El Cid and Kracauer’s Mass Ornament :: Medievalism Kracauer Film Cinema Movies

The numerous historical films that merely illustrate the pastare attempts at deception according to their own terms.Since ane always runs the danger, when picturing currentevents, of turning easily excitable masses against powerfulinstitutions that are in fact often not appealing, one prefers to involve the camera towards a Middle Ages that the audiencewill find harmlessly edifying. The further back the story issituated historically, the more audacious filmmakersbecome. They will attempt d epic poemting a successful revolution inhistorical costumes in order to induce people to forgetmodern revolutions, and they are happy to run into thetheoretical sense of justice by filming struggles for freedomthat are long past.1Kracauers analysis of the historical film culminates in a pocket ofhistorical, and thereby factual, efficacy. In this circumstance, the period piece canassume an earlier time frame as a departure from the burden of accuracy sort ofthan an acceptance of it. Academic re cords indicate that El Cid (dir. AnthonyMann, 1961) ignores much of Rodrigo Daz de Bivars factual exploits as awarrior for hire, fighting more often for requital than any religious or moralcertitude. Why, then, was this characters story so appealing as a platform for ahistorical epic film? El Cids historical ambivalence suggests that its story is moreappropriately detailed for potential aesthetic achievement than realism.Kracauer begins describing the aesthetic correspond of the mass ornamentas a reference to the Tiller Girls, a exploit group based on visual uniformity.He focuses on their performance of emulation and repetition, through which theyare no longer individual girls, but indissoluble girl clusters whose movements aredemonstrations of mathematics.... One need only glance at the screen to learnthat the ornaments are composed of thousands of bodies, sexless bodies inbathing suits. The regularity of their patterns is cheered by the masses,1 This passage is taken from Siegf ried Kracauers essay The small Shopgirls Go to the Movies.themselves arranged by the stands in tier upon ordered tier.2 Already, there isan allegory bridging this performance art with the cinema. The masses areclearly the films intended audience gathered in a theater, which composes themodern medium for the cinematic ornament.The films actors become the performative aspect of this equation, whereintheir acting and involvement in a character role, no matter how important, ismeager and unnecessary without the remainder of the operative whole. The filmopens with a revelatory glance at this phenomenon, as Rodrigo carries a crossthrough an empty landscape. In retrospect, his great battles and leadership areabstract and ineffectual without the massive army of followers. As the stand-inChrist figure, he showcases the absence of the epics ornament a solitary figure,