Bela Balazs, Jean Epstein, and Sigmund Freud: The Close Up, Part 2
TLDRThis video analyzes the use of close-ups and facial expressions in the film The Master, comparing directors Béla Balázs and Jean Epstein's differing views on whether close-ups can reveal a character's interior emotions. It relates these ideas to Freudian psychoanalysis and the notion of deciphering unconscious impulses, asking if The Master's close-ups elucidate Joaquin Phoenix's opaque character. It questions whether all facial movements betray inner truths, or if some have other significance, leaving open if theorists like Epstein would glean the same meanings from The Master’s scrutinized gestures.
Takeaways
- 😀 Epstein and Béla Balázs have different perspectives on the revealatory power of the cinematic close-up
- 😟 There is a tension between believing close-ups transparently reveal interior states vs. seeing them as aesthetically compelling but opaque
- 🤔 The Cause's ideas about memory parallel Freud's model of the conscious and unconscious mind
- 🧐 Freud saw his project as battling contingency by finding meaning in details, similar to Balázs on close-ups
- 😯 Benjamin and Cavell also link cameras' revelation of normally unseen details to psychoanalysis
- 😕 But the emotional legibility Balázs expects from close-ups may not apply to The Master's opacity
- 😀 Epstein shares Balázs' interest in involuntary gestures revealed by cameras
- ❓ It's unclear if Epstein sees these gestures as emotionally legible or aesthetically compelling
- 🤨 The Master challenges assumptions that close-ups straightforwardly reveal interior states
- 😊 We can explore in writing how classical film theory handles The Master's opacity
Q & A
What is the main distinction Epstein and Balázs have in describing facial close-ups?
-Epstein poetically describes the material qualities of facial movements in close-ups, while Balázs interprets the emotions and inner events seemingly revealed through micro-expressions.
How does Freud's theory of the unconscious relate to Balázs's ideas about the film camera?
-Balázs believed the camera can capture unconscious micro-gestures on an actor's face, just as Freud tried to reveal the unconscious through slips of the tongue, gestures, dreams.
What does the magic slate metaphor convey about Freud's model of perception and memory?
-The metaphor suggests experience writes upon the conscious mind, but impressions remain in the unconscious, much like writing stays on the wax backing of the magic slate even when the plastic sheet is lifted.
Why does Balázs believe the camera sees more than the human eye?
-Balázs argues even the smallest facial movements testify to inner events beyond an actor's control. The camera scrutinizes what humans cannot perceive themselves.
How do later theorists like Cavell echo Balázs's ideas about the camera?
-Cavell argues the camera reveals normally unnoticed repetitions and fluctuations in movement that betray rather than communicate a person to themselves.
Does The Master reveal Freddie's interiority through close-ups?
-Critics call the film 'opaque,' suggesting facial close-ups do not straightforwardly communicate Freddie's emotions and psychology.
Why might Freddie's face seem illegible compared to Balázs's example?
-Freddie likely does not have clear conscious control or awareness of his expressions. The Master resists diagnosing his behavior through exterior signs.
What might Epstein make of the facial close-ups in The Master?
-Epstein may poetically describe their material qualities without interpreting their meaning. He is less focused on using close-ups to reveal inner states.
How does the film thematize problems of reading interiors from exteriors?
-Dodd's Cause attempts to decode members' unconscious through interrogation, resembling Freudian psychoanalysis and problematizing facial legibility.
Why can't we definitively explain Freddie's behavior?
-The film resists pinpointing Freddie's trauma to one cause. It remains ambiguous whether surfaces fully communicate complex interiority.
Outlines
😃 Introducing key themes and passages from Epstein and Bellage regarding the face and close-up
The paragraph introduces the key themes of discussion - the concepts of the face, close-up, and expression/revelation related to Epstein and Bellage's views. It outlines differences in describing facial movements - Epstein poetically describing material metaphors vs. Bellage narrating emotions. Though not fully emblematic of their works, this passage indicates contrasting interests regarding how close-ups reveal or change perceptions.
🧠 Linking Freud's unconscious and mystic writing pad to The Cause's views
The paragraph links Freud's concept of the unconscious and his analogy of the mystic writing pad to The Cause's belief system of excavating suppressed interiorities. It draws parallels between emerging 20th century discourses and reactions to cinema, especially Freud's radical reading of details as meaningful for unlocking the unconscious.
🎥 Relating Freud and classical theorists on reading exteriors to reveal interiors
The paragraph relates Freud's psychoanalysis to classical theorists' views on reading exterior details to reveal interiors, unconscious optics, and involuntary bodily movements captured on film. It questions whether The Master uses close-ups for similar revelation and links this to the film's intentional opacity.
❓ Questioning the fantasy of legibility in expressing interiors
The paragraph questions the fantasy of legibility posed by Bellage in confidently narrating emotions from facial expressions versus Epstein's different interest in nervous gestures. It leaves open whether Epstein believes close-ups reveal hidden interiors and what he would make of the opaque close-ups in The Master.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡close-up
💡expression
💡revelation
💡interiority
💡psychoanalysis
💡Sigmund Freud
💡Bellage
💡John Epstein
💡Joaquin Phoenix
💡memory
Highlights
Epstein and Bollage are obsessed with detail they're obsessed with what magnification can achieve in cinema
Epstein attempts to poetically describe what he is seeing in a close-up, Bollage interprets the detailed movements into emotions
One big question of the film is what's going inside Freddie's mind and the strategies for determining that
The Cause's belief system revolves around excavating hidden interiorities by means resembling psychoanalysis
Freud analogized the conscious and unconscious to the mystic writing pad, retaining impressions like memory
Freud's project is a battle against contingency, meaning is located where one would expect opacity
Béla Balázs says the camera can photograph the unconscious, the face becomes a document
Walter Benjamin says the camera introduces us to unconscious optics as psychoanalysis does to impulses
Cavell says under a camera a body becomes a field of betrayal more than communication
The film is famously opaque, achieving opacity through evocation rather than story
While Béla Balázs believes in legibility between expression and revelation, Epstein may not
What would Epstein make of the close-ups in The Master, gleaning interiors from blown-up exteriors?
Epstein is interested in the unconscious aspect of movement, but is it to reveal hidden interiors?
The question of opacity applies to relating Phoenix's performance to Freddie's psychology
Reasonable interpretations don't necessarily reduce reading the face itself vs. other things
Transcripts
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)
Thanks for rating: