Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho »
Among the works of the Dziga Vertov group, a Marxist-Leninist collective headed by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin between 1967 and 1973, two films could easily dismiss the common charges of puritanism led against militant cinema: Vladimir et Rosa (1970) and Tout va bien (1972). Both films are...
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Association Française des Enseignants et Chercheurs en Cinéma et Audiovisuel
2017-05-01
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| Series: | Mise au Point |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/map/2323 |
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| author | Raphaël Jaudon |
| author_facet | Raphaël Jaudon |
| author_sort | Raphaël Jaudon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Among the works of the Dziga Vertov group, a Marxist-Leninist collective headed by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin between 1967 and 1973, two films could easily dismiss the common charges of puritanism led against militant cinema: Vladimir et Rosa (1970) and Tout va bien (1972). Both films are remarkable for reconciling radical political philosophy, an appetite for theory, and the subversive power of comedy. Both give birth to a scene for opposites: popular jokes and class struggle, American burlesque and experimental figures, Karl Marx and the Marx Brothers. Given the sense of humour, the reviews of the two films were not that positive. But their purpose was precisely to reconsider the very definition of political cinema. While becoming aware that one cannot turn concepts into images so easily, Godard and Gorin broke free of the vertical diagram they once found in theory, and dove into militant struggles in a more physical and human way. They thus avoided one of the most frequent pitfalls of the militant films of their time: didacticism, which often widens the gap between the filmmakers and their target audience. Not only can humour be seen as a more natural language to be heard by people of the lower class, but it also represents a specific mode of discourse that requires a fairer relationship between the author and the spectator. The way Godard and Gorin offer their interpretation of the burlesque tradition (self-portraits as idiots, fancy dresses, sketches, regional accents, ridiculous gestures, absurdist humour, etc.) enlightens their cinematic practice in agreement with a principle of self-mockery that can be seen as Marxist. On a more figurative level, humour is the ultimate agent of their cinematographic policy. It denigrates the powerful, by putting the accent on their bodily structure, and sets up the proficiency of the weak, by offering them a place and a function in the social space. Thus the idea of being “a Marxist of the Groucho variety” is not only a famous May ’68 witticism, it is also the formula of an ambitious aesthetic program: the development of a discursively and formally democratic cinema. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd9a537ae93e4b60be004f271b3232b9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2261-9623 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | Association Française des Enseignants et Chercheurs en Cinéma et Audiovisuel |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mise au Point |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd9a537ae93e4b60be004f271b3232b92024-12-09T15:59:43ZengAssociation Française des Enseignants et Chercheurs en Cinéma et AudiovisuelMise au Point2261-96232017-05-01910.4000/map.2323Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho »Raphaël JaudonAmong the works of the Dziga Vertov group, a Marxist-Leninist collective headed by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin between 1967 and 1973, two films could easily dismiss the common charges of puritanism led against militant cinema: Vladimir et Rosa (1970) and Tout va bien (1972). Both films are remarkable for reconciling radical political philosophy, an appetite for theory, and the subversive power of comedy. Both give birth to a scene for opposites: popular jokes and class struggle, American burlesque and experimental figures, Karl Marx and the Marx Brothers. Given the sense of humour, the reviews of the two films were not that positive. But their purpose was precisely to reconsider the very definition of political cinema. While becoming aware that one cannot turn concepts into images so easily, Godard and Gorin broke free of the vertical diagram they once found in theory, and dove into militant struggles in a more physical and human way. They thus avoided one of the most frequent pitfalls of the militant films of their time: didacticism, which often widens the gap between the filmmakers and their target audience. Not only can humour be seen as a more natural language to be heard by people of the lower class, but it also represents a specific mode of discourse that requires a fairer relationship between the author and the spectator. The way Godard and Gorin offer their interpretation of the burlesque tradition (self-portraits as idiots, fancy dresses, sketches, regional accents, ridiculous gestures, absurdist humour, etc.) enlightens their cinematic practice in agreement with a principle of self-mockery that can be seen as Marxist. On a more figurative level, humour is the ultimate agent of their cinematographic policy. It denigrates the powerful, by putting the accent on their bodily structure, and sets up the proficiency of the weak, by offering them a place and a function in the social space. Thus the idea of being “a Marxist of the Groucho variety” is not only a famous May ’68 witticism, it is also the formula of an ambitious aesthetic program: the development of a discursively and formally democratic cinema.https://journals.openedition.org/map/2323political cinemaMay 68Dziga Vertov groupJean-Luc Godardhumour |
| spellingShingle | Raphaël Jaudon Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » Mise au Point political cinema May 68 Dziga Vertov group Jean-Luc Godard humour |
| title | Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » |
| title_full | Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » |
| title_fullStr | Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » |
| title_full_unstemmed | Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » |
| title_short | Godard et Gorin, marxistes « tendance Groucho » |
| title_sort | godard et gorin marxistes tendance groucho |
| topic | political cinema May 68 Dziga Vertov group Jean-Luc Godard humour |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/map/2323 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raphaeljaudon godardetgorinmarxistestendancegroucho |