"Divine Intervention" as a Realist text
In a world where we are constantly invaded by images that claim to be ‘realistic’ - through film, television, Internet and newspapers - it has become imperative to step back and evaluate its meaning. The meaning of ‘realism’ is a complex and sometimes contradictory one. Moreover, it is important to understand that realism is a product of a specific time, society and culture and therefore evolves and can radically change in different moments of history or in different societies. In relation to realism in art, I think that there is a basic principle that is present in the majority of the Realism Theories: the ambition to understand and expose the underlying social forces of society.
The subject of this essay is the analysis of Divine Intervention, Elia Suleiman’s feature about the daily struggle and difficulties that Palestinians living in Occupied Territories face. In order to achieve this and support the view that Divine Intervention has a plurality of influences, with elements that comply to different realisms and theories, I will have to engage in the analysis of theories like: André Bazin’s ‘Naturalistic’ Realism; Georgé Lukacs and Critical Realism; Bertold Brecht and the Brechtian Realism or so-called Anti-Realism. Moreover, I will also concentrate on Post-modernist ideas and how these influence Divine Intervention.
Post-modernism is a term with an extensive range of meanings. Therefore, it will be necessary to discuss the relevant ones before using them in relation to Divine Intervention. Firstly, Post-modernism conveys a sense of alienation and scepticism: once corner stones of our society fall, and emptiness replaces a valued meaning in life, leaving society in a chaotic loss of direction: what comes next? This is linked to the flaws in long-standing universal values that have been revealed through historical moments in the late 19th century and in the 20th century, particularly during periods like the World War II. These values include science, reason, progress, emancipation and the writing of History itself. This leads to the second point, which is the existence of a sense that everything is constructed - a fabrication by Humans - and thus also subject to major flaws that sooner or later will emerge. This sense of constructiveness and disillusionment is transmitted into art, or in this case film, by the creation of highly fragmented works, and by a recurrent nostalgic re-use and pastiche that are then amalgamated into a discursive and highly conceptual grid of meanings. Thirdly, there is the frequent presence of reflexivity, by which attention is called to the process of creating the works of art in itself. This strategy keeps calling the attention of spectator to the fact that everything is constructed: the work he is watching; what he assumes as real; the world.
Divine Intervention uses many Post-modernist ideas and aesthetics to create this sense of fragmented reality that I will summarise. Firstly, the film does not offer any solutions to the problem it exposes: the Palestinians’ daily life in Occupied Territories. The film has an open-ended plot structure without the creation of a specific and definitive message.
Secondly, it frequently uses references from other clearly identifiable sources, such as artistic works, political figures and religious iconography. Examples of this are the use of a version of the cover song “I Put a Spell on You”, the clear reference to the Matrix in the last IDF scene and the inflation of a balloon with Yesser Arafat smiling on it. These and many other references have a relevance that goes much beyond their textual meaning, such as cultural and political ideologies, and hence create an intricate intertextual network.
Thirdly, the narrative structure is fragmented. There is no arch element that drives the film as a whole, as seen in classic narrative structure. The film is instead based on several sketches and moments that are linked together by the question of how do these people [the Palestinians] experience the daily life in Occupied Territories.
Fourthly, although not very noticeable, I believe that it is significant the existence of reflexivity in the film. Particularly in the scenes where Elia Suleiman’s character and the Woman (Manal Khader) sit side by side in the car, facing the check-point barrier and touching hands. It is important that they not only look at each other, in a shot-reverse-shot structure, but also straight at the camera. Of course it could be argued that the camera is in a subjective position and therefore the characters are actually just looking at each other. However, I would suggest that they tend to look in the direction of the camera: when the camera is in a two-shot position from the front of the car, they both look straight ahead; on the contrary, when the camera is at their side, they bluntly stare at each other and at the audience. This is even clearer when Elia Suleiman inflates Arafat’s balloon and then both he and the balloon look at the camera. For me, this is an obvious example of an authorial comment, pushing the spectator’s attention into questioning who Arafat is, what he represents, and what he is doing for the Palestinian struggle. Furthermore, the fact that Divine Intervention extensively draws on intertextuality and references also sustains this sense of reflexivity. As Robert Stam writes:
“As the negation of ideas of veristic transparency, reflexivity is crucial to both post structuralism and post modernist, both of which share heightened sense of problematized referentialility. Within this context of postmodernism, reflexivity evokes the quotation-like aspects of pastiche art, the hyperreal world of media politics, and the incessant self-consciousness of contemporary television programming, in short the referentless world of the simulacrum, where all of life is always already caught up in mass-mediated representation.”
All these aspects lead to an “immanence of meaning, whereby the spectator has to work out the meaning of the play [or film] of contradictory voices in the text” . This brings me to the issues of spectatorship, which are central in Brechtian Realism. Within this idea, Brecht, similar to reflexivity, suggests the need of rejecting voyeurism and of the “fourth wall convention” . Another strategy to keep the spectator critically engaged and not overwhelmed by the narrative power of the story is the use of what he calls verfremdungselfeckt, i.e. the use of alienation effects that will portray the events not naturalistically, and hence call rational attention upon them. Both these aspects are present in Divine Intervention, being the alienation effects particularly noticeable in scenes like the blowing up of the tank, or the final IDF scene. Moreover, in the film, it is possible to identify other Brechtian Realism elements such as the fact that the film doesn’t construct a ‘totalising aesthetic’, where all elements contribute to the creation of a single message or feeling. Rather it uses image, sound and different narrative sub-plots to create a plurality of messages. Also Brechtian, is the fact that Elia Suleiman’s character, the nearest the film offers to a traditional character, is in effect a contradiction of the ‘typical’ character – he is an individual without any specific goal; a character without purpose, who dwells in a meaningless existence. Finally, the key aspect in Brechtian Realism which is clearly present throughout the film, is that works of art should strive to expose the casual network that underlines and controls the social and cultural mechanisms.
This desire to uncover, through some kind of ‘realism’, a truth about the power mechanisms of society, is similarly present in Lukacsian Realism. However, this is not the only element in Divine Intervention that can be pointed as suggesting a Critical Realist influence. I think that the film can be seen as having a kind of intensive totality. In other words, the geographical, social and historical limited frame where the action takes place, allows the film to give space to an analysis of the social forces operating within this context. Besides, this also permits the exploration of several points of view, and hence offers a dialectical reading, which represents another key element of Lukacsian theory. Finally, I think that despite not offering an alternative solution for the conflict present in the film, as would be expected in Lukacsian Realism, the film does offer an alternative in terms of attitude towards such conflict. The film through the posture of Elia Suleiman’s character, suggests that determination led by reason is the central attitude that Palestinians should assume. Even in the last scene when the Woman fights the IDF agents, it is crucial that she does not attack them; she is attacked and only defends herself. J. Hoberman writes:
“(…) she comes to life, rises whirling into the air, makes a halo of their bullets, and protected by a shield in the shape of Palestine, turns unstoppable ninja – a David to their collective Goliath who turns their weapons back on them”.
Elia Suleiman himself sees the film as a meditation on the Palestinian situation, “I hope it [Divine Intervention] is a meditative image that is free for interpretation.” There is a generalized sense of people waiting for something to happen, something to change, even in the weirdest of situations, like the Police van that, despite having a prisoner inside, is casually parked in the corner of the street; or the fact that Elia Suleiman and the Woman sit in the car for hours without anything happening. The camera itself assumes a contemplative and meditative position, with long-shots where very little action happens, or on the other extreme, where actions are performed repetitively, suggesting a lack of purpose in the characters’ lives and at the same time an alienation with reality. Each one lives in a closed, sometimes schizophrenic world, and communication between characters is almost non-existent.
This leads me to Bazin’s theory on Realism and specifically his idea that film can work as an indexation of pro-filmic events. In other words, the film medium has the ability to capture some kind of truth of the reality that was in front of the camera. In this sense, bearing in mind the prominent relevance of the Palestinian situation, through the use of the ‘contemplative camera’ to portray contemplative and purposefulness characters, I think that Divine Intervention can be seen as being an indexation of pro-filmic events.
In conclusion, Divine Intervention can be seen as using a vast multiplicity of aesthetical and ideological approaches, such as Post-modernism, Brechtian Realism and also minor elements of other realisms, like Lukács’ Realism and Bazin’s Realism. All these converge into the construction of Divine Intervention. Hence, if Realism is the ability to portray the complexities, paradoxes and derangements of the Palestinian and Israeli situation, then, I believe that the Divine Intervention succeeds in conveying it.
Bibliography:
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.1; University of California Press, 1972.
• Fahim, Kareem; Stateless cinema: Palestinian film and oscar eligibility, in Village Voice [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0304,fahim2,41328,20.html]
Hallam, Julia and Marchment, Margaret; Revisioning history: realism and politics in Realism and Popular Cinema; Manchester University Press, 2000.
• Hoberman, J.; God on our side, in Village Voice [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0303,hoberman,41149,20.html]
• Lukács, Georg; Writer and Critic; Merlin Books, 1978.
• Stam, Robert; Film Theory: An Introduction; Blackwell, 2000.
• Stam, Robert; Film and Theory: An Anthology; Blackwell, 2000.
• Williams, Raymond; ‘Naturalism’ & ‘‘realism’’, in Keywords; Fontana, 1976.
The subject of this essay is the analysis of Divine Intervention, Elia Suleiman’s feature about the daily struggle and difficulties that Palestinians living in Occupied Territories face. In order to achieve this and support the view that Divine Intervention has a plurality of influences, with elements that comply to different realisms and theories, I will have to engage in the analysis of theories like: André Bazin’s ‘Naturalistic’ Realism; Georgé Lukacs and Critical Realism; Bertold Brecht and the Brechtian Realism or so-called Anti-Realism. Moreover, I will also concentrate on Post-modernist ideas and how these influence Divine Intervention.
Post-modernism is a term with an extensive range of meanings. Therefore, it will be necessary to discuss the relevant ones before using them in relation to Divine Intervention. Firstly, Post-modernism conveys a sense of alienation and scepticism: once corner stones of our society fall, and emptiness replaces a valued meaning in life, leaving society in a chaotic loss of direction: what comes next? This is linked to the flaws in long-standing universal values that have been revealed through historical moments in the late 19th century and in the 20th century, particularly during periods like the World War II. These values include science, reason, progress, emancipation and the writing of History itself. This leads to the second point, which is the existence of a sense that everything is constructed - a fabrication by Humans - and thus also subject to major flaws that sooner or later will emerge. This sense of constructiveness and disillusionment is transmitted into art, or in this case film, by the creation of highly fragmented works, and by a recurrent nostalgic re-use and pastiche that are then amalgamated into a discursive and highly conceptual grid of meanings. Thirdly, there is the frequent presence of reflexivity, by which attention is called to the process of creating the works of art in itself. This strategy keeps calling the attention of spectator to the fact that everything is constructed: the work he is watching; what he assumes as real; the world.
Divine Intervention uses many Post-modernist ideas and aesthetics to create this sense of fragmented reality that I will summarise. Firstly, the film does not offer any solutions to the problem it exposes: the Palestinians’ daily life in Occupied Territories. The film has an open-ended plot structure without the creation of a specific and definitive message.
Secondly, it frequently uses references from other clearly identifiable sources, such as artistic works, political figures and religious iconography. Examples of this are the use of a version of the cover song “I Put a Spell on You”, the clear reference to the Matrix in the last IDF scene and the inflation of a balloon with Yesser Arafat smiling on it. These and many other references have a relevance that goes much beyond their textual meaning, such as cultural and political ideologies, and hence create an intricate intertextual network.
Thirdly, the narrative structure is fragmented. There is no arch element that drives the film as a whole, as seen in classic narrative structure. The film is instead based on several sketches and moments that are linked together by the question of how do these people [the Palestinians] experience the daily life in Occupied Territories.
Fourthly, although not very noticeable, I believe that it is significant the existence of reflexivity in the film. Particularly in the scenes where Elia Suleiman’s character and the Woman (Manal Khader) sit side by side in the car, facing the check-point barrier and touching hands. It is important that they not only look at each other, in a shot-reverse-shot structure, but also straight at the camera. Of course it could be argued that the camera is in a subjective position and therefore the characters are actually just looking at each other. However, I would suggest that they tend to look in the direction of the camera: when the camera is in a two-shot position from the front of the car, they both look straight ahead; on the contrary, when the camera is at their side, they bluntly stare at each other and at the audience. This is even clearer when Elia Suleiman inflates Arafat’s balloon and then both he and the balloon look at the camera. For me, this is an obvious example of an authorial comment, pushing the spectator’s attention into questioning who Arafat is, what he represents, and what he is doing for the Palestinian struggle. Furthermore, the fact that Divine Intervention extensively draws on intertextuality and references also sustains this sense of reflexivity. As Robert Stam writes:
“As the negation of ideas of veristic transparency, reflexivity is crucial to both post structuralism and post modernist, both of which share heightened sense of problematized referentialility. Within this context of postmodernism, reflexivity evokes the quotation-like aspects of pastiche art, the hyperreal world of media politics, and the incessant self-consciousness of contemporary television programming, in short the referentless world of the simulacrum, where all of life is always already caught up in mass-mediated representation.”
All these aspects lead to an “immanence of meaning, whereby the spectator has to work out the meaning of the play [or film] of contradictory voices in the text” . This brings me to the issues of spectatorship, which are central in Brechtian Realism. Within this idea, Brecht, similar to reflexivity, suggests the need of rejecting voyeurism and of the “fourth wall convention” . Another strategy to keep the spectator critically engaged and not overwhelmed by the narrative power of the story is the use of what he calls verfremdungselfeckt, i.e. the use of alienation effects that will portray the events not naturalistically, and hence call rational attention upon them. Both these aspects are present in Divine Intervention, being the alienation effects particularly noticeable in scenes like the blowing up of the tank, or the final IDF scene. Moreover, in the film, it is possible to identify other Brechtian Realism elements such as the fact that the film doesn’t construct a ‘totalising aesthetic’, where all elements contribute to the creation of a single message or feeling. Rather it uses image, sound and different narrative sub-plots to create a plurality of messages. Also Brechtian, is the fact that Elia Suleiman’s character, the nearest the film offers to a traditional character, is in effect a contradiction of the ‘typical’ character – he is an individual without any specific goal; a character without purpose, who dwells in a meaningless existence. Finally, the key aspect in Brechtian Realism which is clearly present throughout the film, is that works of art should strive to expose the casual network that underlines and controls the social and cultural mechanisms.
This desire to uncover, through some kind of ‘realism’, a truth about the power mechanisms of society, is similarly present in Lukacsian Realism. However, this is not the only element in Divine Intervention that can be pointed as suggesting a Critical Realist influence. I think that the film can be seen as having a kind of intensive totality. In other words, the geographical, social and historical limited frame where the action takes place, allows the film to give space to an analysis of the social forces operating within this context. Besides, this also permits the exploration of several points of view, and hence offers a dialectical reading, which represents another key element of Lukacsian theory. Finally, I think that despite not offering an alternative solution for the conflict present in the film, as would be expected in Lukacsian Realism, the film does offer an alternative in terms of attitude towards such conflict. The film through the posture of Elia Suleiman’s character, suggests that determination led by reason is the central attitude that Palestinians should assume. Even in the last scene when the Woman fights the IDF agents, it is crucial that she does not attack them; she is attacked and only defends herself. J. Hoberman writes:
“(…) she comes to life, rises whirling into the air, makes a halo of their bullets, and protected by a shield in the shape of Palestine, turns unstoppable ninja – a David to their collective Goliath who turns their weapons back on them”.
Elia Suleiman himself sees the film as a meditation on the Palestinian situation, “I hope it [Divine Intervention] is a meditative image that is free for interpretation.” There is a generalized sense of people waiting for something to happen, something to change, even in the weirdest of situations, like the Police van that, despite having a prisoner inside, is casually parked in the corner of the street; or the fact that Elia Suleiman and the Woman sit in the car for hours without anything happening. The camera itself assumes a contemplative and meditative position, with long-shots where very little action happens, or on the other extreme, where actions are performed repetitively, suggesting a lack of purpose in the characters’ lives and at the same time an alienation with reality. Each one lives in a closed, sometimes schizophrenic world, and communication between characters is almost non-existent.
This leads me to Bazin’s theory on Realism and specifically his idea that film can work as an indexation of pro-filmic events. In other words, the film medium has the ability to capture some kind of truth of the reality that was in front of the camera. In this sense, bearing in mind the prominent relevance of the Palestinian situation, through the use of the ‘contemplative camera’ to portray contemplative and purposefulness characters, I think that Divine Intervention can be seen as being an indexation of pro-filmic events.
In conclusion, Divine Intervention can be seen as using a vast multiplicity of aesthetical and ideological approaches, such as Post-modernism, Brechtian Realism and also minor elements of other realisms, like Lukács’ Realism and Bazin’s Realism. All these converge into the construction of Divine Intervention. Hence, if Realism is the ability to portray the complexities, paradoxes and derangements of the Palestinian and Israeli situation, then, I believe that the Divine Intervention succeeds in conveying it.
Bibliography:
• Bazin, Andrè; What is Cinema? Vol.1; University of California Press, 1972.
• Fahim, Kareem; Stateless cinema: Palestinian film and oscar eligibility, in Village Voice [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0304,fahim2,41328,20.html]
Hallam, Julia and Marchment, Margaret; Revisioning history: realism and politics in Realism and Popular Cinema; Manchester University Press, 2000.
• Hoberman, J.; God on our side, in Village Voice [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0303,hoberman,41149,20.html]
• Lukács, Georg; Writer and Critic; Merlin Books, 1978.
• Stam, Robert; Film Theory: An Introduction; Blackwell, 2000.
• Stam, Robert; Film and Theory: An Anthology; Blackwell, 2000.
• Williams, Raymond; ‘Naturalism’ & ‘‘realism’’, in Keywords; Fontana, 1976.
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