Moral Complexity in Kieslowskis the Decalogue (1989)

Moral Complexity in Kieslowskis the Decalogue (1989) Although the moral stories that constitute Polish director Krzyszto KieÅ›lowskis The Decalogue (1989) were inspired by the Ten Commandments (as per the films umbrella title), the way they relate to Gods Law as revealed to Moses is by no means straightforward or clear-cut; nor is the rich symbolism which Kieslowski weaves throughout the films. As this paper shall demonstrate, the ideas and themes in The Decalogue are complex and often ambiguous, especially with respect to two primary and recurring symbols: the huge apartment complex where the various characters reside and occasionally cross paths and an unnamed, mysterious male figure who hovers on the periphery of the action, silent and observing. KieÅ›lowski uses these two symbols to illustrate and develop the metaphysic that lies at the heart of the film. The films [that constitute The Decalogue] should be influenced by the individual commandments to the same degree that the commandments influence our daily lives†, KieÅ›lowski notes in the introduction to the published script of The Decalogue (quoted in Cunneen, 1997). Joseph Cunneen suggests that this influence is subtle and indirect. It is significant that the films do not have separate titles that contain text of the commandments; as a result, the viewer is â€Å"often unsure of the relationship between a film and a particular commandment; to the director, if the numbers of some episodes were reversed for example 6 and 9 it would make no difference† (Cunneen, 1997). KieÅ›lowski thus encourages intellectual guesswork on the part of his audience. â€Å"I merely announce, for example, Decalogue 1. The spectator looks at the film and . . . begins to think about the commandment(s)†. (KieÅ›lowski, as quoted in Cunneen, 1997). For example, in Decalogue VI th ere seem to be no reference to any one particular commandment, though it does contain references to stealing (the peeping-tom protagonist steals a telescope to spy on a female neighbor) and killing (the same character slashes his wrists near the end of the film). This â€Å"thoroughly un-didactic† approach enables KieÅ›lowski and his co-screenwriter, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, to develop their themes with subtlety and restraint (Porton, 50). In The Decalogue, as in life, nothing is cut and dried. â€Å"Each episode can be likened to a moral parable that suggests . . . how we can live ethically in a world where the false comfort of either a belief in God or dialectical materialism is unavailable†, states Porton (Porton, 48). Jonathan Rosenbaum would seem to agree that the films power is suggestive rather than didactic: â€Å"The finely sculpted scripts of these films become suggestions of how we might think about these people, not directives about how we should judge them† (Rosenbaum, 159). He goes on to say that the decision to produce a series of films that correspond to the Ten Commandments in name and number is essentially â€Å"a packaging idea, successfully designed to give KieÅ›lowski an international reputation and made in part for export† (Rosenbaum, 155). By the directors own admission, he and Piesiewicz avoided any overt political references to the Poland of the mid-1980s in order that the films could be marketed in other countries (Stok, 145). Yet none of this detracts from The Decalogues intellectual, moral and aesthetic stature. KieÅ›lowski is a serious artist whose ultimate concern is integrity that of his characters and also of himself, as a filmmaker. He does not teach morality (in the sense of â€Å"thou shalt not†) but rather contemplates and probes lifes so-called â€Å"grey areas†. According to him, â€Å"integrity is an extremely complicated combination and we can never ultimately say ‘I was honest or ‘I wasnt honest. In all our actions . . . we find ourselves in a position from which theres really no way out and even if there is, its not a better way out [but only] the lesser evil. This [choosing which way out to take], of course, defines integrity† (Stok, 146 149). The notion, then, that a set of ten rules is all we need is simplistic to the point of absurdity. The decisions we all must make in our lives are often difficult and painful; they are also dependent on a host of different factors which have to be weighed and taken into account. Where morality is concerned, perspectives have to be altered and sometimes replaced with new ones. Mario Sesti suggests that the complexity of the ideas at play in The Decalogue is symbolized, in part, by the high-rise apartment complex which is the central setting for all the episodes. â€Å"Throughout the work a system of hints, correspondences and allusions imperceptibly laces together the tangled plights of the characters who live in the [same] apartment block. Everyone either knows or ignores one another, but everyone is aware (however reluctantly) that they belong to the same narrative† (Sesti, 183). Portman remarks that KieÅ›lowskis signature theme in virtually all his films (not just The Decalogue) is â€Å"the ineffability of human experience through chance encounters or near-encounters of protagonists whose paths would never ordinarily intersect† (Portman, 2001). Locating most of the action in and around the huge apartment building where the various characters live, and where their paths occasionally cross, allows KieÅ›lowski to stage such chance encounters and near-encounters while â€Å"(weaving the) single episodes into an overall tapestry† (Sesti, 183). The director notes that the idea of choosing characters at random and observing how they act and interrelate is well-served by the apartment building setting: â€Å"We had the idea that the camera should pick somebody out, . . . then follow him or her throughout the rest of the film†, he says, adding that since the apartment building has â€Å"thousands of similar windows framed in the establishing shot†, it was an ideal setting for his purposes (Stock, 146). Cunneen explains that the apartment building helps â€Å"unify the series† since we see the same few buildings again and again (that is, from episode to episode), adding that â€Å"in such a context it becomes natural for a character we see on the stairs in one episode to become a major figure in a later one† (Cunneen, 2001). By extension, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the apartment building symbolizes the unity and interrelatedness of experience. Despite the interrelatedness, Michael Wilmington argues that all the characters in the series think of themselves as essentially â€Å"isolated† (Wilmington, 2001). Occasionally, to some minor degree, the setting shifts away from the Warsaw suburb and into the city, and even the countryside, yet the director has a nostalgic idea of a return the monotonous high-rise blocks (Wilmington, 2001). The symbolism of the notion to portray such areas of Warsaw is that only in those tall grey buildings can the audience get familiar with many different emotions of the inhabitants: love, hate, friendliness, politeness, curiosity and more. There is constant interaction between the neighbors, making KieÅ›lowskis series very realistic and simple to understand for his viewers. The apartment building is, in effect, an objective correlative to this very malaise. The â€Å"deliberately gray or brackish colors† of the building â€Å"capture an edifice that signifies both the State and the monotony of life in ‘Peoples Poland† (Porton, 2001). In a similar vein, Agnieszka Tennant makes reference to the â€Å"mass-produced, colorless buildings†, â€Å"cheerless wintry outdoors†, â€Å"cold flats† and â€Å"impersonal stairwells, elevators and offices† that constitute the films mise-en-scà ¨ne (Tenant, 2001). Another function of the apartment-building setting is that it allows for an open narrative structure a structure which â€Å"invites the viewer to interpret the actions of [the] protagonists, to follow their struggles with destiny in an abundance of chance encounters† (Haltof, 79), while serving as a convenient symbol for voyeurism and shifting perspectives (that is to say, the viewers as well as the directors gaze). Cunneen is correct to stress that KieÅ›lowskis camera is â€Å"fond of windows, mirrors, or any objects that offer possibilities of reflections† (Cunneen, 2001). This tendency opens new perspectives on the protagonists of the film series. They are viewed from behind the glass, lens or mirror which highlights that their actions could not be what they seem and have more dimensions to them. In KieÅ›lowskis films, glass serves to self-consciously foreground the act of looking†, according to Annette Insdorf (Cunneen, 2001, quoting Insdorf in the latters Double Lives, p. 91). In Decalogue V, Piotr, the lawyer of Jacek the killer, is â€Å"framed in a mirror† before we actually see him. As well, â€Å"the driver [victim] is presented as glass reflects the apartment complex† and â€Å"Jacek is introduced in the street, reflected in a mirror as well† (Insdorf quoted in Cunneen, 2001). Sesti refers to KieÅ›lowskis themes of â€Å"uncertainty† and â€Å"bewilderment†, noting that â€Å"the most typical image in The Decalogue is a shadowy interior, a character at the window, or a gaze without rancor, happiness or hope† (Sesti, 187). A case in point is Decalogue VI, which begins with Olaf, the peeping tom character, spying on Magda, the older woman who is his neighbor, but ends in reverse, with Magda spying on him. KieÅ›low ski concedes that this â€Å"change in perspective† is essential to the episodes structure (Stok, 169). Other examples of the gaze may be found in Decalogue I when the boy Pawel watches a pigeon on his windowsill in the beginning. Later, after Pawel drowns, his aunt watches slow-motion memorial footage of him on a TV screen in a shop window. In Decalogue V the gaze is noticed during the murder of the cab driver when the killer Jacek hesitates for a brief moment when the victim â€Å"looks up at him and Jacek sees his suffering†; he responds by covering the mans head (Hogan, 2008). Curiously, KieÅ›lowski here seems to be equating the gaze with death. Another significant and symbolic link between the episodes is the presence of the mysterious, silent young man whom the audience sees only occasionally. He is absent from episodes 7 and 10. This omnipresent figure â€Å"with searingly watchful eyes and an Old Testament intensity† (Cunneen, 2001) usually shows up â€Å"just before [a] character makes a difficult ethical decision, or just before something unexpected happens† (Tennant, 2001). He can be observed in Decalogue I sitting at a campfire; in Decalogue V, as a road inspector and also as a painter in prison; in Decalogue VI, as a man in a white suit; in Decalogue VIII, as a student listening to the lecture of one of the two main characters; and in Decalogue IX, as a cyclist who watches the protagonist try to kill himself. This mysterious man can be identified with a guardian angel or the â€Å"walking consciousness†. He is present at the times of crucial decisions by the protagonists, but he never judges. On the contrary the â€Å"angel† is trying to push the troubled heroes to a better moral choice, as with Jacek in Dekalogue V he shakes his head to silently protest the murder or in Dekalogue IX saving Roman from succeeding in his suicidal attempt. The figure is still puzzling because he seems to have very little to no influence on the action and therefore cannot be considered a character in the proper sense. Tenant believes he â€Å"symbolizes Gods presence among us, Christian conscience, or at least for a secular audience fate† (Tenant, 2001), while Haltof sees him as an â€Å"Angel of Fate† who â€Å"adds an almost metaphysical dimension† to the films (Haltof, 81). As Sesti explains, although the figure â€Å"never interferes with the action, [he is] perfectly aware of it to the point of foreseeing its conclusion†. He never utters a word but rather â€Å"looks directly into the camera, and his disquieting silence seems to comment on the story†. Sesti agrees that this â€Å"kind of chorus figure† acts as a unifying link for the episodes but points out that â€Å"we do not identify with him, for his presence suggests the inflexibility of fate and the vulnerability of every individua l. . . . [His gaze is] the gaze of some divine figure, distressed by his uselessness and by the impossibility of redeeming the world† (Sesti, 184). The ambiguity and symbolic richness of the â€Å"angel† figure and of the apartment complex testifies to KieÅ›lowskis mastery as a filmmaker. The Decalogue does not lend itself to a reductionist reading; quite the opposite. A â€Å"vast fresco of private emotions and subtle interactions† (Wilmington, 2000) on the one hand, it is also a work that is rich in themes and ideas. As Wilmington observes, these themes are in fact common to all of KieÅ›lowskis films: â€Å"Choice is fate. Pain underlies beauty. Isolation is an illusion. Disparate are we. Sin is inescapable. Soul is flesh. Film is life. The Decalogue, [KieÅ›lowskis] prime act of cinematic voyeurism, draws those threads together† (Wilmington, 2000). By turning to such methods as a common setting of high-rises in Warsaw and a small trace of a mystic messenger from God, KieÅ›lowski is able to unite and add coherence to ten short films from his Dekalogue series. The films are complex and deep. They require thorough analysis and knowledge of the Biblical context. The author is making it easier to understand for his audience by bringing in common threads to each episode and opening the conclusions for different interpretations and room for opinions. References Cunneen, Joseph. â€Å"‘Being Alive is a Gift: Krzysztof KieÅ›lowskis ‘The Decalogue†Ã‚  Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality. 1:1. 2001. pp. 79-85. John Hopkins University Press. (Note: Cunneen quotes KieÅ›lowski in the introduction to the  published script of The Decalogue, for which, see bibliographic entry.) Cunneen, Joseph. â€Å"Kieslowski on the mountaintop†. Commonweal. 124:14, Aug. 15,  1997. New York, N.Y., 1997. pp. 11-14 Haltof, Marek. The Cinema of Krzysztof KieÅ›lowski: Variations on Destiny and Chance.  Wallflower Press: London. 2004. pp. 75-107. Hogan, Patrick Colm. â€Å"Tragic Lives: On the Incompatibility of Law and Ethics. College  Literature. West Chester: 35:3, Summer 2008. 30 pp. KieÅ›lowski, Krzysztof. â€Å"Introduction†, in KieÅ›lowski, K. and Piesiewica, P., Decalogue The Ten Commandments [translated by Phil Cavendish and Suzanna Bluh].  London: Faber and Faber, 1991. Kieslowski, Krzystof and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. The Decalogue. VHS. Distributor:  Band à   Part. 10 episodes on 5 cassettes. Directed by K. Kieslowski. 1987. Porton, Richard. â€Å"The Decalogue†. Cineaste. New York: Summer 2001. 26:3; pp. 48-50. Rosenbaum, Jonathan. Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons. John Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2004. pp. 152-159. Sesti, Mario. â€Å"DEKALOG 1 10†. In The Hidden God: Film and Faith. Mary Lea Brandy and Antonio Monda, eds. The Museum of Modern Art: New York, N.Y.  2003. pp. 183-187. Stok, Danusia, ed. KieÅ›lowski on KieÅ›lowski. Faber and Faber Limited: London, 1993. Tennant, Agnieszka. â€Å"The Ten Commandments become flesh†. Christianity Today.  Carol Stream: 45:2, Feb 5, 2001. pp. 75-76 Michael Wilmington. â€Å"Long decades journey into light†. Film Comment. New York,  N.Y.: 36:2, March/April 2000. pp. 9-10

George Washington :: essays research papers

Find in this article Print article Send us feedback More Media (11 items) Article Outline Introduction, Early Life, Early Career, General of the Continental Army, Return Home, President of the United States, Second Term as President, Last Years I. IntroductionPrint section Washington, George (1732-1799), first president of the United States (1789-1797) and one of the most important leaders in United States history. His role in gaining independence for the American colonies and later in unifying them under the new U.S. federal government cannot be overestimated. Laboring against great difficulties, he created the Continental Army, which fought and won the American Revolution (1775-1783), out of what was little more than an armed mob. After an eight-year struggle, his design for victory brought final defeat to the British at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced Great Britain to grant independence to its overseas possession. With victory won, Washington was the most revered man in the United States. Advertisement A lesser person might have used this power to establish a military dictatorship or to become king. Washington sternly suppressed all such attempts on his behalf by his officers and continued to obey the weak and divided Continental Congress. However, he never ceased to work for the union of the states under a strong central government. He was a leading influence in persuading the states to participate in the Constitutional Convention, over which he presided, and he used his immense prestige to help gain ratification of its product, the Constitution of the United States. Although worn out by years of service to his country, Washington reluctantly accepted the presidency of the United States. Probably no other man could have succeeded in welding the states into a lasting union. Washington fully understood the significance of his presidency. â€Å"I walk on untrodden ground,† he said. â€Å"There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn in precedent.

“Let me hear it from the beginning,” said Inspector Dulles

â€Å"Let me hear it from the beginning,† said Inspector Dulles, as he scanned the forensic evidence before him: a Glock 17, with one bullet fired; fingerprints on the handgun showing those of the victim, Robert Green, 52; the medico-legal report showing the victim had succumbed to irreversible shock due to gunshot wound on the frontal region.   On the other seat was the victim’s widow, Laura Green, 32. She wore a black dress and high-heeled shoes.   But her eyes were like a hawk’s, cold and piercing and fathomless.â€Å"My husband arrived on the usual hour,† she said, as if dictating to a stenographer.   â€Å"He took a shower, changed clothes, and settled down before the TV set with a glass of Jack Daniels. He refused to eat when I told him dinner was set.   At about eight he went inside his study and I followed.   He was incoherent, like he was angry with himself or something.   Finally he took out his pistol from a drawer and shot himself. †Ã‚   Mrs. Green stopped as if collecting her thoughts, but she was motionless as a statue. â€Å"I called   911.   Then you came.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pardon me for being blunt,† Dulles said, sipping from a glass of cold water, â€Å"but I gather Mr. Green has been seen around with another woman,† Dulles said.Mrs. Green assumed a pained expression, but said nothing.   â€Å"Do you quarrel about such things?† pursued the detective.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"No,† said the woman. â€Å"He knew I would disapprove, so he had tried to keep it a secret.   But I have ways of knowing.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Did you spy on him?†Ã‚  The woman shrugged and pursed her lips.Dulles silently put down his glass. He liked interrogating suspects who flinched and cowered, but he could not penetrate this one.   He has to try harder. â€Å"So you found out, one way or another, and plotted your revenge.† (No response).   But you made sure all his insurance policies were good and to your name just in case something happened (still no response).   And you kept nagging at him, humiliating him in the eyes of people, making his life miserable, until he thought of filing for divorce (Dulles thought he saw a gleam in the widow’s eyes).But you threatened to shame him by revealing all about all his philandering and kinky affairs if he persisted, and he became desperate and mad. (Here, the widow’s eyes slowly shifted from gazing into emptiness, like a machine gun turning on its swivels to aim at a new target: the eyes of Inspector Dulles.   He found it disturbing to look at it squarely, but he could not now stop). â€Å"Then you pestered him no end until he could take no more and so he took his own life.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"No!†Inspector Dulles dodged as if to ward off a blow; at the same time he heard the sound of shattering glass.   Turning to look, he saw tiny shards of what remained of his glass of water on the floor.   He turned to look at the window, and was surprised to see it wide open. Faces appeared suddenly at the door, puzzled.   He waved them off.   â€Å"Some vandal threw a stone from the street.†He turned to look at Mrs. Green.   But the malignant gleam he saw for one fleeting second was gone.   She just sat there and stared at nothing.   Dulles knew when a case led to nowhere: this was a case of plain suicide.   â€Å"I’m sorry, Madam,† he said, touching her hand, â€Å"I didn’t mean to be rude or something.   You can go.†The widow rose from her chair, like alighting from a throne, a queen about to address her admiring subjects.   Dulles could not help noting her sensuousness, though little of her skin, ivory white and flawless, is revealed by the black satin dress.   She had looked insignificant, but now he found herself admiring the delicate curve of her neck, her slender limbs, her wicked inviting lips. He felt her attractive; he was like moth drawn to a flame.   Like a wraith, she walked gracefully to the door and vanished.Two weeks later, Dulles found himself knocking at the door of her mansion.At 48, he was unmarried.   He loved hearing old Fagin’s song in the musical Oliver! as he deliberated whether to take himself a wife: â€Å"The finger she will wag at me, the money she will take from me, the misery she’ll make for me: I guess I have to think of it again!†Ã‚   But this evening he felt himself like a moth drawn to a flame.   He had postponed this trip and scorned himself for being like a junior on his prom date.   He had left the office early while Dave, his assistant, hunched low over the computer.   Although embarrassed, he mentioned to Dave he was going to see the widow.   He waited for Dave to laugh but was surprised to find the other in a sombre mood.â€Å"Tell you what,† Dave said.   â€Å"I found something about her.   She’s not so pretty, but she has a wa y with men.   You won’t believe it, but she’d been previously married to three men.†Ã‚  Dulles chuckled.   â€Å"Well, I’m not the marrying type.†Ã‚  Dave continued. â€Å"All her husbands had died, violently.   One leaped off a cliff during a camping trip with the wife.   Another drowned in a swimming pool for kids.   And the last, as we know it, shot himself on the head.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Was there foul play?† Dulles asked.â€Å"There was no evidence to incriminate her, although she was always present in the scene of the tragedy.   It was like she was always there to witness the unhappy end of a partner.   I’m not superstitious, man,† Dave said, â€Å"but I won’t try meddling with that woman.†Ã‚  Dulles was thoughtful as he pressed the door bell.   He waited for a few minutes until the door opened.   Laura was in black as usual, looking young and tempting and mysterious.   She invited him insid e.   â€Å"I have been expecting you,† she said.â€Å"Indeed?† Dulles said.   She did not look surprised after all.   She asked for leave to fetch a drink for them.   Left alone, Dulles stood up and surveyed the room.   His gaze focused on the books on the shelf.   She returned and gave him his drink.   They engaged in small talk.   Dulles had found the woman unattractive this time, and he berated himself for having fallen easily for her charm.   Then he turned to gaze at her eyes and once more he felt drawn to her.â€Å"I see you’re a witch,† Dulles said.Laura’s eyes were cold but no change came in them. Dulles went on: â€Å"I can see you’re into voodoo and the like, telekinesis and that stuff.   You know, I remember that stunt of yours in the office.   No vandal ever threw a stone inside the office.   I knew the windows were closed, had been closed for years.   Nobody had opened them.   The glass shattered by themselves. You did it by your mind, didn’t you?†Ã‚  Laura was silent.   â€Å"All your husbands, they died by your will, the power of your mind over matter.   I’ve looked into your husband’s records and nothing showed they were into some trouble.   I suspect you did them in when they found out all about your witching stuff.†Their eyes locked.   Laura’s were expressionless, then tears came into them.   She cupped her hands on her face and wept inconsolably.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hahahahahaha! Hehehehehe! Harharharhar† Dulles was convulsed with laughter.   He embraced the weeping widow.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I got you that time, didn’t I?†Ã‚  Laura looked up to the gay detective.   â€Å"What do you mean?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"It’s all a joke.   I made that up.†Ã‚  Laura was crying and laughing at the same time. â€Å"You brute,† she said.Two hours later, Inspector Dulles was at the wheel of his orange Mustang, happily relishing his intimate moments with the young widow.   But as he made a turn in the twisting mountain road, he felt sick, not knowing why.   Then he saw a car zooming up in the rear: it was Laura on her convertible.   Dulles slowed down.  Ã‚   Dulles waited for her to come alongside and waved, but she did not smile.She just stared at him, their cars racing into the winding skyway, the drone of their cars engines like a throbbing drum.   Then Dulles felt the Mustang going airborne, heaved by an unseen power.   He panics and grabs the wheel, but it would not budge, and he turns to look   at Laura, the roar of the Mustang like thunder in his ears, and saw her eyes widen, fierce and commanding and terrible, and as the car leaped out to space, Dulles opened his mouth to scream.

The World War II ( Ww2 ) - 1649 Words

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Due to the war, women became the prime laborers in factories while the men fought and for the first time became financially independent; the growing sense of nationalism caused Americans to greatly contribute to the war effort through provisional supplies of food and money which contributed to the war; and most of all the families on the homefront who had sent their men into the war were affected with great sorrow and depression when they discovered the tragedy that had befallen on their loved ones. The Second World War greatly altered the American life for the better for the most part but also cost them a great loss for their country. Women were predominantly theShow MoreRelatedCauses Of Ww2 And Appeasement During World War II1553 Words   |  7 Pages Causes Of WW2 and Appeasement As a result from World War 1 governments were in shambles, economies were destroyed, and leaders were lacking skills needed to maintain people in these conditions . 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Even among recognized experts in warfare, up until the 20th century, logistics was eschewedRead More Pop Art, Postmodernism, and World War II Essay786 Words   |  4 PagesPop Art, Postmodernism, and World War II Pop Art, a form of Postmodernism, describes the genre of art during and after WW2. The question I am exploring within this topic is why did the influence of the time period of World War II create such sexual and abstract works of art ? The points of view I encountered delivered two basic positions on the same issue. I studied a web site as well that offered graphics to support and explain it’s position (http://www.azstarnet.com/~nik/AME/time/popart/index