USING DELEUZE: THE CINEMA BOOKS, FILM STUDIES AND EFFECT Dyrk Ashton A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2006 Committee: Cynthia Baron, Chair Patrick Pauken, Graduate Faculty Representative Donald Callen Jonathan Chambers Ronald Shields © 2006 Dyrk Ashton All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Cynthia Baron, Advisor Since their publication, Deleuze’s Cinema 1: The Movement-Image (French 1983, English 1986) and Cinema 2: The Time-Image (French 1985, English 1989) have held a precarious position in Anglophone film studies. The difficulties of the cinema books are pointed out by many, a broad range of complaints have been leveled against them, and their usefulness has been widely questioned. There has, however, been an increase in interest in the cinema books among Anglophone film scholars over the last few years. Still, many of the “complaints” and “concerns” about the cinema books remain. A guiding principal of this dissertation is to provide a “way in” to Deleuze’s work in the cinema books, or a key to assist in unlocking and unpacking Deleuze’s cinema project. To this end, I have analyzed Deleuze’s approach in the cinema books, their style, methodology, rationale and theoretical framework, utilizing Theodor Adorno’s concept of “parataxis” because I believe it illuminates his metaphysics. I have also explicated key elements of Deleuze’s Bergson-inspired metaphysics, concentrating on what I feel are fundamental aspects that aid in a clarification of “movement-images” and “time-images.” A key concept that I utilized in this endeavor is Deleuze’s “crystal-image” because I maintain that the characteristics of crystal-images are the very foundation of all time- images. I endeavored to “fill in the gaps” in Deleuze’s cinema books by making connections between concepts that may not be apparent, addressing elisions in the cinema books as well as the current body of scholarly work on them. I utilized examples from contemporary films to illustrate Deleuze’s concepts, particularly Peter Jackson’s The iv Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003). I demonstrated how certain Deleuze terms can be used in film criticism and provided evidence that Deleuze’s work represents an alternative to theoretical models used in film studies, specifically presenting that Deleuze’s ideas about time-images can suggest new ways to think about the affective qualities of films. Finally, I addressed aspects of the cinema books in regards to their relationship (or non-relationship) to various disciplines and schools of both classical and contemporary film studies. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank all of the members of my committee for their significant contributions to this manuscript: Dr. Ron Shields for his suggestions of further research in a wide range of disciplines and encouragement to “get it done;” Dr. Jonathan Chambers for his tutelage over the years and advice to be aware of “mutant appendages;” Dr. Patrick Pauken for asking me “if you had the opportunity to have lunch with Deleuze, what would you ask him?” and “what would Deleuze think?;” Dr. Don Callen for introducing me to the cinema books of Gilles Deleuze, for his encouragement to undertake this study, for keeping me straight on philosophy and Deleuze while giving me enough rein to make my own (perhaps unusual) interpretations of Deleuze, and for his ongoing support and friendship; and Dr. Cynthia Baron for her profound knowledge of cinema studies (as well as philosophy), for keeping me in line and on track, for her understanding, support, patience and faith in my abilities, and for being such a great “agent.” I could not have completed my education or this dissertation without the undying support of my family: my parents Richard and Harriette Ashton for everything (including my father’s words “don’t let college get in the way of your education” and my mother’s, “if you have something to fall back on, you will fall back on it”); my sister Daphne for showing me that being a teacher is a wonderful thing; her husband Patrick for being so damn pragmatic; my sister Dianna for the X-Files and Alias nights and helping me study for the GRE (with flashcards even); her husband Kevin for the moral (and financial) support; Drew for enticing me to finish with a free ticket to Germany; Dillon for always giving me perspective; his wife Irina for her Russian wisdom; their sons Simon and Sasha vi for organizing my DVDs and books; and my younger nieces and nephews, Margaret Ann, Donovan, Wyatt and his new baby brother Weston for allowing me to once again see the world through a child’s eyes. I cannot forget my friends John and Heidi for being “John and Heidi” and the much needed vacations, and Donnie B. for far more than I can possibly expound upon here (though calling me “deleuzional” and a “deleuzer” are certainly at the top of the list). To all of you, I am eternally grateful. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Qualifications.........................................................................................................18 A Formal, Aesthetic Engagement..........................................................................21 Culture Studies.......................................................................................................27 CHAPTER I. SURVEY OF RELATED SCHOLARSHIP ...............................................31 Deleuze Scholarship...............................................................................................31 Deleuze and Film Scholarship ...............................................................................33 Philosophy and Film Studies .................................................................................40 CHAPTER II. THE CINEMA BOOKS, SCIENCE, ART AND PHILOSOPHY ............42 CHAPTER III. A DELEUZE/ADORNO AXIS................................................................53 Parataxis.................................................................................................................54 Constellation ..........................................................................................................56 Rhizomatics............................................................................................................58 Multiplicity ............................................................................................................60 CHAPTER IV. IMAGE REGIMES, NARRATION AND MONTAGE ..........................64 Narrative ................................................................................................................71 Montage .................................................................................................................76 CHAPTER V. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DELEUZE..........................................83 Everything is Image ...............................................................................................83 Movement ..............................................................................................................86 Movement, Matter and Energy ..............................................................................87 viii Movement, Space and Time ..................................................................................88 The Plane of Immanence .......................................................................................91 The Special Image..................................................................................................95 Signaletic Matter....................................................................................................99 CHAPTER VI. ACTIVITIES OF CONSCIOUSNESS...................................................104 Consciousness......................................................................................................104 Memory................................................................................................................106 Perception ............................................................................................................108 Recognition..........................................................................................................111 CHAPTER VII. THE SIX MOVEMENT-IMAGES AND THOUGHT.........................119 Perception-Images................................................................................................121 Affection-Images .................................................................................................126 Impulse-Images....................................................................................................130 Action-Images......................................................................................................130 Reflection-images ................................................................................................133 Relation-Images ...................................................................................................133 The Sensory-Motor Link......................................................................................135 Consciousness, Perception, Memory, and Thought.............................................137 CHAPTER VIII. TIME-IMAGES AND EFFECT..........................................................141 Qualities of Geological Crystals ..........................................................................143