Group psychology and the mobilisatory spectacle
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20156066 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carol Steinberg (University of the Witwatersrand), Nicola Galombik (New York University) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 87-104 |
| Publication date | 1990-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Literary Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0256-4718 • E-ISSN: 1753-5387 |
| Publisher | Unisa Press (PUBLISHER • ZA) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02564719008529935 |
| OpenAlex | W1968879975 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 3 |
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 propagandistic 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
Aesthetics · Art · Aside · Conviction · Literature · Nazism · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spectacle · Law · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1990 - 1990 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |