The Violence and Necrophilia at Coen Brothers’
Abstract
In his analysis of Ethan and Joel Coen’s films Syska makes use of the tools of Erich Fromm’s psychoanalysis to show the necrophyliac nature of their films’ heroes. Violence, one of the most essential components of film reality, is analysed by the author. Syska points out the new ways of depicting violence by stressing the physiological nature of acts of violence and biological nature of dying. The sacred and metaphysical value of death is belittled while prominence is given to its physiological aspects. Syska tries to prove that the hiperbolisation of violence in Coen brothers’ films is the starting point not only for post-modernist plays with experienced spectators but also the attempt to involve them in a pathological discourse whose essence is aesthetic and moral acceptance of cruelty. Syska proves that necrophyliac nature, which is one of the most essential properties making up their film reality, is also a characteristic feature of post-modernism.
Keywords:
Coen brothers, Erich Fromm, necrophiliaReferences
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Authors
Rafał Syskakwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Jagiellonian University Poland
Pracuje w Instytucie Sztuk Audiowizualnych UJ, badawczo interesuje się m.in. zjawiskiem przemocy w kinie.
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Copyright (c) 2001 Rafał Syska
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In issues from 105-106 (2019) to 119 (2022) all articles were published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. During this period the authors granted a royalty-free non-exclusive licence (CC BY-ND 4.0) to use their article in „Kwartalnik Filmowy”, retained full copyright, and agreed to identify the work as first having been published in our journal should it be published or used again.
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