity, for both commercial artists and the avant-garde.Coming up:“Visions Without Images: Demonstrating Immersion” by Blake WilliamsIn the first slate of content for the Apple Vision Pro, death-defying sensations play on our most primal fears and desires.“The Future of Sensory Cinema,” with contributions from Andrew Norman Wilson, Sara Magenheimer, Kevin B. Lee, Vera Drew, and Jake TobinCinematic paraphernalia of the world to come.“Expanding Cinema: A Winter Diary” by Erika BalsomA midcentury avant-garde reacted against the confines of the movie theater. In our own time, has the situation been reversed?“In the Hot Seat: On the 4D Experience” by Gabriel Winslow-YostThe promise of a new sensory cinema calls upon almost every trick from over a half-century of big-screen novelties.

Mar 17, 2025 - 10:39

Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord, 1974).

As Harrison Ford’s beet-red Hulk ravages the Tidal Basin, the lights on the cannons flanking the screen glow Tide-detergent orange. It is a warning to pull down our plastic face shields, if they aren’t already in place. The assembled sweepstakes winners, social-media influencers, and members of the press trill with excitement as we are pelted by jets of mud, the grand finale of “The Collateral Stain Screening,” a Tide brand activation including a sneak preview of Captain America: Brave New World (2025), presented in “5D.” The first three Ds are, of course, dimensions—height, width, and depth—though this screening has no 3D component. The fourth dimension, sometimes thought of as time, is a mathematical concept on which Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is based; it gives its name, for whatever reason, to “4D” film, a theatrical presentation system that can involve moving seats, wind, water, smoke, smells, and flashing lights. The fifth D, in this context, must be dirt. The screening was inspired by a cycle of Tide commercials in which civilian bystanders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe find themselves caught in the crossfire of superheroic battles, incidentally soiling their clothes.

“Feel blown away in 4DX,” the Regal Cinemas marquee promises of its proprietary 4D protocol, “as motion, wind, water, smells, and special effects thrill you in your seat!” Employing three of the four classical elements (the good people at Tide closed the loop by adding earth), 4DX addresses itself to four of the five senses (taste has, thus far, been neglected). As for whether you’ll “feel blown away”—it depends on what you’re looking to get out of an evening at the cinema.

“I’m in the movie,” a promotional poster declares: A man with mouth agape grips the armrests of his cinema seat, which kicks up sparks as its rear corner skids against the ground. In the video extension of the ad, his chair hurtles after a cop car in hot pursuit of a turquoise Trans Am, leaving him to dodge speeding bullets while breathing in exhaust fumes. Troublingly, he is still slack-jawed as unsanitary droplets of water from a crash-impact attenuator hit his face in slow motion—and the revolting power of this image alone, sans smoke and smells, is an intriguing provocation. If such a sight already has us reaching for a sick bag, what more can the current vogue for haptic seat technology offer?

“Are You Experienced?” is the spring 2025 edition of the Notebook Insert, a seasonal supplement on moving-image culture. This week, we’ll publish five thematic features on the cinema of the senses—past, present, and future. From Lugné-Poe’s fin-de-siècle scented cotton swabs to the short-lived glories of AromaRama and Smell-O-Vision, from railfan amusement-park attractions to Apple Vision Pro Immersive Videos, and from the utopian aspirations of mid-century expanded cinema to the Instagram-baiting contemporary art museum, our contributors appraise the promises of extra-audiovisual contrivance—whether reneged, delivered upon, or deferred. Plus, five artists deliver visions of gimmicks to come.

In this issue:

“Doors of Perception: Cinematic Sensations as Attractions” by Tom Gunning

A cinema of taste, smell, and touch has been a recurrent fantasy of modernity, for both commercial artists and the avant-garde.

Coming up:

“Visions Without Images: Demonstrating Immersion” by Blake Williams

In the first slate of content for the Apple Vision Pro, death-defying sensations play on our most primal fears and desires.

“The Future of Sensory Cinema,” with contributions from Andrew Norman Wilson, Sara Magenheimer, Kevin B. Lee, Vera Drew, and Jake Tobin

Cinematic paraphernalia of the world to come.

“Expanding Cinema: A Winter Diary” by Erika Balsom

A midcentury avant-garde reacted against the confines of the movie theater. In our own time, has the situation been reversed?

“In the Hot Seat: On the 4D Experience” by Gabriel Winslow-Yost

The promise of a new sensory cinema calls upon almost every trick from over a half-century of big-screen novelties.