DOCSLIB.ORG

Nature and Natural Phenomena in Thomas Mann's Fiction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nature and Natural Phenomena in Thomas Mann's Fiction NATURE AND NATURAL PHENCMENA IN THCM\S IVANN'S FICTIŒsF a dissertation by GEOFFREY PETER MCMULLIN of University College London presented for the Degree of Ph. D in the University of London. May 19 97 - 1 ProQuest Number: 10046162 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10046162 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 SYNOPSIS The thesis examines (a) the way in which Thomas Mann presents natural phenomena in his fiction, the stylistic devices which he uses in their depiction and the symbolic values which he attaches to various natural phenomena at various times; (b) the place of Nature as concept in his fiction, the changing value of the concept and its relation to other major concepts in Thomas Mann's thinking as expressed in his fiction. It seeks to show that Thomas Mann had an outstanding talent for the portrayal of natural phenomena, and that - particularly in the fiction of his early and middle periods, that is, up to and including De r Zauberberg - he made extensive use of this talent and wrote many passages of outstanding descriptive writing, especially of landscape, the sea and dogs. These descriptions are almost all in some sense impressionistic and resonant with symbolic significance. Thomas Mann's depiction of young children is also considered because for Thomas Mann very young children had qualities of spontaneity, malleability and vulnerability which distinguish them from adults and make them closer to nature. In general natural phenomena are presented as beautiful and un threatening, even when, as with the snow in Der Zauberberg or the sea in Tonio Kroger, they are potentially lethal. They share with young, pre-social, pre-pubertal children the qualities of innocent vitality, of undivided selfhood. Nature as concept has varying connotations. In the early work it tends to be equated by the protagonists with Life, and this is seen as being a ruthless force which is inimical to artistic and moral sensibility . In Buddenbrooks nature is implicitly identified with a more fruitful, life-enhancing sort of love than in his earliest work. Indeed natural phenomena symbolise relief and release from the pain of life, that is from the struggle of commercial and social competition. From Der Zauberberg onwards Nature is increasingly equated with the whole of material creation and is perceived as the essential substrate from which Man with his sovereign attributes of intellect and creativity grows. - 2 - TABLE OF CONTENTS Synopsis..........................................................................................................................................2 Preface.............................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1, Introduction...........................................................................................7 Chapter 2, The shorter fiction.....................................................................18 Chapter 3, Buddenbrooks ..........................................................................................60 Chapter 4, Konigliche Ho he it ...........................................................................9 2 Chapter 5, De r Zauberberg ......................................................................................110 Chapter 6, Lotte in Weimar ...................................................................................139 Chapter 7, Joseph un d seine Br tide r ...........................................................146 Chapter 8, Doktor Faustus ......................................................................................160 Chapter 9, De r Erwahlte ............................................................................................175 Chapter 10, Bekenntnisse des Hochs tapi ers Felix Kru11. 189 Chapter 11, Taking Stock 1 . Pre amb le ................................................................................................................200 2. Nature as Concept.....................................................................................201 3. Natural Phenomena.....................................................................................205 a. Presentation...........................................................................................205 b. Symbolic Values ..................................................................................215 (i) Inorganic Nature and Landscape........................216 (ii) Animal Nature...........................................................................218 (iii) Young Children........................................................................220 4. Conclusions.......................................................................................................223 Acknowledgmen ts......................................................................................................................229 References......................................................................................................................................230 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................238 - 3 - NATURE AND NATURAL PHENOMENA IN THOMAS MANN'S FICTION PREFACE As I shall endeavour to show in the coming pages, the secondary literature concerned with Thomas Mann and nature tends to be sparse. Few commentators have paid attention to his powers of natural description. Where nature has been the subject of scholarly attention it is treated primarily as a concept, part of the complex, shifting dualism of Geist and Leben that informs the whole of Mann's work. In this thesis I want initially to show that the fiction often fully and richly acknowledges the presence of the natural world. In order to establish this I shall offer an overview of the complete fictional oeuvre. At the risk of what one might call compila tory overkill' I shall examine the works in chronological order to discover what they have to say about nature and natural phenomena. I hope that the result, with its necessary resort to extensive verbatim quotation, will not prove wearisome and that the ensuing dissertation will be found to have illuminated an aspect of Thomas Mann's art that has hitherto gone largely unremarked and unappreciated. I shall also attempt to show that even those passages which describe natural phenomena in their own right are never mere' descriptions, but that they illustrate and illuminate the argument of the work in which they figure. They do this because, with very rare exceptions, such descriptive passages are focussed by the perceiving self of the human subject (whether one of the characters of the fiction or the narrator or both). Time and time again nature is thus imbued with psychological significance and, most often, with philosophical import also. While, therefore, I do wish to emphasize the extent to which Thomas Mann acknowledges the materiality of - 4 - nature, I wish to show too how this realisation of the material natural world subserves the larger thematic purposes of his fiction. Perhaps I may be allowed to prefigure the argument by highlighting one example which particularly illustrates the points I am trying to make. Der Zauberberg has attracted a vast amo un t of critical attention. Mu ch of it has been directed to the philosophical, political and psychological implications of the work. Very little attention has been paid to the wealth of natural description in the novel nor to the vividness of the descriptive passages. In my discussion I shall refer to a passage which occurs at the beginning of the section Forschungen depicting the snow-covered landscape as seen by Hans Castorp from his balcony at night. Abends gar, wenn der fast ge runde t e Mond erschien, verzauberte sich die Welt und ward wunderbar. Kr i s t a 11 i s che s Geflimrner, diamant-^nes Glitzern herrschte we it und breit. Sehr weiB und schwarz standen die Walder. Die dem Monde fernen Himme1sgegenden lagen dunkel, mit S t e r n en be s t i ck t. Sch a r f e, g en au e und intensive Schatten, die wirklicher und bedeutender schienen als die Dinge s e 1 b s t , f i e 1 en von den Ha u s e rn , den B à urn en , den Te 1 eg r aplvtMjt angen auf die b 1 i t zende Flache. Es hatte sieben oder acht Grad Frost ein paar Stunden nach Sonnenun t e rgang. In eisige Reinheit schien die Welt gebann t , i h r e natiirliche Un s aube rke i t zugedeck t und erstarrt im Tr a um e i ne s ph an t a s t i s chen Tode s z aube r s. (Ill, 372) This seems to me a truly memorable piece of writing, not only in virtue of the physical vividness, the detailed at tent iveness to the particularities of the landscape and the play of light and shade, but also because of the philosophical/psycho logical reverberations of the passage. Specifically the reference to the unearthly transposition of shadow and substance prefigures passages which occur in the final chapter of the novel and states
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Klaus Mann's Mephisto: a Secret Rivalry
    Studies in 20th Century Literature Volume 13 Issue 2 Article 6 8-1-1989 Klaus Mann's Mephisto: A Secret Rivalry Peter T. Hoffer Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/sttcl Part of the German Literature Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Hoffer, Peter T. (1989) "Klaus Mann's Mephisto: A Secret Rivalry," Studies in 20th Century Literature: Vol. 13: Iss. 2, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1234 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in 20th Century Literature by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Klaus Mann's Mephisto: A Secret Rivalry Abstract Critics of the 1960s and 1970s have focused their attention on Klaus Mann's use of his former brother-in- law, Gustaf Gründgens, as the model for the hero of his controversial novel, Mephisto, while more recent critics have emphasized its significance as a work of anti-Fascist literature. This essay seeks to resolve some of the apparent contradictions in Klaus Mann's motivation for writing Mephisto by viewing the novel primarily in the context of his life and career. Although Mephisto is the only political satire that Klaus Mann wrote, it is consistent with his life-long tendency to use autobiographical material as the basis for much of his plot and characterization. Mann transformed his ambivalent feelings about Gründgens, which long antedated the writing of Mephisto, into a unique work of fiction which simultaneously expresses his indignation over the moral bankruptcy of the Third Reich and reveals his envy of Gründgens's career successes.
    [Show full text]
  • Einladung Zum Vortrag Von Dr. Dirk Heißerer Michael Mann Spielmann
    Einladung zum Vortrag von Dr. Dirk Heißerer Michael Mann Spielmann und Professor – zum 100. Geburtstag Michael Mann (1919-1977), der jüngste Sohn Katia und Thomas Manns, war ein künstlerischer Wissenschaftler oder wissenschaftlicher Künstler, der sich dem Vater-Sohn- Konflikt in einer eigenwilligen Synthese von Musik und Dichtung, Familie und Gesellschaft gestellt hat. Als Musiker und Germanist, Spielmann und Professor, ist er seinen ganz eigenen Weg gegangen. Die sicher nicht ganz leichte Rolle als „Beißer“ und damit Gegenstück zum geliebten „Kindchen“ Elisabeth in der Familiennovelle „Unordnung und frühes Leid“ (1925) dürfte ihm ebenso zu schaffen gemacht haben wie sein schulischer Misserfolg. Wie Elisabeth entwickelte er zunächst einen musikalischen Ehrgeiz als Bratschist und gab seinem Vater wertvolle Hinweise für den Musiker-Roman „Doktor Faustus“ (1947). Dann sattelte er beruflich um, wurde Germanistik-Professor an der University of California, Berkeley, arbeitete über Heinrich Heine und stellte intensive Fragen nach Wesen und Werk Thomas Manns. Michael Mann verdient nicht nur die „väterliche Genugtuung“, sondern unser aller Achtung und Aufmerksamkeit. Die Monacensia im Hildebrandhaus bewahrt neben den Nachlässen von Erika und Klaus Mann auch den literarischen Nachlass von Elisabeth Mann Borgese und einen Teilnachlass von Michael Mann. Im Anschluss an den Vortrag werden kürzlich aufgefundene Familien- Dokumente Michael Manns vorgestellt und an die Monacensia im Hildebrandhaus übergeben. In Kooperation mit der Monacensia im Hildebrandhaus Donnerstag, 2. Mai, 19.00 Uhr Monacensia im Hildebrandhaus / Forum Atelier Eintritt frei Anmeldung unter E Mail: [email protected] Schirmherr Prof. Dr. Frido Mann Vorsitzender Dr. Dirk Heißerer – stv. Vorsitzender Erwin Schumacher c/o Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Arcisstraße 12, 80333 München Büro: Tel: 089 / 89 99 93 20 Fax: 089 / 89 99 93 21 [email protected] www.tmfm.de HypoVereinsbank München IBAN DE90 700 20 270 60 60 77 90 99 BIC HYVEDEMMXXX .
    [Show full text]
  • Perspektivbericht Thomas Mann International. Das Netzwerk Der Mann-Häuser
    INTERNATIONALES NETZWERKTREFFEN der Thomas Mann-Häuser am 20. / 21. Dezember 2017 in Lübeck > Ergebnisse und Perspektiven Internationales Netzwerktreffen 2017 | 1 Inhalt Gemeinsame Erklärung: Thomas Mann International. Das Netzwerk der Mann-Häuser . 1 Lebensstationen des Schriftstellers Thomas Mann . 2 Die teilnehmenden Häuser . 5 Lübeck: Buddenbrookhaus / Heinrich-und-Thomas-Mann-Zentrum . 6 München: Monacensia im Hildebrandhaus. 8 Nida: Thomo Manno kultūros centras / Thomas-Mann-Kulturzentrum . .10 Pacifi c Palisades: Thomas Mann House . .12 Zürich: Thomas-Mann-Archiv der ETH Zürich . .14 Ergebnisse der Tagung . .17 Ziele des Netzwerks . .18 Projekte des Netzwerks . .21 Organisation des Netzwerks. .22 Nächste Schritte. .23 Weitere Institutionen . .25 Gemeinsame Erklärung: Thomas Mann International. Das Netzwerk der Mann-Häuser Thomas Mann ist in den vergangenen Jahr- Literaturhäuser, Kultureinrichtungen und zehnten zu dem Autor des 20. Jahrhunderts Residenzen ergeben ausreichende Schnitt- geworden, der weltweit als ein Symbol für mengen für eine Zusammenarbeit. deutsche Kultur und Werte steht. Dabei führte sein Lebensweg – und der der gesamten Wir haben deshalb ein Netzwerk gegründet Schriftstellerfamilie Mann – von Lübeck hi- und uns den Namen »Thomas Mann Inter- naus nach Europa und in die Welt. national. Das Netzwerk der Mann-Häuser« Diese Stationen spiegeln unsere fünf Häuser gegeben. Gemeinsam wollen wir den gezielten aus vier Ländern wieder, die im Dezember 2017 Austausch bei verschiedenen Veranstaltungs- in Lübeck zusammengekommen sind: Bud- formaten sowie in den Bereichen Wissenschaft denbrookhaus/Heinrich-und-Thomas-Mann- und Ausstellung vorantreiben. Jedes Haus wird Zentrum (Lübeck), Monacensia im Hildebrand- dann seine jeweiligen Stärken einbringen. haus (München), Thomas-Mann-Archiv der ETH Zürich (Zürich/Schweiz), Thomas Mann Über die wissenschaftliche Expertise hinaus House (Pacific Palisades/USA, Villa Aurora & beabsichtigen wir, uns im neuen Verbund Thomas Mann House e.
    [Show full text]
  • Anna Maria Olivari Doktor Faustus (Ver-) Stimmen Kompositionen Zu Thomas Manns Roman Doktor Faustus (Ver-)Stimmen Anna Maria Olivari
    Anna Maria Olivari Doktor Faustus (ver-) stimmen Kompositionen zu Thomas Manns Roman Doktor Faustus (ver-)stimmen Anna Maria Olivari Doktor Faustus (ver-)stimmen Kompositionen zu Thomas Manns Roman Anna Maria Olivari Berlin, Deutschland ISBN 978-3-662-62634-4 ISBN 978-3-662-62635-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62635-1 Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbiblio- grafie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. © Der/die Herausgeber bzw. der/die Autor(en) 2021. Dieses Buch ist eine Open-Access-Publikation. Open Access Dieses Buch wird unter der Creative Commons Namensnennung – Nicht kommerziell – Keine Bearbeitung 4.0 International Lizenz (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ deed.de) veröffentlicht, welche die nicht-kommerzielle Nutzung, Vervielfältigung, Verbreitung und Wiedergabe in jeglichem Medium und Format erlaubt, sofern Sie den/die ursprünglichen Autor(en) und die Quelle ordnungsgemäß nennen, einen Link zur Creative Commons Lizenz beifügen und angeben, ob Änderungen vorgenommen wurden. Die Lizenz gibt Ihnen nicht das Recht, bearbeitete oder sonst wie umgestaltete Fassungen dieses Werkes zu verbreiten oder öffentlich wiederzugeben. Die in diesem Buch enthaltenen Bilder und sonstiges Drittmaterial unterliegen ebenfalls der genann- ten Creative Commons Lizenz, sofern sich aus der Abbildungslegende nichts anderes ergibt. Sofern das betreffende Material nicht unter der genannten Creative Commons Lizenz steht und die betreffende Handlung nicht nach gesetzlichen Vorschriften erlaubt ist, ist auch für die oben auf- geführten nicht-kommerziellen Weiterverwendungen des Materials die Einwilligung des jeweiligen Rechteinhabers einzuholen. Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt.
    [Show full text]
  • What a Family!«
    FÜR FAMILIEN »What a family!« Die Manns von 1945 bis heute Eine Sonderausstellung im Buddenbrookhaus Suchspiel für alle zwischen 5 und 99 Jahren Heinrich-und-Thomas-Mann-Zentrum ALLES FAMILIE! 25. Juni bis 19. November 2017 Von Harry Potter über die Kelly Family bis zu den britischen Kulturstiftung Hansestadt Lübeck Royals – ungewöhnliche Familien begegnen uns überall. Buddenbrookhaus │ Heinrich-und-Thomas-Mann-Zentrum Macht euch mit eurer (Wahl-)Familie gemeinsam auf die Mengstraße 4 | 23552 Lübeck Suche nach diesen verrückten Familien. [email protected] || www.buddenbrookhaus.de www.facebook.com/Buddenbrookhaus || www.buddenbrookprojekt.wordpress.com Termine: SO | 25.06., SA | 05.08., SO | 22.10., SO | 19.11., ganztägig Kurator: Tilmann Lahme Eintritt: 1 Erwachsener mit Kindern: 8 € Projektleitung: Birte Lipinski 2 Erwachsene mit Kindern: 15 € Projektkoordination: Julius Sonntag Ausstellungsgestaltung: Impuls-Design GmbH & Co. KG Bastelspaß für alle zwischen 5 und 99 Jahren Eintritt inkl. Dauerausstellung: Erwachsene 7 € │ ermäßigt 3,50 € │ 6-18-Jährige 2,50 € ECKIGE FAMILIEN 1 Erwachsener mit Kindern: 8 € | 2 Erwachsene mit Kindern: 15 € Wer bin ich und wie sieht meine Familie aus? Bastle dir aus Führungen für Gruppen auf Anfrage: Pappkästen deine eigene Figur und bemale und beschrifte Tel.: 0451/122 4243 sie. Was passiert, wenn man die Köpfe tauscht? Wer mit E-Mail: [email protected] offenen Augen dabei ist, kann viel Spannendes entdecken! Öffnungszeiten: MO bis SO | 10-18 Uhr Termine: SA | 26.08.2017 | 15–18 Uhr (anschließend Museumsnacht), Feier zu Thomas Manns 75. Geburtstag in Zürich am 06. Juni 1950. Das Buddenbrookhaus dankt seinen Förderern und Kooperationspartnern kostenfrei Von links: Gret Mann-Moser (Frau von Michael Mann), Thomas Mann, herzlich für ihre Unterstützung der Sonderausstellung und der Katia Mann, Erika Mann, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Michael Mann.
    [Show full text]
  • Alltagsdeutsch Begleitmaterialien – Manuskript
    Alltagsdeutsch Begleitmaterialien – Manuskript „Die Manns“ – eine Familiengeschichte Sie waren acht Personen mit acht sehr unterschiedlichen Charakteren: die Familie des Literaturnobelpreisträgers Thomas Mann. Eine Gesamtbiografie bietet interessante Einblicke in das Leben der Literatenfamilie. In der Familie wurde er „der Zauberer“ genannt – unter Anspielung auf seinen Roman „Der Zauberberg“. Manchen gilt er als der größte deutsche Schriftsteller seit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Thomas Mann. Weltweit haben nicht nur Germanisten mindestens eines seiner Werke im Bücherschrank stehen. Für „Die Buddenbrooks“, die Geschichte einer Lübecker Kaufmannsfamilie, erhielt Paul Thomas Mann, wie er mit vollem Namen hieß, 1929 den Nobelpreis für Literatur. Unzählige Biografien sind über den Schriftsteller veröffentlicht worden, der im August 1955 im Alter von 80 Jahren starb. Aber nicht nur über ihn – auch über seine Geschwister, seine Frau Katharina „Katia“ sowie seine sechs Kinder Erika, Klaus, Golo, Monika, Elisabeth und Michael Mann. Eine Lücke musste aber nach Ansicht des Germanisten Tilmann Lahme noch gefüllt werden: „Wir haben da unglaublich viel Material und Biografien und Forschung, die aber im Prinzip die ‚Manns‘ jeweils als Einzelfiguren in den Blick genommen haben. Es hat quasi jeder seinen Biografen gefunden. Nur glaube ich, dass wir dadurch nicht, wenn wir das einfach addieren, eine Familie bekommen. Und was fehlt, ist der Blick auf die Familie. Wenn man auf die Familie schaut, dann ist das noch mal ein neuer Blick.“ Tilmann Lahme stellte fest, dass sich die Biografen nur mit jeweils einer Person der achtköpfigen Familie von Thomas und Katia Mann befasst haben. Sie haben diese als Einzelfiguren in den Blick genommen. Was fehlte, war eine Biografie der gesamten Familie.
    [Show full text]
  • Music, Myth and Modernity: from Nietzsche's the Birth of Tragedy To
    / 99 Music, Myth and Modernity: From Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy to Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus Josh Torabi Abstract his essay seeks to address the literary uses of music and myth, and the relation between the two, in Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus. While the roles of music Tand myth have been well documented as separate subjects in Doctor Faustus, few studies treat the intrinsic relationship between the two and show how, when considered together, they can inform our reading. The essay will begin with a close reading of the literary depiction of Adrian Leverkühn’s compositions in relation to the ‘Faustian’ episodes of Doctor Faustus. I will juxtapose these episodes with the Apollo/Dionysus dichotomy and the concept of Dionysian music that are central to Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy. Mann, like many other notable twentieth century novelists such as Joyce and Proust, chose the arduous task of representing ineffable subjects such as music and myth in prose in an attempt to test the limits of language and the novel as an art form. However, it will be evidenced that the connection between music and myth, which is at the heart of Nietzsche’s book, was revitalized most prominently in the twentieth century by Mann in Doctor Faustus. Moreover, this essay will illustrate that a unique and fresh perspective on Doctor Faustus can be gained through a consideration of the relationship between music and myth; a configuration which, though underresearched, is central to literary modernism. Keywords: Music, Myth, Thomas Mann, Doctor Faustus, Nietzsche. 1. Introduction: Music, Faust and Nietzsche “Technical musical studies frighten and bore me”, writes Thomas Mann in his exposé The Story of a Novel: The Genesis of Doctor Faustus (1961, 40), and yet he did embark on technical musical studies, and with a vigour and depth that is unmatched in the modernist Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Correspondence 1943-1955
    M367 ADORNO-MANN PRE M/UP 19/5/06 2:28 PM Page i Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:Public:Gary's Correspondence 1943–1955 M367 ADORNO-MANN PRE M/UP 19/5/06 2:28 PM Page ii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:Public:Gary's M367 ADORNO-MANN PRE M/UP 19/5/06 2:28 PM Page iii Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:Public:Gary theodor w. adorno and thomas mann Correspondence 1943–1955 Edited by Christoph Gödde and Thomas Sprecher Translated by Nicholas Walker polity M367 ADORNO-MANN PRE M/UP 19/5/06 2:28 PM Page iv Gary Gary's G4:Users:Gary:Public:Gary's First published in German as Briefwechsel: 1943–1955 of Theodor W. Adorno and Thomas Mann and © Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2002. This English translation © Polity Press, 2006. Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN-10: 0-7456-3200-9 ISBN-13: 978-07456-3200-9 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typeset in 10.5 on 12pt Sabon by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pve Ltd. For further information on Polity, visit our website: www.polity.co.uk The publication of this work was supported by a grant from the Goethe-Institut.
    [Show full text]
  • Production Notes for Three Decades, MICHAEL MANN Has Remained One
    Production Notes For three decades, MICHAEL MANN has remained one of the most compelling filmmakers, and his consistent level of artistry has created an indelible influence on cinema. His stylish, lasting dramas from Manhunter and Heat to The Insider and Collateral examine the complicated dynamic—and sometimes indefinite margin— between criminals and those struggling to keep one step ahead of them, even at the cost of their own psyches. In 2006, Mann returns to the seminal franchise on which he first gained his reputation in television: Miami Vice. According to writer F.X. Feeney, in his book Michael Mann (Taschen, 2006), “After Collateral, Mann lost no time choosing Miami Vice as his next project. What attracted him to the original teleplay in 1984—the reality of life undercover—he finds no less compelling in our new, ‘globalized’ millennium.” Mann’s interest in telling the story of a dark world connected through “multi- commodity,” continues Feeney, lies in the fact that “drugs, weapons, pirated software, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, even human beings are all routinely trafficked and sold, across international boundaries.” In the mid-’80s, the television series Miami Vice, with a brilliant pilot screenplay written by the show’s creator Anthony Yerkovich, arrived and created a tectonic revolution in television. Drawing its creative inspiration from Mann’s work, Miami Vice became one of the most groundbreaking series in television history, pioneering a new way in which televised dramas were conceived and staged. As Film Comment critic Richard T. Jameson remarked at the time, “It’s hard to forbear saying, every five minutes or so, ‘I can’t believe this was shot for television!’” Now, the filmmaker comes back to his “new Casablanca,” Miami, where third- world drug running intersects with the billion-dollar corporate-industrial complex—for the first postmillennial examination of what globalized crime looks and feels like—with a big-screen contemporization of Miami Vice, one unrestricted by the limitations of television.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Mann Edited by Ritchie Robertson Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 052165310X - The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Mann Edited by Ritchie Robertson Frontmatter More information The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Mann Key dimensions of Thomas Mann’s writing and life are explored in this col- lection of specially commissioned essays. In addition to introductory chapters on all the main works of fiction, the essays and diaries, there are four chapters examining Mann’s oeuvre in relation to major themes. These thematic explo- rations include his position as a realistic writer concerned with the history of his own times and as a commentator on German and American politics; his controversial reputation as an intellectual novelist; the literary techniques that enabled his challenging fictions to appeal to a wide audience; and the homosex- ual subtext running through his fiction and diaries. A final chapter looks at the pitfalls of translating Mann into English. The essays are well supported by sup- plementary material including a chronology of the period and detailed guides to further reading. Altogether the volume provides an invaluable resource for scholars and students. ritchie robertson is Professor of German at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor of St John’s College, Oxford. He is the author of Kafka: Judaism, Politics, and Literature (1985)andHeine (1988), which have also been published in German translation, and The ‘Jewish Question’ in German Literature, 1749–1939 (1999). He has also published numerous translations from German, including works by Heine and Hoffmann. He is an
    [Show full text]
  • Swinburne Research Bank
    Swinburne Research Bank http://researchbank.swinburne.edu.au Lobato, R. (2008). Crimes against urbanity: the concrete soul of Michael Mann. Originally published in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 22 (3), 341–352. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10304310801919437. Copyright © 2008 Taylor & Francis. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here with the permission of the publisher for your personal use. No further distribution is permitted. If your library has a subscription to this journal, you may also be able to access the published version via the library catalogue. The final and definitive version is available at http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/. Accessed from Swinburne Research Bank: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/72674 Crimes aaagagggainstainst uuurbanity:urbanity: the concrete soul of Michael Mann Ramon Lobato Pre-press version of article published in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies 22.3 (2008): 341-352. Abstract : This article addresses the reimagination of urban space by the contemporary crime film. Through a case study of selected films by Michael Mann, it argues that the extreme stylisation of certain postmodern crime texts functions to aestheticise the industrial infrastructure of late capitalism, and that the genre offers a visual training through which generic sites of commerce, transit and industry (non-place) may be personalised, rendered habitable, and potentially reclaimed. KeywordsKeywords: Cinema; space; crime; the city; urban studies; Michael Mann; Los Angeles Biographical note: Ramon Lobato is a doctoral candidate in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and a sessional lecturer in the School of Architecture and Design at RMIT University.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Mann and Czechoslovakia
    71-18,093 SUMICHRAST, Marika Elisabeth, 1931- THOMAS MANN AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. CPortions of Text in German]. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Language and Literature, modern University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan © 1971 Marika Elisabeth Sumichrast ALL RIGHTS RESERVED >vi uic orru T.Mt;n EYArTT.Y AS RECEIVED THOMAS MANN AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Marika Elisabeth Sumichrast The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by S d b "It Adviser Department of German THE STUDY'S PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION In the lives of great men there are often periods which are little known to the public. Usually, these gaps exist because the particular periods are considered of little consequence. However, a singular lack of precise information has existed about an important aspect in the life of Thomas Mann: his relationship with Czechoslovakia. The purpose of this research was to shed light on this period by determining what motivated his quest for Czechoslovak citizenship; where and when he visited that country; what his feelings were toward the people of Czechoslovakia; how he was received by the public, press, literary critics; and the nature of his friendship with Karel Sapek, the foremost Czechoslovak literary figure. In the course of assembling the information and material relevant to Thomas Mann's relationships with Czechoslovakia and its literary, governmental, and political figures, it became quickly evident that several courses could be pursued in its organization. Consideration was given to the many organizational paths open to me.
    [Show full text]