El Cid and Kracauer’s Mass Ornament :: Medievalism Kracauer Film Cinema Movies

The numerous historical films that merely illustrate the pastargon attempts at deception according to their own terms.Since one always runs the danger, when pictorial representation currentevents, of turning easily excitable fixes against powerfulinstitutions that atomic number 18 in fact often not appealing, one prefers todirect the photographic camera towards a Middle Ages that the audiencewill find harmlessly edifying. The nurture back the story issituated historically, the more audacious filmmakers fit. They will seek depicting a successful revolution inhistorical costumes in order to induce people to forgetmodern revolutions, and they are adroit to satisfy thetheoretical sense of justice by filming struggles for granting immunitythat are long past.1Kracauers analysis of the historical film culminates in a dismissal ofhistorical, and thereby factual, efficacy. In this circumstance, the period piece stubassume an earlier time frame as a breathing out from the burden of accuracy ratherthan an acceptance of it. Academic records indicate that El Cid (dir. AnthonyMann, 1961) ignores much of Rodrigo Daz de Bivars factual exploits as awarrior for hire, fighting more often for compensation than any religious or moralcertitude. Why, then, was this characters story so appealing as a platform for ahistorical epic film? El Cids historical ambivalence suggests that its story is more fittingly detailed for potential aesthetic achievement than realism.Kracauer begins describing the aesthetic condition of the mass ornamentas a reference to the Tiller Girls, a doing group based on visual uniformity.He focuses on their writ of execution of emulation and repetition, done which theyare no longer individual girls, still indissoluble girl clusters whose movements aredemonstrations of mathematics.... One need only regard at the screen to learnthat the ornaments are composed of thousands of bodies, sexless bodies inbathing suits. The regularity of their patterns is cheered by the masses,1 This passage is taken from Siegfried Kracauers essay The Little Shopgirls Go to the Movies.themselves arranged by the stands in layer upon ordered tier.2 Already, there isan allegory bridging this performance art with the cinema. The masses areclearly the films intended audience gathered in a theater, which composes themodern medium for the cinematic ornament.The films actors become the performative aspect of this equation, whereintheir acting and involvement in a character role, no matter how important, ismeager and unnecessary without the remainder of the operative whole. The filmopens with a revelatory glance at this phenomenon, as Rodrigo carries a crossthrough an empty landscape. In retrospect, his great battles and leadership areabstract and uneffective without the massive army of followers. As the stand-inChrist figure, he showcases the absence seizure of the epics ornament a solitary figure,