Group psychology and the mobilisatory spectacle

Authors

Abstract

Theatrical and cinematic texts produced specifically for the purpose of furthering particular political ends are often dismissed as propagandistic: morally reprehensible and not worthy of academic enquiry. It Is, however, only when moral attitudes towards propaganda are put aside that the sophisticated aesthetic mechanisms and the political power of propagan• distic theatre and film can be fully explored. This paper contends that Freud's account of group psychology provides a useful and revelatory means of understanding the way in which film and theatre can function via suggestion and hypnosis, rather than rational instruction, to produce conviction in the viewer.
Through an application of Freud's group psychology model to the poetry/performances of Mzwakhe Mbuli, the South African "Peoples' Poet", and Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the will, a film commissioned by the Nazis, this paper hopes to demonstrate how theatre and film can function to mobilise audiences.

 

Opsomming

Teater· en filmtekste wat spesifiek met die oog op die bevordering van politieke doelwitte geproduseer word, word dikwels afgeskryf as propagandisties: moreel afkeurenswaardig en nie akademiese ondersoek waardig nie. Dit is egter slegs wanneer morale houdings teenoor propaganda tersyde gestel word dat die gesofistikeerde estetiese meganismes en die politiese mag van propagandistiese teater en film ten volle ondersoek kan word. Hierdie artikel voer aan dat Freud se weergawe van groeppsigologie 'n bruikbare en openbarende begrip verskaf van die wyse waarop film en teater via suggestie en hipose, eerder as rasionele instruksie, kan funsioneer ten einde die toeskouer te oortuig.
Deur 'n toepassing van Freud se model van groeppsigologie op die poesie/opvoerings van Mzwakhe Mbuli (Suid-Afrika se "Peoples' Poet") en Leni Riefenstahl se Triumph ·of the will ('n film vervaardig in opdrag van die Nazis) hoop hierdie artikel om te demonstreer hoe teater en film kan funksioneer om die gehore te mobiliseer.

Author Biographies

Carol Steinberg, University of the Witwatersrand

Carol Steinberg is a lecturer at the School of Dramatic Art at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is an executive member of the Performing Arts Workers Equity (PA WE). She works in the theatre and is involved in documentary film-making. She is currently researching alternative models for state funded theatre in South Africa.

Nicola Galombik, New York University

Nicola Galombik is currently reading an M.A. in Cinema Studies at New York University. She is a member of the Film and Allied Workers Organisation (FAWO). She is involved in documentary film-making. She researches South African film and documentary and alternative models for broadcasting in South Africa.

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Published

1990-06-01

How to Cite

Steinberg, Carol, and Nicola Galombik. 1990. “Group Psychology and the Mobilisatory Spectacle ”. Journal of Literary Studies 6 (1/2):18 pages. https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/jls/article/view/18924.

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1/2 (1990)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 1990 Carol Steinberg, Nicola Galombik

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