Double Reading: Benjaminian- Deleuzian Methodology in Film Analysis and its application to "About Eli..."

This article aims to open a methodological discussion on film reading from a Benjaminian- Deleuzian approach, and discusses its application based on the analysis of About Eli. To reach this aim, the duality of reality and art, or the relation between story and reality or cinema and reality as the theoretical bases of methodological discussions on cinema and film analysis, are explicated. Then, the Deleuzian epistemology about cinema and its challenge with the Platonic issue of the contradiction of social reality and its representation or cinematic picture as the theoretical basis of Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology in film analysis, will be discussed. Also, the Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology as opposed to the dominant linguistic and psychological methodologies in film studies will be discussed. Benjamin and Deleuze’s essays on film studies can be regarded as an end to the dominance of content-centrism in film reading. Therefore, Deleuze’s approach to cinema is opposed to the realistic and phenomenological approaches of Andre Bazin and the linguistic and psychoanalytic approach of Christian Metz. While the Benjaminian- Deleuzian framework avoids getting involved in film studies, as a representational tool in the framework of representation tradition, it presents a double reading of cinema. The Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology involves simultaneous analysis of aesthetic aspects of film and its socio-political aspects. Eventually, to make the theoretical and methodological discussions more understandable, a recent Iranian film called About Eli is analyzed and its results are discussed.
This article aims to open a methodological discussion on film reading from a Benjaminian- Deleuzian approach, and discusses its application based on the analysis of About Eli. To reach this aim, the duality of reality and art, or the relation between story and reality or cinema and reality as the theoretical bases of methodological discussions on cinema and film analysis, are explicated. Then, the Deleuzian epistemology about cinema and its challenge with the Platonic issue of the contradiction of social reality and its representation or cinematic picture as the theoretical basis of Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology in film analysis, will be discussed. Also, the Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology as opposed to the dominant linguistic and psychological methodologies in film studies will be discussed. Benjamin and Deleuze’s essays on film studies can be regarded as an end to the dominance of content-centrism in film reading. Therefore, Deleuze’s approach to cinema is opposed to the realistic and phenomenological approaches of Andre Bazin and the linguistic and psychoanalytic approach of Christian Metz. While the Benjaminian- Deleuzian framework avoids getting involved in film studies, as a representational tool in the framework of representation tradition, it presents a double reading of cinema. The Benjaminian- Deleuzian methodology involves simultaneous analysis of aesthetic aspects of film and its socio-political aspects. Eventually, to make the theoretical and methodological discussions more understandable, a recent Iranian film called About Eli is analyzed and its results are discussed.