Truffaut Un-Sutured : a psychogeographical reading of The 400 Blows

In its application to cinema, suturing denotes the process by which film narrative is rendered seamless. This enables the identification required for a spectator to become the subject of a film and also functions to conceal the film’s ideological mechanisms. In a critical survey of existing criticism of Francois Truffaut's films in general, and The 400 Blows in particular, the dissertation argues that the majority of this scholarship colludes with the textual suturing process by neglecting to pose ideological questions of the films. An application of the Situationist theory of psychogeography to The 400 Blows serves as a counter to this critical trend. The concept is not only thematically pertinent to the film, but also provides an analytical tool to un-suture the filmic text and thereby to situate The 400 Blows ideologically. By focusing on the interaction between individuals and a socially conditioned environment, a psychogeographical reading combines a psychoanalytical and materialist analysis of the film. This critical perspective departs from most existing scholarship by insisting on the film as a discursive response to a particular socio-historical context. Based on a reading of the film’s conclusion as signifying Trufauts un-suturing of his own text, the dissertation argues that the director’s discourse challenges hegemonic codes by asserting the desire for a self-determined situation. Contending that this is commensurate with a rejection of the passive subjecthcod dictated by consumerist culture, it concludes that the film represents a form of discursive psychogeography. This supports the argument for situating Truffaut and the Situationists together in what Raymond Williams terms a structure of feeling, the shared ideological context that finally serves to validate a psychogeographical reading of The 400 Blows.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2002

Author dc:creator

• Hansen, Signe

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Higgins, John

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7707

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7707