The theory of rhetorical figures in cinema is highly problematic, besides it can be considered as outdated as the semiotic theory of cinema,1 yet it is convenient to reexamine the idea of＂cinematographic metaphor＂ i...The theory of rhetorical figures in cinema is highly problematic, besides it can be considered as outdated as the semiotic theory of cinema,1 yet it is convenient to reexamine the idea of＂cinematographic metaphor＂ in order to throw some light on the dominant idea of cinema as narrative medium. In this paper we will examine： （l） the supposedly existing metaphor of urban and industrial man as sheep at the beginn!ng of Chaplin＇s film Modern Times; and （2） the sequence of the awakening stone lion in Eisenstein＇s Battleship Potemkin as metaphor of the proletarian revolt against czarism. We will arrive to the notion of a purely metaphoric film, which together with Zavattini＇s ideal film showing 90 minutes in the life of a man to whom nothing happens, will helps us draw some conclusions about montage and narrativity in cinema. Especially interesting in this connection is the fact that symbolical shots as the mentioned ones are like description in literature, that is, they have nothing to do neither with the time of the story nor with the time of the discourse.展开更多
文摘The theory of rhetorical figures in cinema is highly problematic, besides it can be considered as outdated as the semiotic theory of cinema,1 yet it is convenient to reexamine the idea of＂cinematographic metaphor＂ in order to throw some light on the dominant idea of cinema as narrative medium. In this paper we will examine： （l） the supposedly existing metaphor of urban and industrial man as sheep at the beginn!ng of Chaplin＇s film Modern Times; and （2） the sequence of the awakening stone lion in Eisenstein＇s Battleship Potemkin as metaphor of the proletarian revolt against czarism. We will arrive to the notion of a purely metaphoric film, which together with Zavattini＇s ideal film showing 90 minutes in the life of a man to whom nothing happens, will helps us draw some conclusions about montage and narrativity in cinema. Especially interesting in this connection is the fact that symbolical shots as the mentioned ones are like description in literature, that is, they have nothing to do neither with the time of the story nor with the time of the discourse.
