JCM312/French Modernism: Jean-Luc Godard & Bertolt Brecht (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
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 | 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 | in curves |
evolutionary determinism | jumps |
man as fixed point | man as a process |
thought determines being | social being determines thought |
feeling | reason |
Bertolt Brecht, "The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre," in Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic, ed. and trans. John Willett (New York: Hill and Wang, 1964), 37.
- Group 2: How is Rohmer using the word, "moral"? How is morality portrayed in Chloé?
- Group 3: What is meant by "courtly love," in the context of Rohmer's films?
- 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 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.").
- What ethical/existential issues does that wager/bet raise? Do you see them in Chloé?
- 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?