Phenomenology, Classical Indian Theories and Embodiment in Cinema Gopalan Mullik Degree of ...

415 Pages·2017·3.42 MB·English

by  Gopalan Mullik

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PhD

Cinema and Wild Meaning:
Phenomenology, Classical Indian Theories and Embodiment
in Cinema

Gopalan Mullik

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
University of East Anglia
School of Film, Television and Media Studies

2015
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Dedication
Prof. Asish Kumar Basu
Who Taught Me to Love Theories
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Table of Contents

1. Title 1
2. Dedication 2
3. Table of Contents 3
4. List of Illustrations, Figures, and Images 7
5. Acknowledgment 8
6. Abstract 10
7. Preface 13
8. Introduction 16
9. Chapter 1: Cinema and Sensuality: 53
Limitations of Existing Film Discourse and New Possibilities
Limitation of Film Theories: Inability to Comprehend Film Sensations 55
Classical Film Theory 56
Contemporary Film Theory 61
Cognitive Film Theory 67
Rediscovering Film Sensations in Early Cinema 71
New Possibilities: Presenting “Piecemeal” Theories 75
Phenomenology 77
Classical Indian Theories 79
10. Chapter 2: Cinema and Embodiment: 89
Merleau-Ponty‟s Theory of Existential Phenomenology
Illustration 1: The Phenomenological Concepts 91
Part 1: The Phenomenological Journey from Husserl to Merleau-Ponty 92
Edmund Husserl‟s Phenomenology 93
Martin Heidegger‟s Phenomenology 98
Maurice Merleau-Ponty‟s Existential Phenomenology 100
Lakoff and Johnson‟s Analysis of Merleau-Pontian Phenomenology 103
Is Merleau-Ponty a “Theorist”? 107
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Part 2: Applying Merleau-Ponty‟s Phenomenology to Cinema 109
Embodied Phenomenological Sense in Cinema 111
Constructing Phenomenological Space and Time in Cinema 114
Vision-Touch Equivalence in Cinema: Synesthetic Perception 116
Explaining Haptic Visuality in Cinema 117
Subjective-Objective Transformation: The Notion of Chiasm 120
Explaining Shot-Counter Shot in Cinema 122
11. Chapter 3: Cinema and Perception: Nyāya Theory of Pratyakṣa 133
Perception in Contemporary Science 137
Illustration 2: Concepts in Nyāya Theory of Perception 140
Part 1: Ontology and Epistemology of Nyāya Theory of Perception 141
Historically Situating Nyāya 141
Illustration 3: Genealogy of Classical Indian Theories 143
Nyāya Ontology 144
Nyāya Epistemology of Perception 147
Perceptual Knowledge: “Mode of Appearance” 148
The Concept of “Universals” in Nyāya Theory of Perception 153
Mode of Appearance acting as the “Limitor” of Meanings 158
Figure 1: Makara 159
Figure 2: Pārvatī 160
Figure 3: Chamunda 160
Figure 4: Chamunda (in relief) 160
Figure 5: The Thinker 161
Figure 6: The Kiss 161
Formation of Bogus “Universals” in Perception 162
Perceptual Knowledge: “Mode of Presentation” 163
“Embodied Sense” in the Perceiver 164
Perception and Compositional Principles in Indian Art 173
Part 2: Applying Nyāya Theory of Perception to Read Visual Images 177
Image 1: Madhuri and Books – Normal Angle View 177
Image 2: Madhuri and Books – Low angle View 179
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Image 3: Madhuri and Books – Top Angle View 181
Influence of Normative Values in Understanding Images 182
Image 4: Freud in his Study 183
Image 5: Tagore in his Study 183
Applying Nyāya Theory of Perception to Cinema 184
Expalining Continuity and Montage Practices in Cinema 184
Perceiving „Absence‟ in Cinema 187
Nyāya Notion of Visual Synesthesia and its Application to Cinema 189
12. Chapter 4: Cinema and Identification: Bharata‟s Theory of Rasa 197
Illustration 4: Concepts in Bharata‟s Theory of Aesthetic Expereince (Rasa) 201
Western Notions of Audience Identification in Cinema 202
Part 1: Levels of Audience Identification in Bharata‟s Theory 208
Identification with the Fictional Mode 211
Affective Identification with the Perceptual-Cognitive Mode 214
Evocation of a Creesponding Affective State 215
Sympathetic Identification with the Narrative Mode 222
Sympathetic Identification with the Action Mode 224
Empathic Identification with the Focus of the Artwork 227
POV Identification in Cinema: The Indian Argument 228
Part 2: Narrative Structure and the Production of Aesthetic Pleasure 230
Bharata‟s Theory of Extended Action 230
Nature of Aesthetic Experience or Rasa in Bharata‟s Theory 236
Aesthetic Relish 236
Aesthetic Saturation 239
Aesthetic Immersion 240
Intrusion of Reality into Fiction 245
Abhinava‟s List of „Obstacles‟ to Aesthetic Pleasure 248
Subjective-Objective Alteration in Bharata‟s Theory 250
Application to Art-forms including Cinema 251
13. Chapter 5: Cinema and Suggestion: Ānandavardhana‟s Theory of Dhvani 257
Suggestion in Western Thought 259
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Illustration 5: Concepts in Ānandavardhana‟s Theory of Suggestion (Dhvani) 262
Part 1: Suggestion in Indian Thought and its Role in „Arts‟ 263
The Notion of „Art‟ in Indian Tradition 266
„Art‟ as Comparison: Insight from Dhvani Theory 268
Ānanda‟s Classification of Dhvani Modes of Expression 269
Vastudhvani: Suggestion in the Realistic Mode 270
Alaṅkāradhvani: Suggestion in the Formalistic Mode 271
Rasadhvani: Suggestion in the Direct Mode 273
Part 2: Dhvani as Means of Restoring „Full‟ Subjectivity 275
Vastudhvani: Negotiating Social Repression 275
Alaṅkāradhvani: Negotiating Trauma 280
Rasadhvani: Negotiating Archetypal Experiences 283
Dhvani and Lacan‟s Post-Structural Thought 284
Illustration 6: Principles of Knowledge in Classical Indian Theories 286
14. Chapter 6: Cinema and Alternate Methodology: 291
A Case for “Piecemeal” Theorizing and “Local” Solutions
Gaps in the Exisitng Methodology for Understanding Cinema 294
What does “Alternate Methodology” Offer? 295
Phenomenological Experience 295
Classical Indian Theories 297
15. Conclusion 303
16. Annexures
Annexure 1 – Nyāya Ontology 315
Annexure 2 – Interview: Moinak Biswas, Film Scholar & Filmmaker 325
Annexure 3 – Interview: Amita Chatterjee, Nyāya Scholar 339
Annexure 4 – Interview: Suman Mukhopadhyay, Dramatist-Filmmaker 354
Annexure 5 – Interview: Samik Bandopadhyaya, Marxist Art Scholar 367
Annexure 6 – Interview: Ashish Avikunthak, Independent Filmmaker
& Filmmaking Faculty 388
Annexure 7 – Interview: Soumitra Chatterjee, Dramatist-Film Actor 393
17. Bibliography 402
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List of Illustrations, Figures, and Images
Illustrations
1. Illustration 1: The Phenomenological Concepts 91
2. Illustration 2: Concepts in the Nyāya Theory of Perception 140
3. Illustration 3: Genealogy of Classical Indian Theories 143
4. Illustration 4: Concepts in Bharata‟s Theory of Rasa 201
5. Illustration 5: Concepts in Ānandavardhana‟s Theory of Dhvani 262
6. Illustration 6: Principles of Knowledge in Classical Indian Theories 286
Figures
7. Figure 1: Makara 159
8. Figure 2: Pārvatī 160
9. Figure 3: Chamunda 160
10. Figure 4: Chamunda (in relief) 160
11. Figure 5: The Thinker 161
12. Figure 6: The Kiss 161
Images
13. Image 1: Madhuri and Books – Normal Angle View 177
14. Image 2: Madhuri and Books – Low Angle View 179
15. Image 3: Madhuri and Books – Top Angle View 181
16. Image 4: Freud in his Study 183
17. Image 5: Tagore in his Study 183

(It is confirmed that none of the above Images attract Copyright Laws)
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Acknowledgment

It is my pleasure and my privilege to thank those who have made this research possible.
At the outset, I owe my deepest gratitude to my primary supervisor, Dr. Daniel J. Rycroft,
for his untiring support and guidance from day one to the final stages of this work. His
faith in my research was infectious which pushed me even during times when my own
faith had wavered. In the absence of his detailed comments on the draft chapters, in the
light of which I kept reformulating my chapters, this work would have suffered
enormously. His advice to include phenomenological theories as part of my research
profoundly influenced my understanding of the way classical Indian theories worked, an
insight which made the work not only a pleasure to pursue but also made it attain levels
that I had not imagined possible initially. His suggestion that I take interviews of
significant practitioners of the field in India, a departure from the conventional practice of
interviewing Western experts in a modern art-form like cinema, generated insights that
immensely clarified my subject matter. Since these interviews occupy a central position
in my research, their influence having been detailed in the Preface of my thesis. Dr.
Rycroft is the finest supervisor a PhD student can ever ask for. I thank him from the core
of my heart for what he has done for me. I also thank my second supervisor, Prof. Mark
Jancovich, for the clarity he brought to the formal organization of the subject matter. His
advice and his anecdotes, drawn from his wide experience in the line, have constantly
warned me of the possible pitfalls on the way. I consider myself singularly lucky in
having them as my guides during my research years.
My sincere thanks and gratitude to Rev. Dr. S. J. Felix Raj, SJ, The Principal, St.
Xavier‟s College, Kolkata - an Institute I take much pride in being a part of - but for
whose extra-ordinary efforts, funds would not have been available for my research. His
kind intervention came when I had no other option left but to return empty-handed to
India. In this connection, I also sincerely thank The Mittal Foundation in London and the
persons who rendered timely support to me, Sudhir Maheswari and his colleagues, Rajan
Tandon and Sajan Agrawal. The first person to provide me moral and financial support
was Pallab Kumar Bhattacharjee, who is not only a close relation but also a friend, to
whom I remain deeply obliged for having started me on this long journey. I am also
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deeply indebted to my St. Xavier‟s colleague, Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, for not
only believing in me but also helping me financially whenever she could. My colleague
from my days in the government service, Subroto Das, unhesitatingly helped me not only
morally but also financially in the last phase of my work. During moments of extreme
crisis, Y. Radhika, whom I am privileged to have as a friend, not only gave me her
unstinted moral support but also generously helped me with funds to tide over critical
moments. But for her timely support, both the beginning and the end of my stint at UK
would have remained uncertain.
My family, consisting of my wife Sabari, my son Basab, and his wife Mum have
acted as beacons of light in supporting this project. But for their emotional and moral
support, my long cherished aim of applying classical Indian theories to cinema would
have remained a distant dream. Indeed, I am proud to have them as my family. I sincerely
hope that their faith in me have been vindicated with the finishing of this work.
I will like to thank the PGR office separately, especially Lyn Marsh and Clare
Thornett, who have untiringly provided clarifications and advice to innumerable queries
that I had for them. I am really grateful that they did this smilingly, never even asking me
once why I was bothering them so much when all the information was easily available on
the net! PGR office has reinforced my conviction that it is ultimately the human contact
which makes the world worth living for all of us.
I would conclude my thanks with Fr. Gaston Roberge who taught me to love
cinema. I have been associated with him both at Chitrabani, where I learnt cinema, and at
St. Xavier‟s College, where I taught cinema. I remain ever grateful to him for opening a
new window for me to view the world.
In the end, I would like to dedicate this work to my teacher, Prof. Asish Kumar
Basu. It is said that teachers can transform the lives of their students. I am lucky that Prof.
Basu has been one such source of light in my life. However, while the inspiration to
undertake academic pursuits has always been his, the responsibility for interpreting and
applying these theoris to cinema, with all its blemishes, remains entirely mine.
____________________
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Abstract
The aim of this project has been to explore the possibility of applying Phenomenology
and Classical Indian Theories to cinema with the hope that their systematic application
would generate new insights in a deeper understanding of cinema. This need has been felt
in the context of the existing film discourse having reached a stage of stagnation, even a
“crisis”, in recent times. The reason for this moribund state of contemporary film
discourse has been analyzed in my thesis as due to the failure of the existing film theories
to incorporate film audiences‟ ordinary experiences of cinema, viz. the romance, the
thrills, and the emotions which motivate them to come to the cinema halls all over the
world. The film theories have failed to acknowledge the importance of this phenomenon
which is built on the audiences‟ embodied experiences of the world and their socio-
cultural practices that have grown on top of them which together form, at the very basic
level, what constitutes the audiences‟ ordinary response to cinema. It has been argued in
this thesis that, while this very basic response of the audiences to cinema has been
entirely by-passed by the existing film theories, they have concentrated instead on how
the audiences should ideally respond to cinema. As a result, the film theories present a
sanitized version of the audience experiences that entirely miss the „gut-feelings‟ that
cinema generates among them.
It is unfortunate that film theorization has progressively moved away from this
experience. Thus, while the schools of realism and montage, which together constitute
the two contrary branches of classical film theory, deal with the nature of reality
underlying the surface reality of cinema, contemporary film theory, based on the notion
of disembodied vision, render the audiences into passive viewers manipulated by a
subversive ideology operated by a schemeing bourgeoisie and cognitive film theory
considers the audiences to be transparently intelligent entities, who, like an ideal buyer,
infer the film narrative by optimally using the clues provided by the film and respond
appropriately. It has been argued in this work that none of these theories acknowledge the
film audiences‟ normal response to cinema, thereby missing the very starting point from
where theorizations should have started in the first place. When phenomenology and
classical Indian theories are applied to cinema, they do not assign extraordinary powers