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The Machine of Community

46293 Random Number Song September 17

What?

This paper was an exploration of the word "mechanization," striving to explore the mechanics of objects but also of living creatures. I used the course readings by Magda Romanska and Sarah Collins, both of whome utilized puppets to explore mechanization in their own ways; Romaska explored through a lens of Meyerhold biomechanics acting, and Collins explored through the lens of opera. Romanska's mechanization was revealed to revolve around anti-individualism and the mechanization of everyday life under the Soviet union. For Collins, mechanization was a lack of self-consciousness and a lack of mental presence. For both, mechanization was a process of losing the self, whether physically or mentally, becoming a part of something bigger than an individual. Mechanization is about community, regardless of willingness or understanding of those individuals involved in the creation.

Inspiration

This paper influenced the lens through which I viewed my final project idea. I was curious about little pieces coming together to form something bigger than each piece, than myself, perhaps bigger than my work itself. I had written about making a project that utilizes simple small pieces of work to create something complicated, sharing my desire to make something that needs each small piece to feel complete. When working on the paper, I was imaging something conveyor belt-eqsue, or a piece of moving art built on small movements. While this is still something I am interested in pursuing, it became far greater and more monstrous than would be possible to pull off in a few short weeks. Rather, I allowed myself to pursue the idea in a smaller form: small repeating pieces of music that add up into something truly chaotic.

References

Abbate, Carolyn. “Magic Flute, Nocturnal Sun.” In Search of Opera. Princeton University Press, 2014, pp. 55-106. 
Collins, Sarah. “The Operatic Roots of Performativity: Bodies Decontextualised in Butler, Brecht and Busoni.” Cambridge Opera Journal, vol. 34, no. 3, 2022, pp. 309-337.
Romanska, Magda. “Body as a Machine: Meyerhold Between Politics and Theory.” Journal of Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy, vol. 0, no. 37, 2023, pp. 1-12.

Rudnitsky, Konstantin. Meyerhold the Director. New York City, Ardis, 1981, p. 305.

Žižek, Slavoj. “C Major or E Flat Minor? No, Thanks! Busoni’s Faust-Allegorie.” Musicological Annual, vol. 45, no. 2, 2009, pp. 17–32.

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