The following text is in two relatively autonomous parts. The first part presents a set of 10 ‘theses’ as mostly rhetorical statements. The second offers scenarios for where these theses might apply. As you will see, the scenarios are somewhat arbitrarily chosen and cast a wide net. They borrow from Bollywood, independent cinema, documentaries, archiving practices, and art materials. In a way these scenarios are meant to produce a ‘stage’ upon which to perform a major transformation that appears otherwise inexplicable—namely the startling overnight erasure of celluloid from everyday life—and the theses are as though actors in this performance.

As we engage in all this, we will hopefully witness a double act. It will, if this works, bear similarity with other radical transformations that we have experienced at the turn of the millennium. On the one hand, we shall see a grand narrative unfolding—a ‘this-changes-everything ‘-type story— with millennial significance. On the other, we shall also see the confident assertion of everyday normalcy, a ‘nothing-to-see-here’ ordinariness.

There is a bit of sleight of hand involved as our performance takes place. The stage is disjointed, the mess is ongoing, and there is, inevitably, a backstory.