Metacinematic Gestures
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METACINEMATIC GESTURES AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PRODUCTIONIST ASPECT OF SELF-REFLEXIVE FILMS Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Leicester By Matteo Ciccognani School of Business University of Leicester January 2018 ABSTRACT The thesis focuses on the dilemmas raised by self-reflexive filmmaking through the scrutiny of different metacinematic gestures. This thesis presents a definition of metacinematic gesture as a film segment which exhibits the mediality of cinema and opens up a discourse on its technical, linguistic and organisational implications. This definition and its attendant reflections are the result of a critical understanding of the notion of gesture for Giorgio Agamben and Walter Benjamin. Subsequently, I propose a grid of intelligibility of different categories for metacinematic gestures: Referential, Realist, Surrealist, Experimental, the Look into the Camera and Productionist. This classification contributes to fill the theoretical gaps within Film Studies literature about metacinema and narrows down the category that this research explores: the productionist. Productionist metafilms expand and reflect on the processual dimension of filmmaking to the extent that the frontstage of production might be said to coincide, or tend to coincide, with its own backstage. In fact, it is proposed that productionist metafilms serve to reveal and construct a self-reflexive form of directorial subjectivity through the acknowledgement of some specific strategic choices operated on the set. But, the emergence of these subjectivities is mostly influenced by the material conditions of production, the budget, the film crew, the environmental conditions or the limits set by the screenplay. So, the main contribution of this research is to provide a new theorisation of self- reflexivity in films with particular focus on the productionist aspect of metacinema. The last point is explored through the analysis of ten selected productionist metafilms, by highlighting how their unpredictable occurrences are surfaced by means of a multi- faceted exposure of cinematic mediality. These films produce scenarios and visual articulations which are revelatory of otherwise invisible aspects of the filmmaking process. Finally, this thesis presents its analytical results about filmmaking as endowed with a distinctive degree of linguistic and technical experimentation, but also with precious information of how cinema observes itself as a form of organised work. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a Ph.D thesis is never an individual endeavour, but rather the result of a combination of forces. Many people have influenced the production of this work. First, my deep gratitude goes to my supervisors Martin Parker and Carl Rhodes. They have supported me throughout this journey by providing inestimable suggestions from the beginning till the end of this process. Their precious help has often flowed beyond the professional domain inscribing into that of friendship. Without Checco and Maddalena it would have never happened. They have been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement over these vibrant years. I wish to hug Camilla, Rosetta and Pio whom I have missed on innumerable occasions. Someone or something taught me how to carry them within my spirit. I would also like to thank Dimitris Papadopoulos, Stephen Dunne and Rolland Munro for they crucially intervened during the conception and drafting of this thesis. Thanks to all the colleagues of the School of Business (former School of Management), in particular to the wise Marco Sachy, but also to Konstantin, George, Christiana, Andrea, Martina, Massimo, Leandros, Daniele, Margherita, Don, Marton, Irina and all the Ph.D community. But also to my friends Stephen, Danilo and Tancredi. All these people have played a vital role in brightening my days here in Leicester. My gratefulness goes to Lucy who has accompanied me throughout the thorniest passages of the writing process. Thanks to all my playmates in Italy, especially to Giulio, who helped me develop the initial idea of this research in the midst of a casual conversation. A special thanks goes to Ellie, who revised part of this thesis and worked with me till the very end. Finally, I am grateful to all the people, animals, plants and things that I have crossed paths with and contributed to inspire my thoughts. ii Marcel Duchamp, Avoir l’apprenti dans le Soleil (1914) iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………...ii TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………...iv LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………….viii INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..1 1.0. Reflexivity and Visual Representations: Prolegomena to the Metacinematic Gesture………………………………………………………….7 1.1. The Enigma of the Reflexive Image……………………………………...9 1.2. The Shaded Zone or the Blind Spot of Meta-Representation……………21 1.3. Metacinema: the Look into the Camera………………………………… 26 2.0. Literature Review on Metacinema……………………………………………35 2.1. Illusionism and Subversion……………………………………………...35 2.2. The Cauldron of Cinematic Reflexivity…………………………………40 2.3. Genesis and Development of Metacinematic Perspectives……………..44 3.0. The Notion of Metacinematic Gesture………………………………………..64 3.1. Rethinking Gestures and Teloi………………………………………….68 3.2. The Contingent Author………………………………………………….72 3.3. The Shady, Unpredictable Nature of Metacinematic Gestures………….75 3.4. Authors as Gestures, Gestures as Authors……………………………….77 iv 4.0. A Grid of Intelligibility for Metacinema………………………………………81 4.1. Referential Metacinema…………………………………………………82 4.2. Realist Metacinema……………………………………………………..86 4.3. Surrealist Metacinema………………………………………………......91 4.4. A Category without Boundaries…………………………………………95 4.5. Experimental Metacinema………………………………………………98 4.6. Productionist Metacinema…………………………………..........……102 4.7. Multiple Categories within a Single Film……………………………...106 5.0. The Fictional Dimension of Productionist Metafilms………………………109 5.1. 8½ (Fellini 1963)…..…………………………………………………..112 Synopsis………………………………………………………….…………112 Analysis - Guido’s Maieutic Nihilism ……………………………………..113 5.2. Le Mépris (Godard 1963) …………………………………………....124 Synopsis………………………………………………………………….....124 Analysis - A Contemptuous Glance over the Commodification of Cinematic Art……………………………………………………………125 5.3. La Ricotta (Pasolini 1963)……………………………………………134 Synopsis……………………………………………………………………134 Analysis - Pasolini/Welles: The Artistic and Political Isolation of Film Directors…………………………………………………………...136 5.4. La Nuit Americaine (Truffaut 1973)…………………………………148 Synopsis……………………………………………………………………148 Analysis - Truffaut: a “Romantic” Problem Solver…………………………149 v 5.5. Unforeseen Conclusions……………………………………………...160 6.0. The Documentary Approach of Productionist Metafilms………………….163 6.1. Chronique d’un Été (Rouch, Morin 1961)…………………………. 164 Synopsis.........................................................................................................164 Analysis - An Experiment of Interaction beyond Fact and Fiction………...165 6.2. American Movie (Smith 1999)….……………………………………174 Synopsis………………………………………………………………….…174 Analysis - The Chronicle of a Disorganised Factotum……………………..175 6.3. Grizzly Man (Herzog 2005)…………………………………………..186 Synopsis……………………………………………………………….........186 Analysis – The Self-Productive Nature of Treadwell’s Footage…………...187 6.4. The Eulogium of Arbitrariness………………………………………198 7.0. Organising the Exhibition of the Filmmaking Process……………………..201 7.1. The Five Obstructions (von Trier, Leth 2003)…...………………….204 Synopsis…………………………………………………………………….204 7.2. Reapproaching the Human in a Mist of Freedom and Constraint…………………………………………………….205 7.3. Unfolding the Obstructions…………………………………………….214 7.4. Sketches for a Critique of Leadership and Self-Management………....229 7.5. The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 2012)……………………………..230 Synopsis…………………………………………………………………….230 vi 7.6. Self-Reflexive Transfigurations towards Delusive Expiations…………………………………...................................231 7.7. Self-awareness - “They Knew They Were Being Killed”……………..237 7.8. Towards Exceeding Models of Filmmaking………………………...248 8.0. CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………...252 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….........261 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Diego Velazquez: Las Meninas, (1656), oil on canvas, 318 cm p. 8 × 276 cm (125.2 in × 108.7 in), Museo del Prado, Madrid. Figure 1.2 Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863, Oil on canvas, 130.5 cm × p. 11 190 cm (51.4 in × 74.8 in), Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Figure 1.3 René Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1928-29, Oil on p. 11 canvas, 63.5 cm × 93.98 cm (25 in × 37 in), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. Figure 1.4 Kazimir Malevich, Black Square, 1915, p. 14 Oil on linen, 79.5 x 79.5 cm, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Figure 1.5 Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale/Attese, (Spatial concept/Waiting), 1962, Oil on Canvas, p. 14 39 1/2 x 32 inches, Collection Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum purchase. Figure 1.6 A young tourist’s “off screen” glance in Macchu Picchu, Peru, (14th August, 2017) p. 16 Figure 1.7 Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533, p. 24 Oil on oak, 207 cm × 209.5 cm (81 in × 82.5 in), National Gallery, London. Figure 1.8 The Big Swallow, (Williamson, 1909) p. 31 Figure 1.9 Anna Karina in Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa Vie, (1962) p. 33 Figure 2.1 Limoges’ categorisation of cinematic reflexivity p. 55 Figure 2.2 Steps (Rybczyński, 1987) p. 60 Figure 3.1 The Society of Spectacle (Debord, 1973) p. 71 Figure 3.2 Histoire (s) du