This text Brecht's political aesthetics is a small excerpt In my last paper, that I will once it has been graded, may still post altogether. I think Brecht is as a theorist surprisingly interesting, what has surprised me in my research thoroughly. I have removed the footnotes, because I think it was too complex to be transferred to this format.
first Dialectic as intrusive practice: The theoretical background
Brecht, who turned in the twenties to Marxism and in its reception influenced by the as "Links dissenters" from the Communist Party expelled theorist Karl Korsch was seeing those same Marxism in decline understood. The reason for this could he in a "Bolshevism" of Marxism, in its flattening to a objectivist, determinist, and completed worldview. In particular, the collection of so-called Widerspieglungstheorie the general dogma, he was the object of the critical content of dialectical materialism. The states of Lenin and his reading of Marx outgoing Widerspieglungstheorie that the "superstructure" (the different in a society existing forms of consciousness, thoughts and ideologies) of the "material base" of society (productive forces and forms of organization and power relations) is followed by likeness. So nothing more tangible than a direct translation Conditions. In contrast, Brecht argued with Korsch, a relative autonomy of the forms of consciousness to the society, and the potential of the "superstructure" to the "base" zurückzuwirken. That is, the relationship of the material conditions of society to their forms of consciousness is a dialectic, they are intertwined. A revolutionary practice makes it not only necessary to eliminate the material basis of capitalist production, such as by means of production, they must also accept the bourgeois forms of consciousness. It follows not only a change of policy, this can also be assigned to the superstructure of the Arts play a different role than the one the official cultural doctrine of the Soviet Union her about zugestand.1 in affinity for the ends of Walter Benjamin's famous essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" raised demand of the politicization of art, so in Brecht's concept of art as a critique of ideology "engaging practice" and "dialectical superstructure work."
second Epic theater and socialist realism
Brecht turned on the basis of his theoretical considerations against the "Aristotelian" and "illusory" theater of his time. The audience should not, as rise in a classical drama, in identification with the protagonists and are eagerly awaiting the climax to the work all the scenes in order to then learn something of a purge of its emotions (catharsis). Rather, Brecht demanded an aesthetic that allows a "relaxed" and therefore a public reception that the distance has to discuss the events on stage to think critically and express their opinion. Instead of touching and emotional to talk, should the theater of Brecht conceived also send critical knowledge to uncover the meaning of Marxist ideologies and practices encourage. And to convey to the audience instead of an illusory world, should him "into the hand of" the real world as contradictory and variable. This was not only the content but also formally to the traditional theater does not have.
The so by Brecht in his criticism of the classical theater Epic theater developed is characterized by the following features: Each scene must be able to stand alone. The interest is to apply not only to the final, but every single part of the piece. It is intended to prevent the audience from the empathy by the events and the protagonists do not naturalistically represented, but are alienated. Even the actors are not completely absorbed in her role, but also as a performer and as shown Person on stage presence. Another feature of the epic theater is his "realism". This means in the Brechtian sense, not a naturalistic representation, but rather to the epic theaters by its content and its formal structure (which are not in Brecht thought separated from each other) social processes and operations to understand and criticize from a class standpoint. This was by mere representation of reality can not afford, as the reality, "slipped into functional and that there are thus no more direct access to it. The art that seeks out the reality, must be rather a reordering of reality to the "social Causality advance. Important elements of this are reduction in force and parabolic shape abstraction. Realism in this sense is not formally fixed, but it could be described as an attitude.
Brecht demanded, according to its realistic claim, on the one hand the integration of scientific theories in the field of art. On the other hand, he saw it also as a necessity to experiment with new forms of expression, as well as review old expression critical, not only of changing conditions of reception to meet, but also the changed and constitute ever-changing social conditions appropriately to these. This conceptual he both knowledge and forms of expression and literary techniques as part of the "productive forces" in the field of art. Among the literary techniques that were incorporated in Brecht's epic theater, was one such assembly, alienation and inner monologue. As for scientific theories, flowed next to the Marxism and the experimental method of Francis Bacon one. The inclusion of scientific theories is not limited to the issues, but also relates to the form: How Brecht regarded his plays as well among other experimental arrangements should be made visible by the performance aspects of reality. Overall, one can say that Epic Theatre always the experimental Attempt to make the ever-changing social reality and transparent by enabling the recipient to intervene in them.
third Alienation effect and historiography
The aspect of alienation deserves further explanation. Roughly speaking, it is with him an artistic change of any process in the piece, which takes for granted that his and his "natural" and therefore draws attention to this process. To quote Brecht "an action or a character alienate was first called simply the process or the nature of the self-evident, acquaintances, Enlightening to accept and to generate curiosity and wonder about him. " The purpose of the alienation effect is thus a moment of irritation create that inhibits the identification with the action on stage, while forcing to think about what is represented and to give his position. At the same time it can also convey a particular point about the alienated. The alienation effect can be achieved in different ways and it can take place at all levels: the structure of the piece as a whole may well be alienated like the appearance of individual actions by the actors. Much is a matter of staging and presentation by the actual actors, but also the play itself may contain alienation effects.
An example of such an alienation effect is the "historicizing". In this narrative technique to be laid the represented events and conditions in a past time and therefore as historical, that is transient and surmountable, as shown. This is to stress differently than the update of a historical material, the distance between present and past. Thus, the present itself should be seen as "historic" and changeable, so far as that all human practice is historical practice and the new arises only "by the Old circulated, continued to be developed.
4th Brecht's radio theory
addition to the epic theater wrote Bertolt Brecht and radio theory and radio plays. The radio, he attested to the potential, a kind of social communication apparatus for self-understanding and collective learning of the population to learn if this addition to sending and receiving would, therefore, by the strict separation of listeners and broadcasters would be repealed. He did this and also several proposals, such as significant events to be broadcast live, most of which have now been implemented in one form or another. Of course not, as Brecht hoped this "ideological institutions" to undermine this. He saw in the epic theater and the radio the opportunity to complement each other. But he also wore on his aesthetics on the radio that he wanted to know opportunities exploited. In particular, to "activate" the otherwise merely passive rezepierenden audience understand what was in his radio play "The Lindbergh Flight" to quite literally: In the original, it stipulated that the voice of the protagonist of the audience will even spoken. The radio play "The Trial of Lucullus," in which there is a court that is held in the Hereafter a great commander left, at least in the original version the determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused to the audience and thus demonstrates how the activation of the audience can be understood.
Literature:
- Breuer, Ingo: Theatricality and memory. German-language historical drama since Brecht. 1. Ed Köln [ua]: Böhlau Verlag 2004th
- Brüggemann, Heinz: Literary Technology and social revolution. Experiments on the relationship between art production, Marxism and literary tradition in the theoretical writings Bertolt Brecht. 1. Ed Hamburg: Rowohlt 1973 (The new book, 33).
- Dickson, Keith A.: Calendar stories. 1. Ed London: Methuen Educational 1971st
- Hecht, Werner Brecht Chronicle. 1898-1956. 1. Ed London: book rack shaft 1997th
- Kim, Hyung-Ki: A comparative study of Brecht's theories in the "brass knob" and "Little Organon for the Theater." 1. Ed Frankfurt a. M.: Lang 1992 (European university studies: Series 1 German Language and Literature, 1293).
- Benjamin, Walter: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In: Walter Benjamin. Collected Writings. Ed. by Rolf Tiedemann and Hermann Schwepphäuser. 7. Edition, Vol 1.2. Frankfurt aM: Suhrkamp 1991, p. 471-508.
- Benjamin, Walter: What is epic theater? In: Walter Benjamin. Writings. Ed, and more Theodor W. Adorno, Gretel Adorno. 1. 2nd edition, Vol Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp 1955, p. 259-267.
- Brecht, Bertolt: The Radio as an Apparatus of Communication. In: A new radio play. Essays, analysis and interviews. Ed by Klaus Schöning. 1. Ed Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1970, p. 9-14.
- Lucchesi, Joachim: The Trial of Lucullus / The Condemnation of Lucullus. In: Brecht manual. Pieces. January ed. by button. 1. 1st edition, Vol Stuttgart: Metzler 2001, p. 401-416.
- Vormweg, Heinrich: radio play-maker Brecht. In: radio play-maker. Author profiles and essays. Ed. by Klaus Schöning. 1. Edition. Königstein / Ts. Atheneum, 1983, p. 13-26.
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