Order, Disobedience and Power in Kieslowski’s Dekalog

Authors

  • Janet Barış Nisantasi University Faculty of Art Radio-TV Cinema Department

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2018.199

Keywords:

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Ten Commandments, Obedience, Dekalog, Decalogues

Abstract

The Dekalog series, comprised of ten films made by Kieslowski in 1989-90 for the Polish TV, inspired by the Ten Commandments (Decalogues) in the Torah, treats the goodness and innocence of human beings, as well as the evilness and anxiety. Generally, as a common element in all films of the series, appears the triangle of order-submission-disobedience and the power field becomes a tide moving back and forth between different characters. According to Foucault, power is perceived differently today, compared to the past. In the earlier times, power was perceived to be the rulership of a king over its subjects, while today, different types of power exist. Foucault argues that the punishment directed towards the body before is now directed to the soul. The discourse in the Ten Commandments that directs people what to do and what not overlaps the Foucauldian definition of power and the punishment of the soul. This phenomenon appears in every film of the series differently, through the characters and the plot. This article’s objective is to examine Kieslowski’s Dekalog series through the relationship between order, submission and power, and to discuss the effects of this relationship over the characters.

Author Biography

Janet Barış, Nisantasi University Faculty of Art Radio-TV Cinema Department

She was born in 1982. She graduated Istanbul University in 2004. Same year she was accepted to master program in Communication Science at the University of Marmara, Faculty of Communication. She graduated from the master program in 2006 with “Cinematic Object and the Power Of Observation” thesis. Her articles based on film/director analysis and critic reviews/commentaries have been published in many magazines. She took her PHD degree with “Contemporary Turkish Cinema and Melancholy” thesis in August 2013. She has been a member of SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association) since May 2008. She is currently teaching at Nisantasi University Faculty of Art as an Assistant Professor.

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Published

2018-12-21

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2018): Spring 2018

Section

Articles

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