Power, command and violence in von Trier’s Manderlay. A political and philosophical analysis of pseudo-democracies.

Authors

  • Sara Marino King's College London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2016.132

Keywords:

von Trier, Manderlay, violence, power, democracy, citizenship

Abstract

Alabama, 1933. A caravan of limousines carrying gangsters arrives in Manderlay, a small village where slavery still exists as an institution. Mam (Lauren Bacall) rules the plantation assisted by her foreman Wilhelm (Danny Glover), a slave who believes his people are not ready for the responsibilities of freedom. Driving up to the gates of the plantation, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) declares that the slaves must be informed how to enjoy freedom and thus becoming good citizens. Drawing on a textual and visual analysis of Manderlay, the article explores how democracy arises from the exercise of violence and power, as well as the inability of Western societies to deal with the dogma of difference.  

Author Biography

Sara Marino, King's College London

Dr Sara Marino is a Teaching Fellow in Digital Culture at the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London.  She holds a PhD in Communication Science from the University of Urbino (Italy), where she worked on digital media and diaspora.

She previously worked as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster, and as Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts.

Her main research focuses on the social understanding and analysis of digital diasporas from a political economy perspective that seeks to explore how the socio-economic European scenario has affected intra-European migration. More recently, she became interested in the study of borders and transit zones, especially in relation to the refugee crisis and to the idea of Fortress Europe.  She also writes about issues of power and violence in cinema and reality television. 

References

Author. L’ebbrezza del potere. Vittime e persecutori. Verona: Ombre Corte, 2009.

Author. “The Role Of The Refugee And The Impact Of Fragmented Identities In Diasporic Filmmakers. A Review Of Dogville By Lars von Trier.” CineJ Cinema Journal 3, no. 1 (2013): 107-125.

Benjamin, Walter. “Critique of Violence.” In Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings Volume 1,1913-1926, edited by Marcus Bullock and Michael W. Jennings. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

Brighenti, Andrea Mubi, and Alessandro Castelli. “Foundations: Dogville to Manderlay.” In La violenza allo specchio, edited by Pierpaolo Antonello. Massa: Transeuropa, 2009.

Canetti, Elias. Crowds and power. New York: Seabury Press, 1962.

Clastres, Pierre. Society Against the State. Essays in Political Anthropology. New York: Zone Books, 1989.

Collier, Paul. Wars, Guns, and Votes. London and New York: Harper Collins, 2009.

De Simone, Antonio, Accarino, Bruno, and Luigi Alfieri. Diritto, giustizia e logiche del dominio, Perugia: Morlacchi, 2007.

Denny, David. “Signifying Grace: a reading of Lars Von Trier’s Dogville.” International Journal of Žižek Studies 1, no. 3 (2007).

Derdzinski, Joseph. “Rapid Urban Settlement, Violence, and the Democratizing State: Toward an Understanding?” USAF Institute for National Security Studies Research Report Series (2007) http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a540748.pdf

Diamond, Larry. Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Fitzpatrick, Peter, and Patricia Tuitt. Critical Beings: Law, Nation and the Global Subject. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004.

Gehlen, Arnold. Man, his nature and place in the world. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.

Girard, René. Violence and the Sacred. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977.

Girard, René. The Scapegoat. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.

Girard, René. Things Hidden since the Foundation of The World. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987.

Harsin, Jayson. “Von Trier’s Brechtian Gamble: On Manderlay.” Bright Lights Film Journal 51 (2006) http://brightslights.com/51/manderlay.htm

Hawksley, Humphrey. Democracy Kills. London: Macmillan, 2009.

Keane, John. Violence and Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Keane, John. “Does Democracy Have a Violent Heart?” In War, Democracy and Culture in Classical Athens, edited by David Pritchard, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Koutsourakis, Angelos. Politics as Form in Lars von Trier: A Post-Brechtian Reading. New York and London: Bloomsbury, 2013.

Levi, Primo. The drowned and the saved. New York: Summit Books, 1988.

Lloyd, Vincent. The Problem with Grace‬: ‪Reconfiguring Political Theology. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011.

Mann, Michael. T‪he Dark Side of Democracy‬: ‪Explaining Ethnic Cleansing‬. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Morgenthau, Hans. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.

Muller, Jerry. Conservatism: An Anthology of Social and Political Thought. Princeton University Press, 1997.

Scott, Kyle. “A Girardian Critique of the Liberal Democratic Peace Theory.” Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture 15, no. 18 (2008): 45-62.

Tharoor, Shashi. “Are Human Rights Universal?” World Policy Journal 16, no. 4 (1999/2000):1-6.

Downloads

Published

2016-10-11

How to Cite

Marino, S. (2016). Power, command and violence in von Trier’s Manderlay. A political and philosophical analysis of pseudo-democracies. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 5(2), 4–27. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2016.132

Issue

Section

Articles