S. Eisenstein. Aggression of Discourse: Theoretical Justification

Abstract

The desire to write this work was the result of reflections on the features of
“kinofilme” of the three major Directors of world cinema — , S.M. Eisenstein, Alexey Herman
Sr., Michael Haneke. Moreover, the line of communication between them can be defined by the
formula “aggression of discourse” or, in other words, the aggression of the Director's method.
The theoretical basis of the problem goes back to the ideas of S. Eisenstein, who put the problem
of targeted impact of works of art on the viewer at the forefront of the creative process. Eisenstein
used a special definition for this problem, namely — Grundproblem or the Main problem.
Considering the impact of the main constituent of the entire creative process, Eisenstein sets the
task of identifying and understanding a certain unit of measurement, as he defines it — the "atom"
of artistic influence. In the case of film this smallest unit, the atom of the artistic influence will be
“attraction”. In 1923, the famous article by S.M. Eisenstein “Montage of attractions” was published
in the magazine “Lef ”. Here, in italics, he gives the first definition of the term “attraction” from
the perspective of the theater: “Attraction (in the context of the theater) will be every aggressive
moment (theater), i.e., its every element exposing the viewer to sensual or psychological influence,
experimentally calibrated and mathematically designed for certain emotional shocks of the
recipient; in turn, they in total, are the only prerequisites making possible the perception by the
viewer of the ideological side of the demonstrated product, its final ideological conclusion”. We
can say that this thesis, which is the essence not only of the Director's article, but in a certain sense
the core of his method prompted us the title of the work namely: “aggression of discourse”. And
here a comment is necessary. First, we remove from the word "aggression” its inherent negative
connotation and focus on one of the qualities of its impact, i.e. “inevitability”. Here, as we see it, is
the key to the whole concept. Aggressive discourse means inevitable impact. And the language of
this discourse consists of a series of “attractions” or a series of inevitably influencing elements. The
question is how imminent is the impact? How does it relate to the will of the Director? How this
impact is realized in the discourse? What is the role of the viewer in the whole process?
In addition to the “Montage of attractions”, the article looks at other works by Eisenstein related
to the problems of influence; it determines the special status of the viewer in the entire creative
process accorded to him by the Director; it examines in detail Eisenstein's research in the field of
the main components of the dialectics of the artistic image, namely: “progressive” (logical thinking)
and “regressive” (early sensual thinking), which at the beginning of the creative process reveal their
exceptional polarity, then in the process of in-depth and intense research turn into a bipolar unity,
which is the essence of the artistic image ("the formula of duality»)
The features of the Director's discourse are studied and determined in the light of the goals
and objectives set by Eisenstein. In a sense, the article initiates the formulation of the problem:
how relevant today are those basic theoretical provisions that are stated in the “Method” by the
great thinker and Director?