SMRN Public Lecture Series
On March 31, 2025, SMRN hosted the second event in its public lecture series, featuring Dr. Walid Al Khachab and his thought-provoking talk, "Epidermedia? Skin as Metaphor of Film."
In this presentation, Dr. Al Khachab explored cinema through the fascinating metaphor of "skin as screen," drawing from his background in Arabic studies, Sufism, and cultural theory. He argued that the experience of viewing a flat, projected image is inherently tied to a sacred experience, suggesting that film carries an unconscious dimension of sacred performance. Using the metaphor of skin, he challenged dominant Western narratives about cinema and proposed a new way to think about screen media, one that emphasizes the flatness of images.
The talk also explored methodological approaches, including the use of epistemological metaphors and the translation of cultural concepts across disciplines. Drawing on Sufi philosophy and Islamic thought, Dr. Al Khachab reimagined how we understand film. He focused on two films—Eyes Without a Face and The Skin I Live In—to show how skin and human experience are central to cinema. By turning to horror and thriller genres, he demonstrated how even popular or so-called "weak" films can open up deep insights into the sacred and the human.
The event wrapped up with a lively discussion led by Dr. Farshid Kazemi and a Q&A with the audience.
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