Research Article
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The Alienation Effect as a Communication Tool: Analyzing "The French Dispatch" Film

Year 2024, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 705 - 716, 30.08.2024
https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1484248

Abstract

Bertolt Brecht's aesthetic theories, including the alienation effect, have been effective in shaping communication with the audience in the realm of cinema. This effect prevents the audience from identifying with the characters, fostering an objective and critical perspective. This study addresses how Brecht's alienation effect from his epic theater theory is utilized in modern cinema. In this context, the functionality of the alienation effect as a communication tool is examined through the film The French Dispatch. The study is structured according to the phenomenological design among qualitative analysis methods. According to the findings, Brecht's alienation effect is effective in determining the dramatic structures of films. The French Dispatch contains elements that evoke this effect. In the film, the direct address of characters to the camera, color changes, editing techniques, and the presence of narrators bring to mind the Brechtian approach. Considering the three separate stories told in the film and their visual and formal characteristics, it has been concluded that the alienation effect, through the communication established with the audience, facilitates the development of a critical approach.

References

  • Alich, Anna (2007). Alienation in Jean-Luc Godard’s Tout Va Bien (1972). University of Cincinnati. Brecht, Bertolt (1993). Tiyatro için küçük organon. (Ahmet Cemal, Çev.). İstanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları.
  • Del Rio E. (2008). Deleuze and the cinemas of performance: Powers of affection. Edinburgh: University Press.
  • Glahn, Philip (2014). Bertolt Brecht. London: Reaktion Books.
  • Hayward, S. (2001). Cinema studies: The key concepts. London and New York: Routledge.
  • İşbilen, D. (2020). Oyun oynama motivasyonlarında oyuncu tiplerinin yeri ve önemi. Alev Fatoş Parsa and Elçin Akçora As (Ed.) In Dijital imgeler evreni. (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 19–35). İstanbul: Doruk Yayınları.
  • Jovanovic, N. (2012). Estranging the postmodern: The Brechtian resonances in Lars von Trier. The Brecht Yearbook 37.
  • Laine, T. (2004). "What are you looking at and why?" Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997) with his audience. Kinoeye, 4(1). http://www.kinoeye.org/04/01/laine01.php.
  • Lesage, J. L. (1975). The films of Jean-Luc Godard and their use of Brechtian dramatic theory. Indiana University.
  • Lester, S. (1999). An introduction to phenomenological research. Taunton UK: Stan Lester Developments.
  • Marx, Karl (1990). Capital. England: Penguin Books.
  • Monaco, J. (2000). How to read a film. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Parkan, M. (1983). Brecht estetiği ve sinema. Ankara: Dost Kitabevi Yayınları.
  • Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. CA: Sage Publications.
  • Pudovkin, V. I. (2012). Film technique and film acting. London: Vision Press Limited.
  • Tınaz, P. (2023). Yabancılaştırma efektlerinin sinemasal dile etkileri: Woody Allen ve “Annie Hall” üzerine bir inceleme. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (36), 842-860. DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.1369121.
  • Willett, John (1964). Brecht on theatre: The development of an aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang.

The Alienation Effect as a Communication Tool: Analyzing "The French Dispatch" Film

Year 2024, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 705 - 716, 30.08.2024
https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1484248

Abstract

Bertolt Brecht's aesthetic theories, including the alienation effect, have been effective in shaping communication with the audience in the realm of cinema. This effect prevents the audience from identifying with the characters, fostering an objective and critical perspective. This study addresses how Brecht's alienation effect from his epic theater theory is utilized in modern cinema. In this context, the functionality of the alienation effect as a communication tool is examined through the film The French Dispatch. The study is structured according to the phenomenological design among qualitative analysis methods. According to the findings, Brecht's alienation effect is effective in determining the dramatic structures of films. The French Dispatch contains elements that evoke this effect. In the film, the direct address of characters to the camera, color changes, editing techniques, and the presence of narrators bring to mind the Brechtian approach. Considering the three separate stories told in the film and their visual and formal characteristics, it has been concluded that the alienation effect, through the communication established with the audience, facilitates the development of a critical approach.

References

  • Alich, Anna (2007). Alienation in Jean-Luc Godard’s Tout Va Bien (1972). University of Cincinnati. Brecht, Bertolt (1993). Tiyatro için küçük organon. (Ahmet Cemal, Çev.). İstanbul: MitosBoyut Yayınları.
  • Del Rio E. (2008). Deleuze and the cinemas of performance: Powers of affection. Edinburgh: University Press.
  • Glahn, Philip (2014). Bertolt Brecht. London: Reaktion Books.
  • Hayward, S. (2001). Cinema studies: The key concepts. London and New York: Routledge.
  • İşbilen, D. (2020). Oyun oynama motivasyonlarında oyuncu tiplerinin yeri ve önemi. Alev Fatoş Parsa and Elçin Akçora As (Ed.) In Dijital imgeler evreni. (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 19–35). İstanbul: Doruk Yayınları.
  • Jovanovic, N. (2012). Estranging the postmodern: The Brechtian resonances in Lars von Trier. The Brecht Yearbook 37.
  • Laine, T. (2004). "What are you looking at and why?" Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997) with his audience. Kinoeye, 4(1). http://www.kinoeye.org/04/01/laine01.php.
  • Lesage, J. L. (1975). The films of Jean-Luc Godard and their use of Brechtian dramatic theory. Indiana University.
  • Lester, S. (1999). An introduction to phenomenological research. Taunton UK: Stan Lester Developments.
  • Marx, Karl (1990). Capital. England: Penguin Books.
  • Monaco, J. (2000). How to read a film. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Parkan, M. (1983). Brecht estetiği ve sinema. Ankara: Dost Kitabevi Yayınları.
  • Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. CA: Sage Publications.
  • Pudovkin, V. I. (2012). Film technique and film acting. London: Vision Press Limited.
  • Tınaz, P. (2023). Yabancılaştırma efektlerinin sinemasal dile etkileri: Woody Allen ve “Annie Hall” üzerine bir inceleme. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (36), 842-860. DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.1369121.
  • Willett, John (1964). Brecht on theatre: The development of an aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang.
There are 16 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Documentary Film - Political Cinema, Cinema Studies (Other)
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Semih Salman 0000-0003-0872-1980

Early Pub Date August 29, 2024
Publication Date August 30, 2024
Submission Date May 14, 2024
Acceptance Date August 2, 2024
Published in Issue Year 2024 Volume: 12 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Salman, S. (2024). The Alienation Effect as a Communication Tool: Analyzing "The French Dispatch" Film. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(2), 705-716. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1484248

Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Creative Commons Atıf-GayriTicari 4.0 Uluslararası Lisansı (CC BY NC) ile lisanslanmıştır.