Sentence:  The stories did not seem to me to touch life. ... They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the <WSD>screen</WSD>, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The viewing surface or area of a movie, or moving picture or slide presentation.