As I think about desire, and the on-going question of "What Is Tragedy?" and/or maybe, "What has tragedy become?" (For it does not feel like a constant thing. Its maleable. Ephemeral. Like a cloud, then suffering into a thunderstorm. Beautiful and yet tragically cataclysmic to its environment.) I cannot help but ignore Citizen Kane and think on Hitchcock.
Citizen Kane, and all its value, has no interest for me, with these questions. I think more of Hitchcock and his ideas of "Playing God."
Hitchcock once said in an interview, when asked why are his films so well received and famous, he replied with his concept of Playing God. He spoke about how he places the audience in a position where they have no control, but see everything occurring, and therefore crave control.
For example, in Psycho, the famous bathroom scene, we see a close up perspective of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) showering and a shadowy figure slowly entering behind her. We (the audience) see that Marion does not see, and is indeed in direct relationship with a dark figure. This figure is not safe to her, the environment, or our relationship with Marion, for we have grown to become fond of her.
We see the figure kill Marion, and there was nothing we could do.
It is that, in of itself, the simplistic concept of, Nothing we can do, that I find most interesting and tragic of all. This can be related to scenes in Citizen Kane, amongst many other films. I think the concept shifts of course, because it is situational, emotional, political, and many other things, it shifts.. However, its constant shifting, and evolving, much like a virus, is what the media attaches onto and can create coverage so well. This relationship is merely the media covering on a specific event, and our relationship with the children and families in syria, through a newspaper, internet, or television, is just like our relationship with Marion. We (Western Americans) are distant. We are not connected. We cannot save her/them. We are voyeurs. And, the dark luminous figure, is the gas.
The media Plays God, just as Hitchock Played God with us.
Tragedy becomes voyeurism. Becomes mockery. Becomes a game. Becomes a monopoly. Becomes an enterprise. Becomes a neo-liberal governmentally.
I appreciate your thoughts on Hitchcock, but if only out of fairness to those who followed the parameters of the rush topic, I can't give you credit unless you do the same (i.e. until you reflect on a link of some sort between Zupacic's notion of tragic desire and Welle's film Citizen Kane, using specific pieces of film form to develop your thoughts).
ReplyDeleteIf you choose to seek credit for this rush topic, just post your effort as "rush 2 re-post" and email me to alert me that you've done so. If I see that you've explored the assigned topic in some way, I'll give you full credit. (If you don't want to bother, that's fine too--it's your call.)
CS