The Mobius strip--the figure we've been using to trace the relationship between epic storytelling and cinematic production--is a conceptual model developed in the field of topology (a sub-field of theoretical mathematics). It was used by Jacques Lacan in the late twentieth century to talk about key aspects of the human psyche (aspects of human experience dealt with in various ways by a long line of philosophers, theorists, and artists).
In her book The Odd One In (published in 2008), the philosopher Alenka Zupancic explains Lacan's uses of the Mobius strip, and links these conceptualizations of Lacan's to a passage written by the 19th-century philosopher G.W.F. Hegel in which Hegel uses the notion of doubling to distinguish between epic, tragic, and comedic modes of performance. The two pages pasted below don't include direct references to Hegel, but this passage does contain Zupancic's most direct references to the Mobius strip itself--and as such, this passage can help prompt insights into the epic dimensions of cinema. (I'll bring hard copies of this passage to the next meeting.)
In her book The Odd One In (published in 2008), the philosopher Alenka Zupancic explains Lacan's uses of the Mobius strip, and links these conceptualizations of Lacan's to a passage written by the 19th-century philosopher G.W.F. Hegel in which Hegel uses the notion of doubling to distinguish between epic, tragic, and comedic modes of performance. The two pages pasted below don't include direct references to Hegel, but this passage does contain Zupancic's most direct references to the Mobius strip itself--and as such, this passage can help prompt insights into the epic dimensions of cinema. (I'll bring hard copies of this passage to the next meeting.)
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Page 54 above, page 55 below |
