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The Association between Cinema and Audience as “the other”, and the Order of Discourse in Bahram Beyzaei’s meta-film When We Are All Asleep
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Jalal Nasiri Hanis *   , Nader Shayganfar |
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Abstract: (1150 Views) |
Mainstream cinema seeks to naturalize and project as real what comes from an ideological and imaginative framework. Met-films, on the contrary, are meant to highlight their own artificiality and imaginative nature through their particular focus on the movie production process. Meta films are a category of films whose subjects are about the nature of cinema and film making. Film makers of this Sub Genre have a critical view to the production of meaning confront the current illusion in the conventional and realistic films. Modeled on the stylistic properties of self-reflective cinema, the meta-film “When We Are All Asleep” depicts the production process of the movie itself. Differences of opinion existing between the producer-investor on the one hand, and the filmmaker on the other, represent two opposing views toward cinema in “When We Are All Asleep”. Employing Norman Fairclough Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the present research seeks to reveal the association between those hailing from either group of the spectrum — representing “the self” — and production team and the audience, representing “the other”. To identify the discursive order dominating the film in question, the paper analyzes the plot, characterization, the interaction among characters and the arrangements made for self-reflectivity toward the closure of the movie. The study found that the production team is treated with objectification, neutralization and distancing at the hands of those who fall in the business-oriented category. The same category regards cinema as a commodity and is in a constant push to neutralize its artistic and critical functions. They do consider the audience as consumers with no subjective attitude. The director, on the contrary, is in pursuit of solidarity, sympathy and a sense of responsibility toward the production team and maintains the view that cinema is art, and creativity remains the key concern. From this viewpoint, the movie’s success lies in its plausibility for the audience. In other words, the two dominant discourses of “business” and “art and creativity” shape the discursive order in the movie. In the former, a tendency toward “the other” backs up and reproduces the discourse, while in the latter, efforts are being made toward a restructuring of the discourse that has overwhelmed the Iranian society.
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| Keywords: Meta-Film, “the other”, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), “When We Are All Asleep”, self-reflectivity functions |
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Full-Text [PDF 399 kb]
(501 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2021/10/12 | Accepted: 2022/05/7
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