{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8731"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8731","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The informe in David Lynch's cinema : reading American film through the 'Philosophy' of Georges Bataille","abstract":"This dissertation argues that several of American film-maker David Lynch's works employ a subversive textual operation in their representations of America and American life that is comparable, in both its approach and political significance, to the collapse of conceptual systems French philosopher Georges Bataille termed 'informe'. Each chapter of this thesis explores an aspect of American ideology that has been shaped within filmic conventions of genre, narration and representation, analysing how the informe in Lynch's films encourages awareness of difference; of other possibilities for representing human relations beyond these powerful circumscriptions of identity and ideology. In each analysis, the 'work' of the informe in the films under discussion is also linked to some of the prominent political concerns dealt with in Bataille's work. These include his focus on genuine human connectedness, eroticism and transgression, all of which are couched within a broader philosophical emphasis that emerges in his work on the need for balance in social existence between the 'heterogeneous' or 'sacred' aspects of society on the one hand, and the 'homogeneous' or 'profane' on the other.","abstract_html":"This dissertation argues that several of American film-maker David Lynch's works employ a subversive textual operation in their representations of America and American life that is comparable, in both its approach and political significance, to the collapse of conceptual systems French philosopher Georges Bataille termed 'informe'. Each chapter of this thesis explores an aspect of American ideology that has been shaped within filmic conventions of genre, narration and representation, analysing how the informe in Lynch's films encourages awareness of difference; of other possibilities for representing human relations beyond these powerful circumscriptions of identity and ideology. In each analysis, the 'work' of the informe in the films under discussion is also linked to some of the prominent political concerns dealt with in Bataille's work. These include his focus on genuine human connectedness, eroticism and transgression, all of which are couched within a broader philosophical emphasis that emerges in his work on the need for balance in social existence between the 'heterogeneous' or 'sacred' aspects of society on the one hand, and the 'homogeneous' or 'profane' on the other.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Macdonald, Robert"],"institution":"Department of English Language and Literature","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Higgins, John","Stadler, Jane"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005","date_published":"2005","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:37Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8731","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Higgins, John","Stadler, Jane"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Macdonald, Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-10-23T07:09:35Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-10-23T07:09:35Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2005"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8731"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Bibliography: leaves 175-188."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation argues that several of American film-maker David Lynch's works employ a subversive textual operation in their representations of America and American life that is comparable, in both its approach and political significance, to the collapse of conceptual systems French philosopher Georges Bataille termed 'informe'. Each chapter of this thesis explores an aspect of American ideology that has been shaped within filmic conventions of genre, narration and representation, analysing how the informe in Lynch's films encourages awareness of difference; of other possibilities for representing human relations beyond these powerful circumscriptions of identity and ideology. In each analysis, the 'work' of the informe in the films under discussion is also linked to some of the prominent political concerns dealt with in Bataille's work. These include his focus on genuine human connectedness, eroticism and transgression, all of which are couched within a broader philosophical emphasis that emerges in his work on the need for balance in social existence between the 'heterogeneous' or 'sacred' aspects of society on the one hand, and the 'homogeneous' or 'profane' on the other."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The informe in David Lynch's cinema : reading American film through the 'Philosophy' of Georges Bataille"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Higgins, John","Stadler, Jane"],"dc:creator":["Macdonald, Robert"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-10-23T07:09:35Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-10-23T07:09:35Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2005"],"dc:description":["Bibliography: leaves 175-188."],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation argues that several of American film-maker David Lynch's works employ a subversive textual operation in their representations of America and American life that is comparable, in both its approach and political significance, to the collapse of conceptual systems French philosopher Georges Bataille termed 'informe'. Each chapter of this thesis explores an aspect of American ideology that has been shaped within filmic conventions of genre, narration and representation, analysing how the informe in Lynch's films encourages awareness of difference; of other possibilities for representing human relations beyond these powerful circumscriptions of identity and ideology. In each analysis, the 'work' of the informe in the films under discussion is also linked to some of the prominent political concerns dealt with in Bataille's work. These include his focus on genuine human connectedness, eroticism and transgression, all of which are couched within a broader philosophical emphasis that emerges in his work on the need for balance in social existence between the 'heterogeneous' or 'sacred' aspects of society on the one hand, and the 'homogeneous' or 'profane' on the other."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8731"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of English Language and Literature"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["The informe in David Lynch's cinema : reading American film through the 'Philosophy' of Georges Bataille"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:37Z"}