Heleni Smuha - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Multidisciplinary storyteller from Brussels. My work mainly explores themes like power relations, identity politics, the relationship between nature and technology, as well as art and language as tools for meta- and self-reflection. The conviction that the personal is political is a common thread throughout my work. Sharing these essays out here for whomever they may be useful!
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Papers by Heleni Smuha
Análisis filosófico-cinematográfico de la película 'El espíritu de la colmena' (1973) en el que e... more Análisis filosófico-cinematográfico de la película 'El espíritu de la colmena' (1973) en el que el existencialismo español se desvela a través de los recursos cinematográfico que Erice utiliza, los cuales contribuyen a una representación borrosa de la frontera entre lo real y ficticio.
Philosophical-cinematographic analysis of the film 'The Spirit of the Beehive' (1973) by Víctor Erice. In this paper I make a case for the representation of Spanish existentialism through the director's cinematic choices that contribute to a blurred limit of reality and fiction.
In this essay, I analyse the ideological relationship between Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to T... more In this essay, I analyse the ideological relationship between Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to Tell a True War Story” (1990) and Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. I argue that the postmodern message of O’Brien’s story revindicates Nietzsche’s late nineteenth century view that Truth can never be obtained, because people are unable to interpret things, actions or thoughts objectively.
Deconstructing ethnic and gendered power relations in Elizabeth Acevedo's slam poems "Hair", "Afro-Latina", "Spear" & "Unforgettable", 2017
This paper provides a thematic, narratological and stylistic analysis Elizabeth Acevedo’s slam po... more This paper provides a thematic, narratological and stylistic analysis Elizabeth Acevedo’s slam poems “Hair”, “Afro-Latina”, “Spear” and “Unforgettable”, in which Acevedo raises awareness about (identity) struggles present within two marginalized groups: the ethnic community of diaspora Afro-Latinxs living in the patriarchal West, the second group suffering from injustices affecting more than half of the world’s population: women.
Hybridity, Solidarity, Intersectionality and Disidentification in Tony Kushner's Angels in America, 2018
This thesis provides an intersectional, feminist analysis of Tony Kushner’s two-part play Angels ... more This thesis provides an intersectional, feminist analysis of Tony Kushner’s two-part play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1991, 1992), a tragicomic drama set in the midst of America’s 1980s with its AIDS crisis and Reagan’s conservative politics. I focus on the presented power relations and on the protagonists’ identity as well as the country’s national identity in its specific political context. More specifically, I look at how these elements are constructed and evaluated by the playwright. My main argument is that Kushner creates hybrid and fluid notions of identity, in which the – overall marginalized – characters gain meaning through their intersecting, disidentified identity markers. Furthermore, I argue is that hybridity and plurality are omnipresent in the play: in its content – including the play’s ethical, ideological message of solidarity – but also in its formal dramatic strategies, i.e. on both the micro and the macro-level of the play.
Este estudio consiste en un análisis temático comparativo de dos textos dramáticos distintos sobr... more Este estudio consiste en un análisis temático comparativo de dos textos dramáticos distintos sobre el mito de don Juan, Don Juan: El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra de Tirso de Molina (1630) y Don Juan de España: tragicomedia (1921) de María Martínez Sierra. El análisis focaliza en la crítica social que transmiten ambos textos liado a los personajes femeninos.
Análisis filosófico-cinematográfico de la película 'El espíritu de la colmena' (1973) en el que e... more Análisis filosófico-cinematográfico de la película 'El espíritu de la colmena' (1973) en el que el existencialismo español se desvela a través de los recursos cinematográfico que Erice utiliza, los cuales contribuyen a una representación borrosa de la frontera entre lo real y ficticio.
Philosophical-cinematographic analysis of the film 'The Spirit of the Beehive' (1973) by Víctor Erice. In this paper I make a case for the representation of Spanish existentialism through the director's cinematic choices that contribute to a blurred limit of reality and fiction.
In this essay, I analyse the ideological relationship between Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to T... more In this essay, I analyse the ideological relationship between Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to Tell a True War Story” (1990) and Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. I argue that the postmodern message of O’Brien’s story revindicates Nietzsche’s late nineteenth century view that Truth can never be obtained, because people are unable to interpret things, actions or thoughts objectively.
Deconstructing ethnic and gendered power relations in Elizabeth Acevedo's slam poems "Hair", "Afro-Latina", "Spear" & "Unforgettable", 2017
This paper provides a thematic, narratological and stylistic analysis Elizabeth Acevedo’s slam po... more This paper provides a thematic, narratological and stylistic analysis Elizabeth Acevedo’s slam poems “Hair”, “Afro-Latina”, “Spear” and “Unforgettable”, in which Acevedo raises awareness about (identity) struggles present within two marginalized groups: the ethnic community of diaspora Afro-Latinxs living in the patriarchal West, the second group suffering from injustices affecting more than half of the world’s population: women.
Hybridity, Solidarity, Intersectionality and Disidentification in Tony Kushner's Angels in America, 2018
This thesis provides an intersectional, feminist analysis of Tony Kushner’s two-part play Angels ... more This thesis provides an intersectional, feminist analysis of Tony Kushner’s two-part play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1991, 1992), a tragicomic drama set in the midst of America’s 1980s with its AIDS crisis and Reagan’s conservative politics. I focus on the presented power relations and on the protagonists’ identity as well as the country’s national identity in its specific political context. More specifically, I look at how these elements are constructed and evaluated by the playwright. My main argument is that Kushner creates hybrid and fluid notions of identity, in which the – overall marginalized – characters gain meaning through their intersecting, disidentified identity markers. Furthermore, I argue is that hybridity and plurality are omnipresent in the play: in its content – including the play’s ethical, ideological message of solidarity – but also in its formal dramatic strategies, i.e. on both the micro and the macro-level of the play.
Este estudio consiste en un análisis temático comparativo de dos textos dramáticos distintos sobr... more Este estudio consiste en un análisis temático comparativo de dos textos dramáticos distintos sobre el mito de don Juan, Don Juan: El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra de Tirso de Molina (1630) y Don Juan de España: tragicomedia (1921) de María Martínez Sierra. El análisis focaliza en la crítica social que transmiten ambos textos liado a los personajes femeninos.