The Notion of Cult Film within the Context of Bakhtinian Carnivalesque

Abstract

Carnival theory is applicable to other branches of art apart from literature. In this study, the phenomenon of cult film has been examined in the context of the carnival theory of Mikhail Bakhtin. Characteristics of the notion of cult film were discussed in consideration of carnivalesque characteristics. The concepts of carnival and carnivalesque were examined and the main elements constituting Bahtin’s theory were searched. After examining the relationship between carnivalesque and cinema, the concept of cult film was researched in terms of textual and non-textual characteristics. It has been asserted that ‘cult film’ constitutes an alternative canon in the area of film. Cult film’s opposition to the mainstream overlaps with suspending of official culture by the carnivalesque. Cult films, like carnivals leading people to participation, allow the barriers between the film and the audience to be demolished. Solidarity among people in carnivals resembles the unity of cult film fans. Cult films differ from other films due to some structural and stylistic features. From the carnivalesque perspective, these features emerge as variability and uncertainty, blurring the distinction between art and non-art, and creating a transgression. While investigating all these features, some cult film examples were used and it was concluded that the concept of cult film is an example of the carnivalesque tradition.

Özet

Karnaval kuramı edebiyat dışında sanatın diğer dallarına da uygulanabilen bir kuramdır. Filmler hem metinsel olarak hem de alımlama pratikleri bakımından karnavalesknitelikler taşıyabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada Mihail Bahtin’in karnaval kuramı çerçevekavramının ayırıcı özellikleri ele alınmıştır. Karnaval ve karnavalesk kavramları incelenerek Bahtin’in kuramını oluşturan ana unsurlar araştırılmıştır. Karnavaleskin sinema-resmî kültürü askıya alışı örtüşmektedir. Karnavalların insanları katılımcılığa sevk edirastlanabilmektedir. Sahip olduğu birtakım yapısal ve üslupsal özellikler nedeniyle kültve tanımsızlık, sanat ve sanat-dışı ayrımının bulanıklaşması ve ihlal yaratma olarak-ulaşılmıştır.