Camera as Retort (“Scrutinium Chymicum”)
Abstract
The following is an anthropological interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short-story The Creeping Man, Ken Russell’s film Altered States and Brett Leonard’s film The Lawnmower Man as variants of the Kabbalistic myth of Golem, reinterpreted in the context of Darwin’s theory. The firmness of basic images, props and themes connected with the idea of the creation and transformation of man by force of art is discussed in the article. Michera draws especially on the culture of ancient Greece (myths of Pandora and Pygmalion). Thus, the issue of artificial humans appears as the firm idea of „perfect art”. Michera argues that it is closely related with a philosophical dispute on the sense of the term mimesis. Photography and film are presented as the categories of imagination rooted in Europe’s culture tradition and philosophical, religious and artistic dilemmas essential to the culture.
Keywords:
Arthur Conan Doyle, Ken Russell, Brett LeonardReferences
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Authors
Wojciech Micherakwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
University of Warsaw Poland
Kulturoznawca; zajmuje się teorią obrazu, filmu, narracji oraz antropologią. Redaktor „Kwartalnika Filmowego”.
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Copyright (c) 2001 Wojciech Michera
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