D.W. Griffith's (January 22, 1875–July 23, 1948), one of the iconic American film directors of early silent cinema, felt his film Broken Blossoms (1919) to be his one art film and is considered to be an exemplary film in Tableaux Vivants[1] usage. When this Tableau skillfully employed, the effect can be dramatic, for it bridges the gap between theatre, sculpture, literature, and poetry. To better understand how Tableau works in Broken Blossoms, this study intends to analyze several scenes by showing how Griffith employs innovative film techniques within scenes through bodily gestures, motifs, and poetic stanzas to skillfully describe the language of cinema through visual information.
[1] A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for 'living picture', is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_vivant. For further reading of Tableau Vivant, see chapter 1of this thesis.
","abstract_html":"<p>D.W. Griffith's (January 22, 1875–July 23, 1948), one of the iconic American film directors of early silent cinema, felt his film <em>Broken</em> <em>Blossoms (1919)</em> to be his one art film and is considered to be an exemplary film in <em>Tableaux Vivants</em><a title="">[1]</a> usage. When this <em>Tableau </em>skillfully employed, the effect can be dramatic, for it bridges the gap between theatre, sculpture, literature, and poetry. To better understand how <em>Tableau</em> works in <em>Broken Blossoms</em>, this study intends to analyze several scenes by showing how Griffith employs innovative film techniques within scenes through bodily gestures, motifs, and poetic stanzas to skillfully describe the language of cinema through visual information.</p> <p><a title="">[1]</a> A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for 'living picture', is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_vivant">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_vivant</a>. For further reading of <em>Tableau Vivant</em>, see chapter 1of this thesis.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Deen, Sheikh"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Matthew K. Gold"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:05Z","subjects":["Film and Media Studies","Tableau Vivant","Yellow Man","Miscegenous","Poetic","Freeze Frame","Griffithian","Orientalism","Salammbo."],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3606","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Matthew K. Gold"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Deen, Sheikh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-01-27T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Film and Media Studies","Tableau Vivant","Yellow Man","Miscegenous","Poetic","Freeze Frame","Griffithian","Orientalism","Salammbo."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3606"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["D.W. Griffith's (January 22, 1875–July 23, 1948), one of the iconic American film directors of early silent cinema, felt his film Broken Blossoms (1919) to be his one art film and is considered to be an exemplary film in Tableaux Vivants[1] usage. When this Tableau skillfully employed, the effect can be dramatic, for it bridges the gap between theatre, sculpture, literature, and poetry. To better understand how Tableau works in Broken Blossoms, this study intends to analyze several scenes by showing how Griffith employs innovative film techniques within scenes through bodily gestures, motifs, and poetic stanzas to skillfully describe the language of cinema through visual information.
[1] A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for 'living picture', is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_vivant. For further reading of Tableau Vivant, see chapter 1of this thesis.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Cinematic Treatment of Tableaux Vivants in D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Matthew K. Gold"],"dc:creator":["Deen, Sheikh"],"dc:date.available":["2020-01-27T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["D.W. Griffith's (January 22, 1875–July 23, 1948), one of the iconic American film directors of early silent cinema, felt his film Broken Blossoms (1919) to be his one art film and is considered to be an exemplary film in Tableaux Vivants[1] usage. When this Tableau skillfully employed, the effect can be dramatic, for it bridges the gap between theatre, sculpture, literature, and poetry. To better understand how Tableau works in Broken Blossoms, this study intends to analyze several scenes by showing how Griffith employs innovative film techniques within scenes through bodily gestures, motifs, and poetic stanzas to skillfully describe the language of cinema through visual information.
[1] A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for 'living picture', is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_vivant. For further reading of Tableau Vivant, see chapter 1of this thesis.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3606"],"dc:subject":["Film and Media Studies","Tableau Vivant","Yellow Man","Miscegenous","Poetic","Freeze Frame","Griffithian","Orientalism","Salammbo."],"dc:title":["The Cinematic Treatment of Tableaux Vivants in D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Liberal Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:05Z"}