Difference between revisions of "JCM312/French Modernism: Jean-Luc Godard & Bertolt Brecht (Discussion)"

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#'''Group 2:''' How is Rohmer using the word, "moral"? How is morality portrayed in ''Chloé''?
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==The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre==
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#'''Group 3:''' What is meant by "courtly love," in the context of Rohmer's films?
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#'''All Groups:''' What does Brecht mean by the term "culinary opera"?
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#'''Group 4:''' Monaco states that ''le pari'' ("the bet") is "the encompassing metaphor that Rohmer wants for the entire series" (p. 297). And he emphasizes "Pascal's wager" (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager Wikipedia]: "...posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should "wager" as though God exists, because so living has potentially everything to gain, and certainly nothing to lose.").
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#*He suggests that "dramatic theater" is culinary. Some film critics suggest that Hollywood classicism is also culinary. Do you agree? Explain.
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#*What ethical/existential issues does that wager/bet raise? Do you see them in ''Chloé''?
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#'''All Groups:''' Consider the key aspects of "epic theater" that are boldfaced below. Do you think ''Breathless'' fits any of these aspects? Why or why not?
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#'''Group 1:''' In a footnote (p. 304), Monaco quotes Rohmer saying, "The men in my films are not meant to be particularly sympathetic characters." Is Frédéric a sympathetic character? Provide evidence from the film to support your interpretation. How do you interpret his fantasy sequence?
 
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[[Image:Chloeqq00 21 58qq00015.jpg|thumb|300|Frédéric's fantasy.]]
 
  
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==Further questions -- All groups==
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Brechtian alienation
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#
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*"Alienation effect"--''Verfremdungseffekt''
 +
 
 +
<table border="border" width="100%" >
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>DRAMATIC THEATRE</td>
 +
    <td>EPIC THEATRE</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>plot</td>
 +
    <td>narrative</td>
 +
 
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>implicates the spectator in a stage situation</td>
 +
    <td>'''turns the spectator into an observer, but'''</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>wears down his capacity for action</td>
 +
    <td>'''arouses his capacity for action'''</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>provides him with sensations</td>
 +
    <td>forces him to take decisions</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>experience</td>
 +
    <td>picture of the world</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>the spectator is involved in something</td>
 +
    <td>he is made to face something</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
 
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>suggestion</td>
 +
    <td>argument</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>instinctive feelings are preserved</td>
 +
    <td>'''[instinctive feelings are] brought to the point of recognition'''</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>the spectator is in the thick of it, shares the experience</td>
 +
    <td>the spectator stands outside, studies</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>the human being is taken for granted</td>
 +
    <td>the human being is the object of the inquiry </td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>he is unalterable</td>
 +
    <td>he is alterable and able to alter</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>eyes on the finish</td>
 +
    <td>eyes on the course</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>one scene makes another</td>
 +
    <td>each scene for itself</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>growth</td>
 +
    <td>montage</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>linear development [of plot]</td>
 +
    <td>'''in curves'''</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>evolutionary determinism</td>
 +
    <td>jumps</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>man as fixed point</td>
 +
    <td>man as a process</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>thought determines being</td>
 +
    <td>social being determines thought</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr valign="top">
 +
    <td>feeling</td>
 +
    <td>reason</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 
 +
==Counter Cinema==
 +
#'''All Groups:''' What is Wollen's "counter cinema"? What is it counter to?
 +
#Apply the following aspects of counter cinema to ''Breathless''. Do they fit?
 +
#*Cite specific scenes, shots, dialog, etc. that support your answer.
 +
#*#'''Groups 2 and 5:''' In your own words, explain the "narrative intransitivity" aspect of counter cinema.
 +
#*#'''Group 3:''' In your own words, explain the "estrangement" aspect of counter cinema.
 +
#*#'''Group 4:''' In your own words, explain the "foregrounding" aspect of counter cinema.
 +
#*#'''Group 1:''' In your own words, explain the "aperture" aspect of countercinema.
 +
#*'''Groups 1, 2, & 4:''' Make the case for ''Breathless'' as a classical film.
 +
#*'''Groups 3 & 5:''' Make the case for ''Breathless'' as a counter-cinema and/or Brechtian film.
 +
#What aspects of Wollen's list match Brecht's list?
 +
<table border="1">
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>&quot;DEADLY SINS&quot; OF THE CLASSICAL CINEMA</td>
 +
    <td>&quot;CARDINAL VIRTUES&quot; OF COUNTER CINEMA</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Narrative transitivity</td>
 +
    <td>Narrative intransitivity</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Identification</td>
 +
    <td>Estrangement</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Transparency</td>
 +
    <td>Foregrounding</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Single diegesis</td>
 +
    <td>Multiple diegesis</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Closure</td>
 +
    <td>Aperture</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Pleasure</td>
 +
    <td>Un-pleasure</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
  <tr>
 +
    <td>Fiction</td>
 +
    <td>Reality</td>
 +
  </tr>
 +
</table>
  
 
==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==
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*
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*Brecht, Bertolt. "The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre." In ''Brecht on Theatre'', pp. 33-42. Edited and translated by John Willett. New York: Hill and Wang, 1964.
 +
*MacCabe, Colin. ''Godard: Images, Sounds, Politics''. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1980.
 +
*Wollen, Peter. "Godard and Counter Cinema: VENT D'EST." In ''Readings and Writings: Semiotic Counter-Strategies''. London: Verso, 1982.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*
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*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T577/Godard_Criticism_Brecht.php Godard illustrations]
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[[Category:TCF340 Discussion]]
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*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/Breathless/index.htm ''Breathless'' illustrations]
 +
*''Wind from the East'' online — [http://www.ubu.com/film/dziga_vertov.html UbuWeb], [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/WindFromTheEast500x375.php TCF]
 +
*[http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/HommageKit.php ''Hommage Kit'' (Butler, 1978)]
 +
 
 +
[[Category:JCM312 Discussion]]

Latest revision as of 14:35, 22 October 2019

The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre

  1. All Groups: What does Brecht mean by the term "culinary opera"?
    • He suggests that "dramatic theater" is culinary. Some film critics suggest that Hollywood classicism is also culinary. Do you agree? Explain.
  2. All Groups: Consider the key aspects of "epic theater" that are boldfaced below. Do you think Breathless fits any of these aspects? Why or why not?

Brechtian alienation

  • "Alienation effect"--Verfremdungseffekt
DRAMATIC THEATRE EPIC THEATRE
plot narrative
implicates the spectator in a stage situation turns the spectator into an observer, but
wears down his capacity for action arouses his capacity for action
provides him with sensations forces him to take decisions
experience picture of the world
the spectator is involved in something he is made to face something
suggestion argument
instinctive feelings are preserved [instinctive feelings are] brought to the point of recognition
the spectator is in the thick of it, shares the experience the spectator stands outside, studies
the human being is taken for granted the human being is the object of the inquiry
he is unalterable he is alterable and able to alter
eyes on the finish eyes on the course
one scene makes another each scene for itself
growth montage
linear development [of plot] in curves
evolutionary determinism jumps
man as fixed point man as a process
thought determines being social being determines thought
feeling reason

Counter Cinema

  1. All Groups: What is Wollen's "counter cinema"? What is it counter to?
  2. Apply the following aspects of counter cinema to Breathless. Do they fit?
    • Cite specific scenes, shots, dialog, etc. that support your answer.
      1. Groups 2 and 5: In your own words, explain the "narrative intransitivity" aspect of counter cinema.
      2. Group 3: In your own words, explain the "estrangement" aspect of counter cinema.
      3. Group 4: In your own words, explain the "foregrounding" aspect of counter cinema.
      4. Group 1: In your own words, explain the "aperture" aspect of countercinema.
    • Groups 1, 2, & 4: Make the case for Breathless as a classical film.
    • Groups 3 & 5: Make the case for Breathless as a counter-cinema and/or Brechtian film.
  3. What aspects of Wollen's list match Brecht's list?
"DEADLY SINS" OF THE CLASSICAL CINEMA "CARDINAL VIRTUES" OF COUNTER CINEMA
Narrative transitivity Narrative intransitivity
Identification Estrangement
Transparency Foregrounding
Single diegesis Multiple diegesis
Closure Aperture
Pleasure Un-pleasure
Fiction Reality

Bibliography

  • Brecht, Bertolt. "The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre." In Brecht on Theatre, pp. 33-42. Edited and translated by John Willett. New York: Hill and Wang, 1964.
  • MacCabe, Colin. Godard: Images, Sounds, Politics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, 1980.
  • Wollen, Peter. "Godard and Counter Cinema: VENT D'EST." In Readings and Writings: Semiotic Counter-Strategies. London: Verso, 1982.

External links

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