Brecht enlargement
Of all the figures in 20th century drama and literature, none seems to capture my imagination as much as Bertholt Brecht. His poetry and plays are continually translated, printed, and performed; the techniques he employed in search of the elusive Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect) are so deeply ingrained in stage and film they seem like second nature - nobody broke the fourth wall and spoke to the audience before Brecht thought it a good idea.
His notion of a critical look at drama as a representation of reality, without the suspension of disbelief, speaks right to the core of how I view much of the world. Hell, even the name of this blog is hopelessly Brechtian.
Anyway, Brecht isn't a name that's bandied about these days outside the realm of the Actor's Studio, and that's a shame. So you can imagine my surprise when no less than The Hollywood Reporter evoked the name of der Meister - and correctly - in its review of Kevin Spacey's new movie, Beyond the Sea:
Anyway, I think it's cool that Spacey makes use of Brechtian framing (and Spacey - a theatre guy if there ever was one, knows just what he's doing) in telling the story of Bobby Darin - and that The Hollywood Reporter knew enough to point it out. I wonder if anyone's considered this interesting coincidence: Darin's biggest song was, of course, "Mack the Knife," from The Threepenny Opera - which was written in 1928, with music by Kurt Weill and libretto by - you guessed it - Bertholt Brecht. Every cover of Mack the Knife - it's one of the most often recorded songs in the history of music - is credited to Weill/Brecht.
How meta is that? The sensation you're feeling as you search for thie answer is classic Verfremdungseffekt.
Look out ol' Brecht is back!
His notion of a critical look at drama as a representation of reality, without the suspension of disbelief, speaks right to the core of how I view much of the world. Hell, even the name of this blog is hopelessly Brechtian.
Anyway, Brecht isn't a name that's bandied about these days outside the realm of the Actor's Studio, and that's a shame. So you can imagine my surprise when no less than The Hollywood Reporter evoked the name of der Meister - and correctly - in its review of Kevin Spacey's new movie, Beyond the Sea:
We may be witnessing the evolution of a new kind of biopic, beginning with the premieres in Cannes this year of films about Cole Porter ("De-Lovely") and Peter Sellers ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"), which in a Brechtian menage of fantasy, reality and make believe the subject views his life as a show played out on a stage or film set. If so, then "Beyond the Sea" is its first masterwork.I have yet to see Spacey's movie, but I did watch the The Life and Death of Peter Sellers on HBO. It's a well done, but odd film - and yes, thoroughly Brechtian. Sellers often pauses so that Geoffrey Rush, as Sellers, stops the "film" to comment on the action. A harrowing scene during which Seller's wife (Emily Watson) confronts and leaves him, is immediately (and brillianly) followed by a scene where Sellers, dressed as his wife, redubs her lines so that the dialog better fits his psyche. You can almost hear Brecht, just off camera, whispering "Glotzt nicht so romantisch!" to both Rush and the audience.
Anyway, I think it's cool that Spacey makes use of Brechtian framing (and Spacey - a theatre guy if there ever was one, knows just what he's doing) in telling the story of Bobby Darin - and that The Hollywood Reporter knew enough to point it out. I wonder if anyone's considered this interesting coincidence: Darin's biggest song was, of course, "Mack the Knife," from The Threepenny Opera - which was written in 1928, with music by Kurt Weill and libretto by - you guessed it - Bertholt Brecht. Every cover of Mack the Knife - it's one of the most often recorded songs in the history of music - is credited to Weill/Brecht.
How meta is that? The sensation you're feeling as you search for thie answer is classic Verfremdungseffekt.
Look out ol' Brecht is back!
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