The Cinematic Treatment of <i>Tableaux Vivants</i> in D.W. Griffith’s <i>Broken Blossoms</i>

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Liberal Studies

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Deen, Sheikh

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Matthew K. Gold

• Film and Media Studies
• Tableau Vivant
• Yellow Man
• Miscegenous
• Poetic
• Freeze Frame
• Griffithian
• Orientalism
• Salammbo.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3606

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-4663