Von Trier’in Dogville’i: Aristotelesçi Dramatik Tiyatro ve Brechtçi Epik Tiyatro’nun Bir Karışımı

Brechtçi epik tiyatronun amacı, taklitçi ve teleolojik bir anlatım aracılığıyla mimesis illüzyonunu yaratan dramatik tiyatroyu eleştirmekti. Brecht’in esas hedefi, dramatik tiyatro ve edebiyatta gerçekçilik akımı tarafından yaratılan sahnede ya da metinde gerçekliği sunma illüzyonunun baskın ideolojiye ve ana akım söyleme hizmet etmekten başka bir işleve sahip olmadığını göstermekti. Bu çalışmanın amacı, von Trier’in Dogville filmini Aristotelesçi dramatik tiyatro ve Brechtçi epik tiyatro bağlamında ele almaktır. Çalışmanın öne sürdüğü argüman; farkına varma (recognition), katarsis (catharsis) ve kapanma (closure) gibi dramatik tiyatronun temel unsurlarının kullanımıyla Dogville filminin epik tiyatro ve epik tiyatronun ilkelerinin içini boşalttığıdır. Von Trier’in Dogville filmi, çoğunlukla epik tiyatronun özellikleri bağlamında incelenmiştir. Filmin Aristotelesçi dramatik tiyatronun temel unsurlarına sahip olduğu, şu güne dek genellikle göz ardı edilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı da Dogville filmini Aristotelesçi dramatik tiyatro ile Brechtçi epik tiyatro ve Brecht’in Marksizm bağlamındaki teorileri ışığında ele alarak filmin iyi bir epik tiyatro örneği olmayı başaramadığını göstermektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Dogville, epik tiyatro, dramatik tiyatro, katarsis, Brecht

A Study on von Trier’s Dogville: An Amalgam of Aristotelian Dramatic Theatre and Brechtian Epic Theatre

The purpose of Brechtian epic theatre was to break the illusion of mimesis that is achieved by dramatic theatre through the use of mimetic and teleological drive. Its ultimate aim was to show that the illusion of verisimilitude created by dramatic theatre and realist forms of representation serves only to the affirmation and promotion of the norms and values of the dominant discourse. The aim of this study, accordingly, is to provide a reading of von Trier’s Dogville in terms of Aristotelian dramatic theatre and Brechtian epic theatre in order to argue that the film disregards the function of the characteristics of epic theatre that it employs and thus evacuates the meaning of them by the use of elements of dramatic theatre such as recognition, catharsis, and closure. Von Trier’s Dogville has mostly been analysed in terms of the elements of epic theatre. However, it has been ignored that the film features some fundamental characteristics of Aristotle’s dramatic theatre like recognition, catharsis, and closure. This study, therefore, examines Dogville in the light of Aristotelian dramatic theatre as well as of Brecht’s theories within the context of epic theatre and Marxism to discuss whether the film fails to become a proper example of epic theatre on big screen.

Keywords:

Dogville, epic theatre, dramatic theatre, catharsis, Brecht,

PDF

___

Althusser, L. (1969). For Marx, trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Pantheon. google scholar
Althusser, L. (1971). Lenin and Philosophy and other Essays, trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review Press. google scholar
Aristotle. (2001). Poetics. V. B. Leitch (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (pp. 90-117). New York: Norton & Company. google scholar
Bağır, M. (2018). Aristoteles’in Mimesis Ve Katharsis Kavramları Üzerinden Bir Film İncelemesi: Dogvılle. Ege Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Medya ve İletişim Araştırmaları Hakemli E-Dergisi, (2), 36-55. google scholar
Bal, M. (2020). Elements of Brecht’s epic theatre in Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest and Sarah Kane’s Cleansed. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (Ö8), 678-692. google scholar
Basuki, R. (2002). Brecht’s Epic Theatre as a Modern Avant-Garde and its Influence on Postmodern Theatre/Drama. k@ta, 4(2), 136-147. google scholar
Björkman, S. (2004, January 12) Lars von Trier: “It was like a nursery - but 20 times worse.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jan/12/1 google scholar
Brecht, B. (1964). Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction. J. Willett (Ed.), Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic (pp. 69-77). Methuen Publishing. google scholar
Christ, C. T., Robson, C. (2012). Late Victorians. In Greenblatt, S. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (9th ed., vol 2., pp. 1668-1671). Norton. google scholar
Curran, A. (2001). Brecht’s Criticisms of Aristotle’s Aesthetics of Tragedy. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 59(2), 167-184. google scholar
David, A., Simpson, J. (2012). Mystery Plays. In Greenblatt, S. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (9th ed., vol 1., pp. 447-449). Norton. google scholar
Greenblatt, S., Logan, G. M. (2012). The Sixteenth Century 1485-1603. In Greenblatt, S. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (9th ed., vol 1., pp. 531-563). Norton. google scholar
Grimm, R. (1997). Alienation in context: On the theory and practice of Brechtian theatre. In Siegfried Mews (Ed.), A Bertolt Brecht Reference Companion. Greenwood Press. google scholar
Habib, M. A. R. (2005). A History of Literary Criticism From Plato to Present. New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing. google scholar
Jovanovic, N. (2011). Brechtian Cinemas: Montage andTheatricality in Jean-Marie Straub andDaniele Huillet, Peter Watkins and Lars von Trier. [Master’s thesis, University of Toronto]. google scholar
Kapla, M. (2003). Lars von Trier in Dogville. J. Lumholdt (Ed.), Lars von Trier: Interviews (pp. 205-212). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. google scholar
Karaboğa, K. (2006). Brechtyen Oyuncunun Gerçekçi Sanatı. Studien zur deutschen Sprache und Literatur, 0(18), 69-86. google scholar
Koutsourakis, A. (2013) Politics and open-ended dialectics in Lars von Trier’s Dogville: a post-Brechtian critique. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 11(3), 334-353. google scholar
Kowsar, M. (1983). Althusser on Theatre. Theatre Journal, 35(4), 461-474. google scholar
Lipking, L., Noggle, J. (2012). The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century 1660-1785. In Greenblatt, S. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (9th ed., vol 1., pp. 2177-2207). Norton. google scholar
Murray, E. (1990). Varieties of Dramatic Structure: A Study of Theory and Practice. Lanham: University Press of America. google scholar
Özmenek, S. (2003). Dogville: Trier’s America a La Brecht. Journal of American Studies ofTurkey, 85-92. google scholar
Ramazani, J., Stallworthy, J. (2012). The Twentieth Century and After. In Greenblatt, S. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (9th ed., vol 2., pp. 1887-1913). Norton. google scholar
Shaw, G. B. (1913). The Quintessence of Ibsenism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. google scholar
Trier, L. V. (Director). (2003). Dogville [Film]. Lions Gate. google scholar