"Now why should the cinema follow the forms of theater and painting rather than the methodology of language, which allows wholly new concepts of ideas to arise from the combination of two concrete denotations of two concrete objects?"

Sergei Eisenstein provocatively questions why cinema should constrain itself by emulating the established forms of theater and painting. Both theater and painting are artistic traditions that rely heavily on representation, set conventions, and static or linear presentation of actions and images. Theater projects narrative through actors on a stage, bound by the limits of real-time and physical presence. Painting captures a singular, composed moment, offering symbolism and meaning through composition and color, but remains a frozen narrative.

Eisenstein advocates for a fundamentally different approach, pointing toward the methodology of language as a model for cinema. Human language is generative: it is not locked into fixed meanings but instead creates new concepts and meanings through the synthesis of words and their sequential or contextual relationships. In linguistics, the placement of words modifies, expands, or even completely transforms the initial meaning of each element; the combination gives rise to abstractions and complex ideas that individual words could not convey in isolation.

By invoking language as a model, Eisenstein identifies cinema’s immense potential for montage, the assemblage of separate shots to generate novel ideas or expressive realities. For instance, when two concrete images are juxtaposed in a film, the viewer’s mind forms a connection or a third meaning, something larger and more abstract than what either image contains alone. This dialectical process, unique to film, enables the communication of nonliteral, emotional, or conceptual truths in a manner distinct from static visual arts or the stage.

He is arguing for an actively creative viewer, engaging with the montage just as the listener of language strings together meanings from words and sentences. Cinema, in following the methodology of language rather than established visual or dramatic traditions, can transcend mere imitation or representation. It becomes a unique means of expressing ideas, concepts, and emotional truths through the interplay and collision of images, innovating not just how stories are told, but also how meaning itself is constructed.