Carl Plantinga understands film emotions as the elicitation and evocation of emotions in audiences by movies. He believes that films trigger emotional responses in viewers, engaging them within the cinematic world. Plantinga argues that emotions are not passively consumed but rather interactively engaged with during the viewing process, rooted in the narrative, characters, and plot of the film. He sees the emotional connection between the audience and the film as mutually influential, leading to enduring effects on the audience.
The seven types of audience emotions identified by Carl Plantinga are：
1、Global Emotions
enduring, spanning throughout the movie viewing experience
Anticipation, suspense, curiosity
2、Local Emotions
Short-lived, often stronger than overarching emotions.
Terror, amazement, disgust, joy, excitement.
3、Direct Emotions
Evoked by narrative content and its development.
Curiosity, suspense, amazement, terror.
4、Sympathetic or Antipathetic Emotions
Treating concerns, goals, and happiness regarding the task as their purpose, whether in sympathy or aversion.
Sympathetic：Compassion, pity, regret, appreciation, gladness
Antipathetic：Anger, disdain, moral repugnance
5、Meta-emotions
Arising from the reactions of either the audience themselves or other viewers.
Pride, guilt, shame, surprise, contempt
6、Fiction Emotions
Arising from elements within the fictional world of the movie
Diverse and extensive
7、Artifact Emotions
Arising from the creation of the movie itself.
Admiration, fascination, entertainment, appreciation, anger
Jan Svankmajer’s films often manifest this cognition through exaggerated, symbolic scenes and characters, exploring dreams, hallucinations, and the subconscious. His works tend to delve into the fears, desires, and emotions of the human subconscious, often portrayed in an absurd and peculiar manner. Svankmajer’s films are rich in symbolism, using symbols and metaphors to express deeper thoughts and emotions, engaging audiences in unconventional and surreal experiences. Through this unconventional visual expression, his films can evoke emotional resonance in viewers, prompting them to contemplate and perceive meanings beyond the surface.
Carl R. Plantinga, Moving Viewers: American Film and the Spectator’s Experience[M]. Berkeley & Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2009: 69.