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Arte, Individuo y Sociedad ISSN: 1131-5598 [email protected] Universidad Complutense de Madrid España Echart, Pablo Artistic Talent and Sensibility: The Dramatic Uses of Art in Woody Allen’s Creation of Characters Arte, Individuo y Sociedad, vol. 29, núm. 1, 2017, pp. 57-70 Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=513554411004 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative ARTÍCULOS Arte, Individuo y Sociedad ISSN: 1131-5598 http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/ARIS.49201 Artistic Talent and Sensibility: The Dramatic Uses of Art in Woody Allen’s Creation of Characters Pablo Echart1 Recibido: 22 de mayo de 2015 / Aceptado: 15 de noviembre de 2016 Abstract. Art plays a key role in the lives of Woody Allen’s film characters. Many of them are writers, filmmakers or musicians; others, although not artists themselves, display a keen sensibility to appreciate art. The purpose of this article is to explore how this characterization trait significantly determines the nature of the characters, the ways in which they interact with each other, and even the fate they deserve within the plot. Art, in its many different manifestations, helps these characters infuse their lives with a boundless vitality, at the same time that it becomes a source of beauty and refuge. Furthermore, art plays a vital role in shaping romantic relationships as well as in enabling characters to achieve self- knowledge, both of which come close to the idea of happiness in Woody Allen’s poetic universe. At the same time, together with this recognition of the redeeming potential of art, a poetic punishment is inflicted frequently in Allen’s films on the characters that approach art with spurious intentions, as well as a stern warning of the vital unhappiness to which its enshrinement leads. Keywords: Woody Allen; characters; artistic talent, art and authenticity; art and romantic relationships. [es] Talento y sensibilidad artística: los usos dramáticos del arte en la creación de personajes de Woody Allen Resumen. El arte ocupa un lugar central en la biografía de los personajes de Woody Allen. Muchos de ellos son escritores, cineastas o músicos, y otros tantos, sin ser artistas, tienen una rica sensibilidad para apreciar el arte. El propósito de este artículo es analizar cómo este rasgo de caracterización determina la naturaleza de los personajes, el modo en que se relacionan e incluso el destino que merecen en la trama. El arte, en sus muy diversas manifestaciones, ayuda a estos personajes a infundir en sus vidas una gran vitalidad, al mismo tiempo que se convierte en una fuente de belleza y refugio. Además, el arte desempeña un rol crucial tanto en la configuración de las relaciones románticas como en la adquisición de un conocimiento de sí mismo, facetas ambas que se acercan a la noción de felicidad en el universo poético de Allen. Junto al reconocimiento de estas posibilidades redentoras del arte, en sus películas abunda el castigo poético a los personajes que se acercan al arte con intenciones espurias así como una advertencia de la infelicidad vital a la que conduce su sacralización. Palabras clave: Woody Allen; arte, talento artístico; arte y autenticidad; arte y relaciones románticas. Sumario. 1. Introduction. 2. Art as a Dionysian Force. 3. Art as Refuge. 4. The Closest Accomplice of Romance. 5. Art and Authenticity. 6. Conclusion. 7. References. 1 Universidad de Navarra (España) E-mail: [email protected] Arte, indiv. soc. 29(1) 2017: 57-70 57 58 Echart, P. Arte, indiv. soc. 29(1) 2017: 57-70 Cómo citar: Echart, P. (2017) Artistic Talent and Sensibility: The Dramatic Uses of Art in Woody Allen’s Creation of Characters. Arte, Individuo y Sociedad 29(1) 57-70. 1. Introduction The close bond between character and different forms of art comprises an authorial touchstone of Woody Allen’s oeuvre. Characters in his films often engage in, reflect on, or talk about music, painting, film, and other art forms. Hence, his stories are markedly intertextual, although tracing such enriched meaning is not the purpose of this article, as neither is the task of tracing hypothetical autobiographical considerations derived from the fact that Allen is himself an artist of multiple facets (filmmaker, musician, writer, comedian). The focus here is to explore the main functions attributed to art as part of the dramatic construction of character. If character identity is a combination of physiological, sociological and psychological aspects (Egri, 1960: 32-43), artistic talent and sensibility constitute defining features of the idiosyncratic nature of the characters and the type of relationships that arise between them in the films of Woody Allen. In order to analyze this issue, the article has been arranged in four sections. First, a context is provided for the object of analysis within Allen’s poetics, in which existential pessimism coexists with an equally powerful vitality. Allen reclaims an exaltation of emotions as a means to enjoy life in fullness, and art constitutes a relevant vector within this premise. Secondly, the analysis focuses on the ways in which contact with art becomes a valuable asset for characters who unfold as players on the imperfect stage of reality. Art becomes a cathartic balsam that enables them to recover from the painful blows life holds in store for them. The experience of art transcends its value of escapism, inasmuch it becomes for the characters a vital necessity. Or, could the male protagonists of Annie Hall (1977), Deconstructing Harry (1997), Sweet and Lowdown (1999) or Cecilia in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) face their respective lives without the gift of musical and literary talent, and the refuge of cinematic fantasy? Next, the article deals with how romantic relationships arise in situations where art plays a prominent role. This moment marks the beginning of intimacy, and the degree to which the characters’ artistic tastes are attuned with one another functions as a reliable indicator of the couple’s overall compatibility. Art facilitates the meeting of “kindred souls” in an authorial world in which love is, paradoxically, both a fleeting experience or feeling and an indispensable cornerstone in order to achieve a fulfilling life. In the last section, art is analyzed as a driving force that fosters the processes of personal self-discovery. The characters’ attitude of openness to artists and artworks enables them to engage new worlds of values and undertake therapeutic processes of self-recognition. The significance attributed to the archetype of the mentor is relevant here, as are the risks of corruption that threaten the talent for art. Echart, P. Arte, indiv. soc. 29(1) 2017: 57-70 59 2. Art as a Dionysian Force Woody Allen has contributed to decrease the redemptive aspirations of art in his films. He has said that art is “entertainment for intellectuals,” an experience that provides distraction and amusement, and whose function is to postpone one’s encounter with “the horrors of reality” (Detmer, 2013: 469, 467). Along the same lines, Hösle (2002: 98) undercuts its transformative potential by ultimately considering it a form of escapism, although he recognizes in art, such as in religion or morality, a means to attempt to “fill the void” with which the contemporary man is faced. Moreover, in his insightful analysis, Bailey explores (2001: 113) “Allen’s skepticism toward the promises of artistic rendering” and develops an essentially pessimistic argumentation about the artistic condition, by observing how, ordinarily, it becomes a condemnation for whoever experiences it. These assessments find their foundation in a filmography that toys with nihilism and which falls within the parameters of existentialism, and which Detmer (2013: 460-469) has synthesized in seven “philosophical claims”: 1) life is meaningless; 2) there is no God; 3) death is inevitable, irrevocable and horrible; 4) there is no cosmic justice; 5) human existence is miserable; 6) the fact that there is no God, afterlife, or cosmic justice makes it all the more necessary for us to meet our moral obligations, and to lead lives of authenticity and integrity; 7) art is overrated and has no social value. In accordance with this worldview, it is logical that art should not be considered as an absolute value, an alternative capable of exorcizing the absence of God or the total devastation which supposes the fact of death. Indeed, any redemptive potential from art falls within the limits of this framework of immanent thinking. But, turning around Detmer’s last proposition, my assertion is that the relevance he attributes to art cannot be underrated; and that, while it may lack social meaning, it does have a personal meaning: art will not be able to change the cruelty of the world, but that does not mean it cannot play a notable role in the internal evolution and fate of the characters. At this point, it seems necessary to point out that, in Allen’s filmography, pessimism coexists with a definite willingness to live, made manifest through characters who, as Sandy Bates points in Stardust Memories (1980), would give anything to stay alive. For each character committing suicide before the senselessness of the world, there are many others who endeavor to live with intensity; and who attempt to do so in an authentic and upright manner, because in Allen’s worldview, it does make a difference whether one lives in a certain way or another. This willingness to live is channeled through the empathy aroused by his dionysian characters. Regardless of the moral value in their behavior, they embrace eros and guide their lives by irrationality, trusting their actions to the dictates of their feelings, passions, impulses, and intuition (Luque, 2005: 54-55).