Monday, January 16, 2012

what makes us cry

"Italian critic Franco Moretti has argued, for example, that literature that makes
us cry operates via a special manipulation of temporality: what triggers our crying
is not just the sadness or suffering of the character in the story but a very precise
moment when characters in the story catch up with and realize what the audience
already knows. We cry, Moretti argues, not just because the characters do, but at
the precise moment when desire is finally recognized as futile. The release of
tension produces tears - which become a kind of homage to a happiness that is
kissed goodbye. Pathos is thus a surrender to reality but it is a surrender that pays
homage to the ideal that tried to wage war on it."

- Linda Williams, "Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess"

4 comments:

Unknown said...

So very very beautifully written… what one can do with words is just wonderful! I salute to Moretti and you Jellydrink for sharing!

Unknown said...

So very very beautifully written… what one can do with words is just wonderful! I salute to Moretti and you Jellydrink for sharing!

Unknown said...

So very very beautifully written… what one can do with words is just wonderful! I salute to Moretti and you Jellydrink for sharing!

Nicole said...

That's a very interesting theory about what causes us to cry. I guess it has alot to do with how we see ourselves in the character that is having problems.