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The affective correspondence of sado-masochism and sound in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark

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The affective correspondence of sado-masochism and sound in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark

DeWolfe, Stacey (2008) The affective correspondence of sado-masochism and sound in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

Much has been written on the work of Danish director Lars von Trier, though the majority of these texts have limited scope, focusing primarily on matters of aesthetic and auteurist interest. What is lacking in these investigations is any detailed discussion of the films' sonic properties, sado-masochistic structures, and affective potentialities. Centering on two of his recent films, Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark, this thesis seeks a greater understanding of these facets of von Trier's work, as well as a deeper appreciation of the receptive body as a sensing body --experiencing the cinema on a level beyond cognition. Turning away from traditional film-theoretical approaches such as the psychoanalytic and hermeneutic, this thesis moves into more philosophical terrain, locating the roots of its methodology in the work of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Building on Deleuze's conceptualization of the cinema as an intertextual body comprised of two complementary semiotics--the movement-image and the time-image --this thesis looks at the films through the prism of a new theoretical construct, one that imagines the cinema as composed of two parallel texts: the first sadistic, the other, masochistic. The site of our affective experience is located in the interval that exists between these space-times, an interval felt most profoundly, perhaps, in the realm of sound. This project submits a new model for understanding the films of Lars von Trier, but more importantly, offers a new approach to thinking cinema that moves beyond more traditional ocular-centric and formalist practices

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:DeWolfe, Stacey
Pagination:iv, 108 leaves ; 29 cm.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
Date:2008
Thesis Supervisor(s):Manning, Erin
Identification Number:LE 3 C66M45M 2008 D48
ID Code:975601
Deposited By: Concordia University Library
Deposited On:22 Jan 2013 16:11
Last Modified:13 Jul 2020 20:08
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