Political Theory and Film: From Adorno to Zizek

206 Pages·2018·1.08 MB·English

by  Ian Fraser

Political Theory and Film

Political Theory and Film
From Adorno to Žižek
Ian Fraser
Published by Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd
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Copyright © 2018 by Ian Fraser
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: HB 978-1-7834-8163-7
PB 978-1-7834-8164-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Is Available
ISBN 978-1-78348-163-7 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-78348-164-4 (pbk: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-78348-165-1 (electronic)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
1 Introduction: Political Theory and Film 1
2 Theodor Adorno: Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux 19
3 Walter Benjamin: Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom 41
4 Ernst Bloch: Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris 57
5 Gilles Deleuze: Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighbouring Sounds 75
6 Alain Badiou: Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin 99
7 Jacques Rancière: Gavin Hood’s Rendition 125
8 Julia Kristeva: David Fincher’s Fight Club 141
9 Slavoj Žižek: J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call 159
10 Conclusion 175
Bibliography 177
Filmography 185
Index 187
About the Author 197
v

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Lawrence Wilde for his encouragement, support and
advice as always. Thanks to Dhara Snowden, commissioning editor at Row-
man and Littlefield, and her predecessor Anna Reeve. Thanks also to all the
following who helped in their various ways: Tony Burns, James Hunter,
Oliver Harrison, Paul Sheffield, Keith Fraser, Carol Murphy and Vincent
Murphy. My sisters, Audrey Fraser Bradshaw and Joyce Fraser Brown, will
always be remembered. Molly, my little feline friend, who has kept me com-
pany for sixteen years in her perfectly positioned cushion on my desk under
the lamp, was not there to see the completion of this book but her spirit was
with me throughout. With heartfelt praise for all her support throughout the
years, the book is dedicated to Sharon Garratt.
I presented many of these chapters at the following various conferences
and I would like to thank the participants for their comments: Workshops
in Political Theory Conference, Manchester University; Marx at the Movies
Conference, University of Central Lancashire; Film Studies and Cinematic
Arts Conference, Istanbul; Society for Utopian Studies, Montreal; Utopian
Studies Society, New Lanark; and Utopian Studies Conference, Tarragona.
Emphases in quotations in the book are always in the original unless other-
wise stated.
vii

Chapter 1
Introduction: Political Theory and Film
Political theory has conventionally focused on the constitution and operation
of the state, but it also seeks to identify the power relationships within civil
society. This extension of the notion of political theory can provide valuable
insights into the social significance of film.1 In turn, films can often offer
dramatic demonstrations of ideas developed in modern political theory. To
illustrate this, I examine the political theory of film in the work of eight
radical political theorists and apply them to enhance our political under-
standing of eight films that extend from the 1940s to the present and across
multiple continents.2 The theorists and films considered are: Theodor Adorno
(Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux), Walter Benjamin (Ken Loach’s
Land and Freedom), Ernst Bloch (Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris), Gilles
Deleuze (Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighbouring Sounds), Alain Badiou (Jia
Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin), Jacques Rancière (Gavin Hood’s Rendition), Julia
Kristeva (David Fincher’s Fight Club) and Slavoj Žižek (J. C. Chandor’s
Margin Call ).
The choice of theorists is reflective of the development and vibrancy of a
multiplicity of theoretical approaches to the political meaning and theoretical
function of film. They all deem the social relations prevailing in capitalist
societies to be oppressive, in many ways, and they are searching, in their radi-
cally different approaches, for expressions of resistance or opposition with
the possibility for emancipation. The rationale for choosing these particular
films is that, like the radical political theories used to examine them, they are
offering a critical stance to the status quo in the various countries in which
they are located. This raising of political issues grounded in theory can invite
us to think critically, both within the internal logic of the film and how that
might impact externally on the way we live our lives.
1