Black Hole Sun: Perspectives on Cinematic Alienation
Friday, November 29, 2024 3:45 pm – 6:00 pm CET/GMT+1Lecture Hall
This lecture, by filmmaker Alon Sahar, explores the way cinema approaches the phenomenon of alienation. Scenes showcasing protagonists' alienation from people and objects have existed since the dawn of cinema. Paradoxically, such depictions tend to evoke in the viewer a feeling which is the opposite of alienation - namely identification and empathy with the alienated protagonist. A well-known example for this is Charlie Chaplin’s struggle against the factory’s production line in Modern Times (1936). But it was only in the postwar period that filmmakers began to use alienation as a central effect. Not unlike the Brechtian Verfremdungseffekt in theater, created for the political purpose of undermining capitalist false-consciousness, alienation in modern cinema is often used to highlight the possibility of different modes of thinking and perceiving. This concern with alienation can be seen as a response to the collapse of the imperialistic world-order and to the upheaval in traditional values brought about by the economic boom of the postwar period. Alienation remains a theme in 21st century cinema, despite the gradual decline of arthouse cinema in recent years, for instance in the work of Chantal Akerman and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. By reference to the work of these filmmakers, as well as to the work of Ozu, Antonioni, Kubrick, and Costa, the lecture will delineate three perspectives through which modern cinema has approached the theme of alienation: in its engagement with tensions between rural and urban life; in its investigation of relations between empires and colonies; and in its exploration of the relation between body and soul.
The lecture is hosted by PL322: The Uncanny, led by Dr. Gilad Nir. In this seminar students explore the aesthetic, psychological and social aspects of the frightening and disorienting experiences to which we are exposed in modernity.
Alon Sahar is a filmmaker based in Berlin. His works are known for exploring film philosophy, complex narratives, and politics. His short film, Gelem (2014), premiered in Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and won the special jury prize at the Haifa International Film Festival. His diploma film, OUT (2018), held its world premiere in the Pardi di Domani section at the Locarno Film Festival and won the best short film at Haifa. Scholarly studies of his work were published in magazines like Cultural Treasures, Takriv, and Portfolio. Sahar occasionally publishes socio-political analysis in Der Spiegel, Der Freitag, and The Jerusalem Post. He is currently developing his first feature film.
Email: [email protected]