My name is Susan. Until today, I had no idea that I've ever engaged in what's called mimetic exploration. Correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm still confused about the concepts of mimesis and mimetic exploration. From what I picked up in lecture, mimetic exploration is something like my activity, as a spectator, in engaging in mimetic art. (??) And by mimetic art, I think we are considering it in the sense that the advocate does -- not necessarily as representing reality as we know it, but as revealing a micro-world with its own laws, etc. -- so that video games that obviously could not represent reality, could still be considered mimetic art.
During lecture, Prof. Cumming brought up that some psychologists believe that what makes a movie suspenseful is the puzzle-solving activity in which the audience partakes. I'm not sure if I agree with that entirely. Suppose I'm watching some suspenseful movie and the protagonist is trying to escape from the enemy's building (or something suspenseful like that). Even if I solve the puzzle and figure out a good way for the protagonist to escape, I think I'd still feel pretty nervous for the protagonist and kind of root for him in my head: "Go back to the fire escape! There's nobody guarding it there...!!" So I'm not really sure if engaging in puzzle-solving plays that big of a role in the suspense of a movie.
I would really appreciate feedback, especially about the concepts and what is considered mimetic art. Thanks!
