Fragmented Mimesis and Simulation: Rewriting Reality in Synecdoche, New York
Öz
Synecdoche, New York (2008) destabilizes ontological assumptions surrounding
cinematic representation and constructs a recursive universe that dissolves the boundaries
between selfhood, space, and temporality. The film follows an artist attempting to
reproduce his life within an ever-expanding theatrical simulation; this effort generates
proliferating layers of representation that displace referential stability. This study examines
the reconfiguration of the classical paradigm of mimesis and analyzes representation
as a recursive, self-referential structure. The analysis adopts a theoretical close reading
grounded in philosophical approaches to simulation, temporality, and subjectivity. The
findings indicate that representation ceases to function as correspondence with external
reality and operates as a self-generating system that produces ontological instability. Recursive
mise-en-abyme structures and synecdochic substitution convert identity into iterative
performance and disperse subjectivity across layered representations. This study
advances debates on postmimetic cinema by positioning recursion as a constitutive condition
of contemporary cinematic ontology and by positing that representation produces disappearance as its primary effect and displaces meaning as a stable presence. The analysis
further establishes recursion as a structuring logic that reorganizes relations between
representation, temporality, and subjectivity at the level of form. It further proposes that
cinematic space functions as an ontological interface, and identity registers as a transient
configuration, dislodged from stability.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
- Akbulut, Muzaffer Tolga – Yıldız, Emre, “Mimari Temsil Sistemlerine Zaman-Mekân’ın Eklenmesi ile Oluşan Mekânsal Deneyimin Sinema Aracılığı ile İncelenmesi”, Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 16, no. 98, 2023; https://doi.org/10.29228/JASSS.74047.
- Beauregard, Calla - Danforth, Christopher M. – Dodds, Peter Sheridan, “Hollywood’s Misrepresentation of Death: A Comparison of Overall and by-Gender Mortality Causes in Film and the Real World”, arXiv, 2024; https://doi. org/10.48550/arXiv.2411.10040.
- Beşgen, Asu – Köseoğlu, Şölen, “Sinema-Mimarlık Arakesitinde Bir Mekâna Dokunmak: Sine-Tasarım Atölyesi”, SineFilozofi, Özel Sayı, 2019; https://doi. org/10.31122/sinefilozofi.516445.
Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Edebi Çalışmalar (Diğer), Güzel Sanatlar
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Serap Sarıbaş
*
0000-0002-4079-8024
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
24 Haziran 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
14 Temmuz 2025
Kabul Tarihi
6 Nisan 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Sayı: 27