Eisenstein and Montage

At first, I was rather irritated by the way Eisenstein builds up his argument, because he constantly references to Japan Kabuki theatre, art, and writing. Although this was very interesting and informative, it was difficult to follow where he was going. But while I was reading the text for the second time, I realized that he actually really intelligently laid out the basics for his final idea, which is montage. He uses, for example, Japanese writing. With each stroke, a new meaning is added to the existing hieroglyph, thus developing it from an object to an idea or a concept. (Eisenstein 128) His method of editing, in the end, is very similar. Eisenstein focuses on creating new concepts or associations by joining shots that would normally conflict in itself or create a conflict in the viewer. Therefore, the viewer is "activated" to develop a concept of his or her own or respond to the concept created by the filmmaker.