The Action-Image, The Small Form Summary and Analysis

From action to situation is another aspect of action-image, in addition to the large form that moves from situation to action and modifies the situation (SAS'). The small form moves from action to situation to new action (ASA'). For example, the sign of this form is the index and is used by Chaplain in his film "Public Opinion." One pole of the index is action that reveals a situation like lights passing across a woman's face as sign of the arriving train she awaits. This form replaces narrative with images from which to deduce a situation or "reasoning-image." A more complex index uses equivocal acts to reveal opposing situations like a woman discarding and then recovering a necklace. Small form enables the situation to be deduced from the action contrasted with the large...