Imagine sitting in a movie theater watching a film you’ve been anticipating for months. Suddenly, the screen goes blank. It only lasts a second, but that’s long enough to disrupt the experience. It’s also long enough, says Mal Ahern, to remind you of the physical infrastructure behind what we so often see as an immaterial experience. Ahern, a University of Washington assistant professor of cinema and media studies, researches glitches in everything from printers to projectors. In this episode, she…
June 12, 2025