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The Spiral of Time: Memory, Temporality and Subjectivity in Chris Marker’s La Jetée’

Kear, Jon (2003) The Spiral of Time: Memory, Temporality and Subjectivity in Chris Marker’s La Jetée’. In: Hughes, Alex and Noble, Andrea, eds. Phototextualities: Intersections of Photography and Narrative. University of New Mexico Press, New Mexico USA, 0-0. ISBN 0-8263-2825-3. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:1357)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

Focusing on Chris Marker’s seminal avant garde short La Jetée, the article considers the film’s treatment of the themes of time, memory and power and Marker’s continuing preoccupation with these questions in his filmmaking. Following a broadly Deleuzian trajectory the argument the article begins by exploring the way Marker’s montage of photo-stills serve to articulate the question of temporality and memory and ultimately to construct a mode of fragmented subjectivity. The importance of the fissures or intervals in the film- moments of non-representation- is given particular emphasis and, it is argued, are integral to the ‘damaged’ memory of the protagonist of this dystopian science fiction narrative and the article reveals how the situation of the protagonist allegorises the subject position of the cinematic spectator. The article goes on to explain how the theme of memory is tied to the allusive and many facetted relationship the film has to its source material.

Item Type: Book section
Subjects: N Visual Arts > N Visual arts (General). For photography, see TR
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Culture and Languages
Depositing User: Diane Peretti
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 18:53 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/1357 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Kear, Jon.

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