Brecht's Method Revisited: The Influence of Epic Theatre in The Act of Killing
06/24/2017
1706242713645

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When talking about Brecht’s playwriting it is not that easy to just focus on a specific body of work or a stylistic unity. Brecht’s playwriting reach goes way beyond art and drama. Actually, Brecht’s language is based on a series of representational devices that put into question not just specifically artistic processes, but also the social and the political context. Brechtian drama can encompass aesthetic thought and historical action simultaneously, and although Brecht’s theatre is not originally conceived as a philosophical system –despite all the influence it might have had in the poststructuralist tradition—it does work as a method.1 It is worth noting, though, that when talking about the ability of the brechtian method to spread out its transformative potential towards the “real” we are not pointing out that artistic practice should assume a purely utilitarian tenor. Understanding the transformative potential of artistic languages involves a conscious and consistent use of the artifices and artefacts constructing fiction. Or to put it in other words, the aesthetic dimension of art can question other aspects that constitute and legitimate a wider cultural or political system.

Article
act of killing
brechtian cinema
oppenheimer
brecht
documentary
method
docufiction
experimental cinema

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Alba Giménez Gil
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Title Brecht's Method Revisited: The Influence of Epic Theatre in The Act of Killing
When talking about Brecht’s playwriting it is not that easy to just focus on a specific body of work or a stylistic unity. Brecht’s playwriting reach goes way beyond art and drama. Actually, Brecht’s language is based on a series of representational devices that put into question not just specifically artistic processes, but also the social and the political context. Brechtian drama can encompass aesthetic thought and historical action simultaneously, and although Brecht’s theatre is not originally conceived as a philosophical system –despite all the influence it might have had in the poststructuralist tradition—it does work as a method.1 It is worth noting, though, that when talking about the ability of the brechtian method to spread out its transformative potential towards the “real” we are not pointing out that artistic practice should assume a purely utilitarian tenor. Understanding the transformative potential of artistic languages involves a conscious and consistent use of the artifices and artefacts constructing fiction. Or to put it in other words, the aesthetic dimension of art can question other aspects that constitute and legitimate a wider cultural or political system.
Work type Article
Tags act of killing, brechtian cinema, oppenheimer, brecht, documentary, method, docufiction, experimental cinema

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Identifier 1706242713645
Entry date Jun 24, 2017, 2:13 PM UTC
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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Author. Holder Alba Giménez Gil. Date Jun 24, 2017.


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