Drawing on/from a mirror : a self-reflexive study of the representation and perception of violence in contemporary film

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The cinematic communication process starts with the creative enunciation by the filmmaker and ends with the viewer's subjective perception of the film. This thesis represents a theoretical and experiential investigation of this process and entails critical and self-reflexive discussions of stylistic approaches to filmic representation. The focus of this representation falls on on-screen violence. This study is a practice-led process, and therefore the fields of research are applied to my own work, namely the filmmaking process of a feature film entitled Preek.The research was prompted by my need to take an academic stance on the filmmaking process, instead of a mere practical one, and to form an intellectual awareness of the filmmaker and viewer dynamic. As a practicing filmmaker interested in the mimetic quality of film representations, it was necessary for me to form a conscious apprehension of how a film may be understood as a reflection on reality on the one hand, and an expression formulated through the filmmakers creative decisions on the other.The representation of violence in film was investigated by the way of critical readings of selected films, framed by both contemporary and classical film theory. Through contemporary film theory, I investigated the viewer's perception and identification with the film's diegesis, and particularly with its characters. The „classic‟ film theories of the realists and formalists allowed me to discern two stylistic approaches to the representation of violence in film, and to explore the emotional affect and cathartic release these approaches may elicit from viewers. These discussions were then applied to my own film Preek, in order to critically understand the relationship between filmmaker and viewer.The research and the application thereof, indicated that the stylistic approach to the representation of violence and its intensity in a film, unveils the filmmaker's motivation for communicating through the film medium. The arguments showed that I represented the violence in Preek in such a way that it may result in a traumatic affect on the viewer rather than an appreciation of its aesthetic value, and that this affect is the result of an engagement with the film's diegesis, due to the viewer's own identificatory participation. The research concluded that the viewer's subjective identification with the film forms a triangular relationship and communication between filmmaker, film and viewer.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University