Order, Disobedience and Power in Kieslowski’s Dekalog

The Dekalog series, comprised of ten films made by Kieslowski in 1989-90 for the Polish TV, inspired by the Ten Commandments (Decalogues) in the Torah, treats the goodness and innocence of human beings, as well as the evilness and anxiety. Generally, as a common element in all films of the series, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CINEJ cinema journal Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 142 - 168
Main Author: Barış, Janet
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Pittsburgh CINEJ Cinema Journal 01.01.2018
University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
Subjects:
Anxiety
Decalogues
Dekalog
Film studies
Foucault, Michel
Kieslowski, Krzysztof (1941-1996)
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Medya ve Sinema
Motion picture criticism
Motion pictures
Obedience
Pain
Reinforcement
Religion
Short films
Television
Ten Commandments
Writing
İstanbul
Türkiye
Ankara Turkey
Istanbul Turkey
Turkey
Obedience
Ten Commandments
Decalogues
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Dekalog
ISSN:2158-8724, 2159-2411, 2158-8724
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The Dekalog series, comprised of ten films made by Kieslowski in 1989-90 for the Polish TV, inspired by the Ten Commandments (Decalogues) in the Torah, treats the goodness and innocence of human beings, as well as the evilness and anxiety. Generally, as a common element in all films of the series, appears the triangle of order-submission-disobedience and the power field becomes a tide moving back and forth between different characters. According to Foucault, power is perceived differently today, compared to the past. In the earlier times, power was perceived to be the rulership of a king over its subjects, while today, different types of power exist. Foucault argues that the punishment directed towards the body before is now directed to the soul. The discourse in the Ten Commandments that directs people what to do and what not overlaps the Foucauldian definition of power and the punishment of the soul. This phenomenon appears in every film of the series differently, through the characters and the plot. This article’s objective is to examine Kieslowski’s Dekalog series through the relationship between order, submission and power, and to discuss the effects of this relationship over the characters.
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ISSN:2158-8724
2159-2411
2158-8724
DOI:10.5195/cinej.2018.199